Submit your cape wrap videos here, by posting a link to your video from your preferred platform (YouTube, Vimeo, ect.) on this thread. Not a member of the Art of Arms Substack, not a problem, sign up—it's free (no paid subscription required)!
What are you competing for? A free one-of-a-kind copy of Stephen Fratus's translation of Francesco Sandro Altoni’s, Monomachia ovvero Arte di Scherma, a Force of Virtue starter set, a 25% discount on a HEMA cloak from Amy Floyd's Creations, and a free lifetime membership of the Art of Arms on Substack!
Your task, should you choose to compete, is to provide us with interpretations of up to 9 different cape wrap techniques from Altoni’s text.
What Will You Be Judged Upon?
Faithfulness to the text (40 Points)
Martiality (40 Points)
Sprezzatura (20 Points)
You will accumulate points for each technique you demonstrate! That is, if you do 9 techniques you can score up to 900 points. If you only do 6, you’re score total will max out at 600 points. It’s up to you how many you would like to try out, and which ones you’d like to do. Our goal is to get everyone twirling a cape like Altoni!
Feel free to incorporate as much drama, flair, music and bloodshed as you feel is necessary (Maybe not that last bit).
Your Judges For the Competition Are:
Joshua Wiest
Stephen Fratus
Martin Höppner
The deadline for submissions is the Ides of March. (March 15th 2024)
The Text:
Chapter Seven: Sword & Cloak
It has now become time to discuss equipping the arm as well as the hand. For good reasons we will discuss the defensive arms, beginning with the cloak, which we can use to parry in a way similar to how we parry with the dagger. The cloak is particularly suitable because it is commonly worn, can be used by anyone, and can be placed among those arms both gripped and worn. This is the classification described in Book One, and the cloak crosses both these classes as it is both worn and gripped. There are many ways to use the cloak, and we will discuss these here as succinctly as possible.
First note that you can either drape the cloak about your arm or grip it in your hand; whether you wish to grip it or drape it, you may do this in a few different manners.
1.) You may take the cloak in the middle, grip it in your first without wrapping it any further, and make sure the hood ends up inside the arm. Here the hood will function as a counterweight.
2.) You may take the cloak by the hood and wrap it to the inside of the arm.
3.) When you are wearing the cloak and it is spread out when you are wearing it, then grab the part of the cloak over your left shoulder with your first two fingers. Allow the cloak to fall completely onto your arm; or else you may grab the cape with both arms around your kidneys, and bring the left hand back to its original place, where it will have gathered up all the cloak.
4.) You may employ the fourth method of getting a part of your cloak to hang over your left arm when you are wearing the cloak. Do this by grabbing the inside edge with your left hand and letting the part of your cape that is on your right shoulder drop, either pulling or throwing the left side of the cape that is close to your back and gathering it all on your arm or in your fist if you prefer.
5.) You can also grasp the cape around the middle part in front of you with both hands, and then turn the right hand inside out, spinning the cloak over your head and so redoubling the cape around your left hand. That done, turn it over your arm and over your hand.
6.) You may also grab the cloak by the left front edge with your left thumb pointed outwards and let the cloak drop to your side. Gather it up with your left arm turned behind your back while at the same time reaching for your sword.
7.) The next method requires that you have the cloak folded in from the left edge, not on your arm as previously mentioned but on your left shoulder. From there let it fall by your right side and place your left hand towards your kidney, not to the inside, but to the outside of it and gather it on your arm while you reach for your sword.
8.) The eighth method is like the seventh. You use this method when your cloak is folded in from the left edge. Unlike the seventh method, here the right side is under your arm, and your hand is on the sword and the left border of the cloak is pointed at your right shoulder. In this setup you need to grab the part that is on your shoulder with your left hand, pulling it down while also drawing your sword up and out, continually turning the left inside portion of the cloak across your back and over your arm.
Note that all these ways of equipping yourself with your cloak can be done quickly and extemporaneously.
But if you are not in a hurry, but instead are going to fight in an enclosure or you are leaving a room with the intent to fight, then there is a most beautiful and useful method of folding the cloak in several layers according to its width, making it cover your left arm from the elbow to the wrist and leaving the hood on the outside. Then, place the cloak on your arm, letting your hood hang on the inside, starting from the base of cloak, turning the hood under the elbow and then spreading the cloak across your lower arm. Finally place the tip of the hood in the left hand. This is a very convenient and elegant method for emplacing your cloak, but as mentioned above you must have time to set your cloak in this way
The top three submissions will be awarded with the following prizes (1 being first place, 2 being second place, and 3 being third place):
A special one-of-a-kind edition of Francesco Sandro Altoni’s, Monomachia ovvero Arte di Scherma, translated by Stephen Fratus, a Force of Virtue starter set, 25% off a HEMA cloak (black with your choice of colored lining) from Amy Floyd’s Creations, and an exclusive lifetime membership to the Art of Arms Substack.
A free one year paid subscription to the Art of Arms, and 15% off a HEMA cloak from Amy Floyd's Creations (black with your choice of color lining).
A free one year paid subscription to the Art of Arms, and 10% off a HEMA cloak from Amy Floyd's Creations (black with your choice of color lining).
May the Fabric Flow Ever in Your Favor!
Sponsors:
That's a wrap, but before you take off, take a moment to go check out Masterstroke Games’ Masterpiece, Force of Virtue! Use code ILOVEARTOFARMS at check out to save 5%!
Amy Floyd’s Creations, in my opinion, makes one of the best HEMA cloaks on the market. They're durable, they’re historically designed, and Amy is an incredibly talented artist. The Triangle Sword Guild went on a deep dive into the Sword and Cloak material, then held a Sword and Cloak tournament, and Amy’s cloaks proved to be the gold standard. If you want to spin a cloak with the elegance and style that Renaissance sources demand, you’ll want to check out Amy Floyd's Creations!
Just when you thought you weren't getting many entries, three of my students at School of the Sword Swindon have worked hard to interpret the source and will be posting video. They all started with the school less than a year ago, and only started learning sword & cape at the start of the year.
Hello! Swooping in last minute with an entry, this is my interpretation!
Disclaimer - I know neither how to use a cape, nor how to edit a video! I borrowed a cape from a cosplay friend, so I'm unsure how accurate it is, but hopefully, even despite this, it should be entertaining enough :D
That's a wrap on the Altoni Cape Wrap Competition! There are some incredible interpretations, that we're very excited to judge. As a thank you to all who participated we're awarding all of our submissions with a free year long subscription to the Art of Arms, and increasing the top three to a free lifetime membership.
Collaborative interpretation is one of the best tools we have to hone the skills of this art. We're eternally grateful for everyone's participation, and commitment to bringing this art back to life!
🏆 We have a winner for the Altoni Cape Wrap Competition! 🏆
By the narrowest of margins, literally a half point, with a consolidated score of 236.5 points, your Cape Wrap Champion is Mr. Eric Weiss! In second place, with the most worthy of entries, was Mr. Filipe Martins, scoring a resounding 236 points! And, in third place, narrowly edging out Pavle Ilijasevic by scoring high in Sprezzatura, was Mr. Lorenzo Mendoza!
We want to thank everyone for participating in the competition, this was truly a treat to judge, and we're honored by everyone's participation. The interpretations were glorious, with all of the entries receiving high marks for faithfulness to the text.
Take a moment and check out our winning submissions!
Hi!
Here's the video with my interpretation of Altoni's techniques with sword and cape.
I hope you like it.
https://youtu.be/Xa-F0Ugr4rw
Filipe
Man, talk about setting a high bar! Well done!
Thanks! I hope the techniques are OK :)
Just when you thought you weren't getting many entries, three of my students at School of the Sword Swindon have worked hard to interpret the source and will be posting video. They all started with the school less than a year ago, and only started learning sword & cape at the start of the year.
We figured people were keeping them close to their chests. Look forward to seeing what you all came up with!
Hi people!
I am one of Adrian's students (maybe this will deduct points, oh no!)
Please have a look at my interpretations for this competition, I hope you enjoy it :)
(also thank you Adrian for the edit)
https://youtu.be/VE228xxNbKo?si=Noi14MwWyGMq-_E0
Hi! I'm one of Adrian's students and here are my videos! https://youtu.be/3RGPc_VCDuY
Hello! Swooping in last minute with an entry, this is my interpretation!
Disclaimer - I know neither how to use a cape, nor how to edit a video! I borrowed a cape from a cosplay friend, so I'm unsure how accurate it is, but hopefully, even despite this, it should be entertaining enough :D
https://youtu.be/pCl1gpppVYk
Enjoy!
Pavle
Hi, I'm one of Adrian's students. Here's my cloak wrap.
https://youtu.be/nv8NVjbpMRw
My submission.
https://youtu.be/Ezu-hS84nD4?si=niS2to0miKh9yEIY
Hey everyone, I'm throwing in my interpretation as well. It's always fun, fighting with aggressive towel snapping!
Lorenzo
Snohomish Dueling Society
https://youtu.be/1_VRKlscwAQ?si=y46Z5hg8fjPySez6
*note: youtube wants to reduce my video quality. Under settings you can change it back to a higher video quality
That's a wrap on the Altoni Cape Wrap Competition! There are some incredible interpretations, that we're very excited to judge. As a thank you to all who participated we're awarding all of our submissions with a free year long subscription to the Art of Arms, and increasing the top three to a free lifetime membership.
Collaborative interpretation is one of the best tools we have to hone the skills of this art. We're eternally grateful for everyone's participation, and commitment to bringing this art back to life!
🏆 We have a winner for the Altoni Cape Wrap Competition! 🏆
By the narrowest of margins, literally a half point, with a consolidated score of 236.5 points, your Cape Wrap Champion is Mr. Eric Weiss! In second place, with the most worthy of entries, was Mr. Filipe Martins, scoring a resounding 236 points! And, in third place, narrowly edging out Pavle Ilijasevic by scoring high in Sprezzatura, was Mr. Lorenzo Mendoza!
We want to thank everyone for participating in the competition, this was truly a treat to judge, and we're honored by everyone's participation. The interpretations were glorious, with all of the entries receiving high marks for faithfulness to the text.
Take a moment and check out our winning submissions!
Eric Weiss:
https://youtu.be/Ezu-hS84nD4?si=P9xUIhTIPtTvel3P
Filipe Martins:
https://youtu.be/Xa-F0Ugr4rw?si=igV92Nag1v5e1Lju
Lorenzo Mendoza:
https://youtu.be/1_VRKlscwAQ?si=20-IXXYVKPbVKMKc