Getty 6v
The guards give way to the plays proper. [6]–[8] form one continuous sequence — Fiore says so explicitly.
This is the first play of grappling (abrazare), and every guard of grappling can arrive at this play and at this hold, namely: let him grip with the left hand his [opponent's] right arm at the bend of that right arm, and let him set his own right hand thus, straight, near his elbow; and then let him immediately make the hold of the second play [Grappling 7] — that is, let him grip him in that way and give the turn to his person (daga la volta ala persona). And by that means either he will go to the ground, or his arm will be dislocated.
- With your left hand, grip his right arm at the bend of the elbow.
- Set your right hand straight, near that same elbow.
- Without pausing, take the hold of the second play ([Grappling 7]).
- Give the turn to his body — rotate him against the trapped arm.
- Outcome: he goes to the ground, or the arm dislocates.
Fiore stresses that every grappling guard can arrive here — this is the convergence point of folio 6r.
The Getty takes the hold on the player's right arm, while the Pisani Dossi and Paris both threaten the left arm with dislocation — as does the scholar in [Grappling 7].
I, the scholar of the first Master, say that I am certain to throw this man to the ground, or to break his left arm, or to dislocate it. And if the player who plays with the first Master were to lift his left hand from the Master's shoulder to make some other defense, immediately I, who am in his stead (in suo scambio), release his right arm with my left hand, grip his left leg, and set my right hand under his throat, to send him to the ground — into this third play [Grappling 8] which you see depicted.
- You hold him from the first play ([Grappling 6]); his left hand rests on your shoulder.
- Baseline outcome: throw him down, or break or dislocate his left arm.
- If he lifts that left hand off your shoulder to defend —
- release his right arm with your left hand,
- grip his left leg,
- set your right hand under his throat,
- drive him down — which is the third play ([Grappling 8]).
This scholar who is before me speaks the very truth: that from his hold one must come into this one, to put him to the ground or to dislocate his left arm. Again I say that if the player were to lift his left hand from the Master's shoulder, the Master would arrive at the third play all the same, just as you see depicted. So the first play and the second are one single play; and the Master sends him to the ground with the face, and the third sends him to the ground with the shoulders.
- Arrive here from the second play's hold ([Grappling 7]).
- Put him to the ground, or dislocate his left arm.
- Note the equivalence Fiore draws: [6] and [7] are one single play; whether or not the player lifts his hand, the Master reaches this third play.
- The direction of the throw distinguishes them: the Master's throw sends him down on his face; this third play sends him down on his shoulders/back.
This is the fourth play of grappling, and it is easy if the scholar can put the player to the ground. And if he cannot put him to the ground in such a way, he will seek other plays and holds, as can be done in various ways, as you will see depicted after us; for you may well know that the plays are not equal, nor — save rarely — are the holds. And therefore let him who does not have a good hold gain one as quickly as he can, so as not to leave the advantage to his enemy.
- Take the hold and put him down — if it works, it is easy.
- If it does not work, do not persist: seek other plays and holds.
- The stated principle: plays and holds are not equal; a bad hold must be swapped for a good one as fast as possible, or the advantage passes to the enemy.
This plate is doctrine rather than technique: it licenses the whole "flow onward when the hold fails" habit stated back at [2] and [3].
Glossological analysis
- scolaro / zugadore — scholar / player. This folio is the first place the roles are voiced: the scholar speaks in [7] as the one executing the Master's play; the player (zugadore) is the one being done to. See Lexicon.
- in suo scambio ([7]) — "in his stead / in his place": the scholar stands in the Master's position, doing what the Master would do.
- daga la volta ala persona ([6]) — "give the turn to his person/body". Volta here is the body turn that finishes the lock, the same mechanic later named volta stabile / tutta volta for the sword ([S2H 1]).
- chiave de soto (PD, [7]) — the lower key, i.e. the lower lock (ligadura sottana) — the same "strong key" (chiave forte) fixed later at [Dagger 54]. Its first appearance in the book is here, in the verse.
- dislogare — to dislocate. Distinguished from rompere (to break): [7] threatens both, as alternatives.
- partido — not yet on this folio; see 7v.
Manuscript comparison
- A left/right contradiction at [6]. The Getty has the scholar grip the player's right arm; the Pisani Dossi and the Paris both threaten the left arm with dislocation. The verse witnesses agree with each other and against the prose. (The Getty's own [7] then threatens the left arm, so the Getty may simply be describing the grip on one arm and the damage to the other — but as written, the witnesses do not line up.)
- The verse names a lock the prose does not. At [7] the Pisani Dossi sends the loser into the lower key (chiave de soto) and the Paris into the lowest key (clave ima); the Getty text names no lock at all, describing only the throat-and-leg throw. The verse family preserves the lock-vocabulary here; the prose family does not.
- Register. The Paris consistently heightens: where the Pisani Dossi has "kiss the ground with your mouth", the Paris has "lick the foul earth"; where the Pisani Dossi says "fall on your back", the Paris specifies "upon your kidneys". The Latin is the most rhetorically violent of the three.
- Illustrations. The plates are the Pisani Dossi's (4b-a…d). [7] additionally carries an illustration from Cod. 1324, a further illustrated witness outside our five collated manuscripts, used by Wiktenauer where the main copies lack a figure.
- Coverage. Getty, Pisani Dossi, and Paris all carry all four plays; Morgan has none.