The Discorso del gioco di spada by the Orafo da Cremona is one of the most enigmatic sources in the Italian fencing tradition. We do not know the author's real name, and no reliable record of his life has come down to us; of his work, a single copy survives, in manuscript Urb.lat.1231 at the Vatican Apostolic Library.

Written at one of the most inventive moments in Italian fencing, this short treatise shows several strikingly original features. Foremost among them is a rationalized system of guards, ap‌plied to a selection of techniques drawn from four disciplines: sword alone, sword and dagger, sword and cloak, and sword and targe.

This volume in the ORIGINI series presents the complete transcription of the Discorso del gioco di spada, together with a study of the author, the work itself, and the manuscript that preserved it. The research reconstructs its historical and material context, follows the fortunes of the manuscript through the centuries, and, through an analysis of the watermarks, narrows down when it was produced.

The study also gathers and weighs the various lines of inquiry pursued so far into the elusive Orafo da Cremona, offering an overview of what is currently known and a solid foundation for further research.