Book

Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'arme sì da offesa, come da difesa
ARMORUM Archive Record
Book Catalogued Reviewed

Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'arme sì da offesa, come da difesa

Book 1570 Italian Italy

Giacomo di Grassi

Seminal arms treatise by Giacomo Grassi, printed at Venice in 1570, with portrait and copper engravings in the text. Gelli emphasizes both its rarity and its later French (1573) and English (1594) translation history.

Castle also records the 1570 Venetian Di Grassi witness and notes that some copies bear the Ziletti indication.

Castle also records the 1594 London English translation of Grassi, describing it as Englished by J. G. gentleman.

Vigeant 1882 notes that copies of the 1570 Venetian Grassi survive with two different author portraits and stresses the book's importance both in its own right and as a principal guide for Saint-Didier. He also highlights the in-text engraved apparatus and the treatise's especially interesting character for students of the early Italian school.

2 Editions
5 Resources
0 Holdings
6 References
Bibliographic Overview
TitleRagione di adoprar sicuramente l'arme sì da offesa, come da difesa
AuthorGiacomo di Grassi
Earliest publication date1570
LanguageItalian
CountryItaly
Document typeBook
Authority statement
Giacomo di Grassi
Authority Roles
Author
Giacomo di Grassi
Edition History
Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'arme sì da offesa, come da difesa; con un trattato dell'inganno, et con un modo di esercitarsi da se stesso, per acquistare forza, giudizio, et prestezza 1570
CityVenetia
PublisherGiordano Ziletti
PrinterNot specified
Format4to
Pages8 unnumbered p., 151 p.
DimensionsNot specified
Gelli lists the Venice 1570 Giordano Ziletti edition with dedication, Al lettore, 8 unnumbered and 151 numbered pages, standing portrait of Grassi, and copper engravings in the text; he also notes the French translation of 1573 and the English translation of 1594.

Vigeant 1882, pp. 66-67: In Venetia, appresso Giordano Ziletti, 1570. In-4to with portrait of Grassi and engravings printed in the text; dedication and Au lecteur. Vigeant notes that two different portraits are found in surviving copies.

Quality phase 101a: physical extent recovered from the existing bibliographic note.

Quality phase 184: exact 1570 manifestation replaces the unrelated Giorgio de’ Cavalli imprint with Giordano Ziletti.
His True Arte of Defence (English translation edition) 1594
CityNot specified
PublisherNot specified
PrinterNot specified
FormatNot specified
PagesNot specified
DimensionsNot specified
English edition linked from the UMass Raymond J. Lord Collection on 2026-07-17. Relabeled on August 6, 2026 to make explicit that this is the 1594 English translation edition of Giacomo di Grassi, distinct from the 1570 Italian edition under the same work.
Digital Witnesses
Internet Archive facsimile - Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'arme (alternate copy)
Facsimile
Internet Archive · open
Internet Archive facsimile - Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'arme
Facsimile
Internet Archive · open
Wiktenauer article - Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'arme si da offesa, come da difesa (Giacomo di Grassi)
HTML OCR
Wiktenauer · open
Imported from Wiktenauer Books batch 1 on 2026-07-17. Source row 15; confidence=high. Digital witness titles regularized on August 6, 2026 to match the normalized Italian 1570 edition title.
UMass Lord Collection PDF - Giacomo di Grassi, His True Arte of Defence (English translation edition)
PDF
UMass Amherst - Raymond J. Lord Collection · open
Imported from UMass Lord still-review resolution on 2026-07-17. Linked as English edition of Giacomo di Grassi. Confirmed on August 6, 2026 that this 1594 English witness remains a separate edition under the same work and should not be merged into the Italian title form. Relabeled on August 6, 2026 to make explicit that this PDF belongs to the 1594 English translation edition, not to the 1570 Italian edition.
UMass Lord Collection PDF - Giacomo di Grassi, Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'arme si da offesa, come da difesa
PDF
UMass Amherst - Raymond J. Lord Collection · open
Imported from UMass Lord preview mapping on 2026-07-17. Source row 6; match_status=high_confidence; match_score=99. Digital witness titles regularized on August 6, 2026 to match the normalized Italian 1570 edition title.
Scholarly References
Castle entry CAS-P043-E007
Castle (1892)
Egerton Castle, Schools and Masters of Fence, from the Middle Ages to the End of the Eighteenth Century. With a complete bibliography. New and revised edition. London: George Bell & Sons, 1892.
Pages 43-44 · Entry CAS-P043-E007
Castle entry CAS-P057-E001
Castle (1892)
Egerton Castle, Schools and Masters of Fence, from the Middle Ages to the End of the Eighteenth Century. With a complete bibliography. New and revised edition. London: George Bell & Sons, 1892.
Pages 57 · Entry CAS-P057-E001
Gelli entry GEL-P158-E002
Gelli (1890)
Jacopo Gelli, Bibliografia generale della scherma con note critiche, biografiche e storiche.
Pages 158 · Entry 002
Gelli entry GEL-P529-E002
Gelli (1890)
Jacopo Gelli, Bibliografia generale della scherma con note critiche, biografiche e storiche.
Pages 529 · Entry GEL-P529-E002
Thimm entry 946
Thimm (1896)
Carl A. Thimm, A Complete Bibliography of Fencing and Duelling.
Pages 141 · Entry 946
Vigeant entry VIG-P066-E001
Vigeant (1882)
Arsène Vigeant, La Bibliographie de l'escrime ancienne et moderne. Paris: Imprimé par Motteroz, 1882.
Pages 66-67 · Entry VIG-P066-E001