Getty 6r
The four crowned Masters, each naming a grappling guard and what he intends from it. These are guards, not yet plays — the plays begin on 6v.
I am the Long Guard (posta longa) and thus I wait for you. And in the hold (presa) that you will want to make on me, my right arm, which stands upright, I will certainly put beneath your left, and I will enter into the first play of grappling [Grappling 6]; and with that hold I will make you go to the ground. And if that hold should fail me, I will come to enter into the other holds that follow.
- Stand in the Long Guard, right arm carried high, and wait — do not initiate.
- Let the opponent come in to take his hold on you.
- As he does, drive your raised right arm under his left arm.
- That entry is the first play of grappling ([Grappling 6]); take its hold.
- From that hold, put him on the ground.
- If the hold fails, do not reset — flow onward into the holds that follow ([Grappling 7]–[Grappling 9]).
In the Boar's Tooth (dente di zenghiar) I come against you: I hold myself certain to break your hold. And from this I will exit, and I will enter into the Iron Gate (porta di ferro), and I will be ready to put you to the ground. And if what I have said fails me through your defense, I will seek to do you harm in another way — that is, with breaks (roture), locks (ligadure), and dislocations (dislogadure), in the manner in which the figures are depicted.
- Come against him in the Boar's Tooth — this Master advances rather than waits.
- Break the hold he attempts on you.
- Leave this guard: pass out of the Boar's Tooth into the Iron Gate ([Grappling 4]).
- From the Iron Gate, put him to the ground.
- If his defense stops that, escalate to the close-range finishers instead — breaks, locks, dislocations.
In the Iron Gate (porta di ferro) I wait for you without moving, to gain the holds with all my power. The play of grappling (abrazare) — that is my art; and of lance, poleaxe (azza), sword, and dagger I have a great share. I, the Iron Gate, am full of malice: whoever tries himself against me, I always give him trouble and pain. And you, who want to gain the holds against me — with the strong holds I will make you go to the ground.
- Take the Iron Gate and wait without moving — this is the purely awaiting guard.
- Let him commit to gaining a hold on you.
- Answer with the strong holds and put him on the ground by main force.
This plate carries the section's — and arguably the book's — central claim: grappling is the art from which lance, poleaxe, sword, and dagger all draw. See Tactical grouping §11.
I am the Forehead Guard (posta frontale), [here] to gain the holds. If I come in this guard, you will do me harm; but I will move out of this guard, and with cunning (inzegno) I will move you out of the Iron Gate (porta di ferro). I will make you fare worse than you would fare in hell. Of locks (ligadure) and breaks (rotture) I will give you a good bargain (bon merchato), and soon it will be seen who will have gained. And I will gain the holds, if I am not forgetful.
- Stand in the Forehead Guard, arms extended, intending to gain holds.
- Recognize the guard's own admission: stay here and he will hurt you — it is not a guard to hold.
- Move out of it before he acts.
- Use cunning to force him out of his Iron Gate ([Grappling 4]) — i.e. break the awaiting guard's structure rather than attack it head-on.
- Finish with locks and breaks.
Glossological analysis
- posta / guardia — guard. Note the Getty's own definition later in the preface: posta means a way of waylaying (apostar) the enemy; guardia means that a man guards himself with it. Both senses are live on this page.
- posta longa / dente di zenghiar / porta di ferro / posta frontale — Long Guard, Boar's Tooth, Iron Gate, Forehead Guard. All four names recur as longsword guards ([S2H 12]–[S2H 25]); this is the first evidence of the shared guard-vocabulary across weapons.
- presa / prese avantaçade — hold / holds with advantage. The section's governing term (see [1]).
- abrazare — grappling. In [4] it means the art of grappling, not a single action.
- azza — poleaxe (not "hatchet"); the weapon of the armored section ([Axe]).
- ligadura / rotura / dislogadura — lock / break / dislocation: the three finishers, named together in [3] and [5] as the fallback when the throw fails.
- inzegno ([5]) — cunning, ingenuity, not "engine". The Forehead Guard wins by wit, not force — deliberately contrasted with the Iron Gate's forteza.
- bon merchato ([2], [5]) — a good bargain, not "market". Used ironically both times: you will "get a good deal" = you will get the worst of it.
- de pugna mutacion (PD, [3]) — "a change of the fists"; pugna here is the fist/grip, so a change of grip.
Manuscript comparison
- Form. The Getty gives each Master a full tactical program (what I do, where I go next, what I fall back to). The Pisani Dossi reduces each to a two-line boast, and the Paris renders that same boast into Latin. The prose is not a translation of the verse — it is an expansion around it.
- Real divergence at [3]. The Getty's Boar's Tooth says it will exit into the Iron Gate. The verse witnesses say something else entirely: the Pisani Dossi speaks of a change of grip (de pugna mutacion), and the Paris of turning the opponent down with the chest driving on. Neither verse mentions the Iron Gate. Prose and verse describe different continuations from the same guard.
- Emphasis at [5]. The Getty's Forehead Guard is self-critical and elaborate (it admits the guard is unsafe, then explains the cunning exit). The verse simply says the arms are extended to gain holds — the prose's whole tactical caution is absent.
- Illustrations. All four plates here are reproduced from the Pisani Dossi (4a-a…d); the Getty's own 6r illustrations are not the ones shown. The figures therefore depict the verse witness's rendering of these guards.
- Coverage. All three witnesses (Getty, Pisani Dossi, Paris) carry all four plates. Morgan has no grappling at all — see Manuscript comparison §4C.