Fiore Dei Liberi - Life

Life

Fiore dei Liberi records in his book that he was the son of Benedetto delli Liberi of Premariacco, from the Friuli region of modern-day Italy, and was born in Cividale del Friuli Patriarchal State of Aquileia. There are few records of his life beyond his own brief autobiographical account, but in 1383 a "Master Fiore" was recorded at Udine, where he was listed as a commander in the civil war on the side of the alliance of towns. In 1395 he can be placed at a duel fought in Padua, and in 1399 he was recorded in Pavia. At some point thereafter, he became associated with Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara, Modena, and Parma, though the nature of this association is unclear.

Fiore dei Liberi wrote that he had a natural inclination to the martial arts and began at a young age. Later he studied under many masters of arms from both Italy and Germany. He named only one of these, a Master Johannes "called Suueno" (possibly 'the Swebian' or 'of Swabia'), who was himself a scholar of Master Nicholai of Toblem. Though he tells us little of his own career as a commander and master at arms, he offers an extensive list of his more famous students, including Piero del Verde, Nicolò Borialino, Galeazzo di Mantua, and Azzone Francesco di Castelbarco, and details their martial exploits. He also mentions that on five separate occasions he was forced to fight lethal duels for his honor against other masters, whom he described as envious because he refused to teach them, and survived each without taking any wounds.

He states that he began writing Flos Duellatorum (the Pisani-Dossi MS) on February 10, 1410, and noted in its prologue that he had studied the arts of combat for more than 50 years. Based on the customary age of martial arts instruction for the nobility, it is estimated that Fiore was born around 1350. His death date is also an estimate as there are no known records of his life after he completed his book.

Fiore's teachings greatly influenced many of the Italian masters who came after him, most notably Filippo Vadi, as well as certain of the later German masters including Ludwig von Eyb. There is some evidence leading researchers to speculate that Johannes ditto Suueno may have been the German grand master Johannes Liechtenauer.