Ars rudibus battuendi

Quasus

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Forcellini says (RUDIS I 2) that it's virga impolita, qualis erat, qua gladiatores olim, quum ipsis permitteretur a gladiatorio munere cessare, a praetore donabantur, et publica alebantur pecunia... Hujusmodi rudibus ipsi gladiatores, quum ad artem discendam exercebantur, pugnabat. All in all, looks like a kind of a wooden sword.

This website says "MDCCCLXXXXIII is not a valid Roman numeral"
Of course, it is.
Code:
CL-USER> (format nil "~:@R" 1893)
"MDCCCLXXXXIII"
 

Tlepolemus

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All in all, looks like a kind of a wooden sword.
Yeah, but it's XIX century, did they really learn to use wooden swords? Like Japanese kendo?

Owens in Silva: "fence vi (with foils) rudibus battuo", and Adumbratio: "foil rudis, is f., gladius praepilatus"

But more serious (and more classic?) dictionaries only say it's a wooden sword:

(Forcellini, 1775): Ligula, seu spatha, idest virga lignea
(Reyher, 1712): est, virga impolita, eine Spieß-Ruthe
(Gesner, 1749): Virga s. baculus
(Gallicciolli, 1778): virga impolita

May Italians use "rudis" in meaning of "foil/rapier"?
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Quasus

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In the context of gladiators, rudis should always be understood as a wooden rapier, because we know they were made of wood. And had a ball. So In the latter case simply the translations are not precise.

But the students were not Roman gladiators, so it's a good question whether rudis could extend its meaning and denote a weapon for exercise, even if it was not made of wood. :think:
 

Tlepolemus

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I'm surprised how different are versions of "Orbis Pictus":
  • rapier is rudis in Czech edition or ensis in English.
  • framea is foil in Russian, but two-edged sword in English and sword in Czech.
So, modern meanings, at least for cold steel, were not well established and varied in different countries. Also, "Orbis Pictus" seems to be a common name for many books significantly changed from the time of the original Comenii book (like Calepinus for dictionary).
 

Quasus

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Also, "Orbis Pictus" seems to be a common name for many books significantly changed from the time of the original Comenii book (like Calepinus for dictionary).
Yes, that's true. If I'm not mistaken, the first edition still claimed that the Sun orbited the Earth. :)

But where exactly do you find "rudis" for a steel rapier?
 

Tlepolemus

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Yes, that's true. If I'm not mistaken, the first edition still claimed that the Sun orbited the Earth. :)
Wow, you are right: "Stellae fixae cum octava sphaera aequaliter progrediuntur" (ed. 1665). It's definitely a planetary model of Ptolemy.

But where exactly do you find "rudis" for a steel rapier?
It is in Orbis Sensualium Pictus (Comenius; Czech, 1833)
rudis - de. Rappieren - cz. Končjř (conf. ru. Кончар)
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Quasus

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But where exactly do you find "rudis" for a steel rapier?
No, this one is made of wood, because the text is about gladiators. We agree that gladiators used wooden swords, don't we?
 

Tlepolemus

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No, this one is made of wood, because the text is about gladiators. We agree that gladiators used wooden swords, don't we?
You are absolutely right. Speaking about gladiators of ancient Rome, "rudis" is a wooden sword for training and status symbol on retire.
 
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Tlepolemus

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Lexicon latino-polonicum (Florianus Bobrowski, 1822)
Rudibus batuere. — Fechtować (eng. to fence)

Igitur, "Ars rudibus battuendi" means "Art of Fencing", and "rudis" is understood as a part of the phrase rather than particular weapon.
 

Agrippa

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Today there are so-called stage combat swords :think:
 
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