Preface
Preface
Fior di Battaglia — The Flower of Battle
The prefatory material: the Italian prose preface (biography, the five duels, the Este dedication), the Pisani Dossi prologues, and the Segno with the four animals.
Folios
01
Getty 1r–2r— The First Italian Preface
prose
→
02
Pisani Dossi 2a–2b— The Latin Preface and the Second Italian Preface
prose
→
03
Getty 32r · Pisani Dossi 17a · Paris 1v— The Seven Swords (the Segno)
prose
→
Folio summary — Preface
| Folio | Content | Getty images | Witnesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getty 1r–2r | First Italian Preface: biography, five duels, the oath, the case for the book, Este dedication, grappling introduction | Getty 1r | Getty · Morgan · San Daniele (1699) |
| Pisani Dossi 2a–2b | Latin Preface (Flos Duellatorum) + Second Italian Preface (dated 1409) | — | Pisani Dossi only |
| Getty 32r · PD 17a · Paris 1v | The Seven Swords / Segno: seven blows, four virtues, four animals | Getty 32r | Getty · Pisani Dossi · Paris |
Three pages, three different books. The prefatory material is where the witnesses least resemble one another: the prose family opens with a man's career and his oath; the Pisani Dossi opens with a title and a date; the Paris opens with a picture. Only the Segno is common ground — and it is the emblem, not the prose, that all three families agree the art begins with. Everything the world knows about Fiore's life comes from a page the verse manuscripts do not have; everything it knows about when he wrote comes from a page the prose manuscripts do not have.