This is an English translation of the «Berlin Manuscript», Ms. Phil. 1941, containing the Cien Conclusiones («One Hundred Conclusions») and the Dieciocho Contradicciones («Eighteen Oppositions») by Luis Pacheco de Narváez, as well as various other texts and images. The translation was carried out by Jan Schäfer and Manuel Valle Ortiz, and supervised by Lois Spangler.
The manuscript from which it comes was considered lost since the late 19th century, until it re-appeared in the second half of the last century in Kristeller’s 1963 catalog in a generic form, without being originally linked with the lost title. Now we can verify that it is, in fact, a handwritten and illustrated version of this classic text of Verdadeira Destreza Pachequista.
It is a text very close to that of the printed edition, perhaps derived from it. It contains, as particular content, technical counters to the «vulgar techniques» described in the Dieciocho Contradicciones.
In addition to the Conclusiones and the Contradicciones, the book includes a section describing the techniques typical of Verdadeira Destreza, a series of definitions in the form of a question-answer dialogue, and an explanation with illustrations of steps, the lines of the body, the right angle, the «medio proporcionado», the execution of the «atajo» and the movement of conclusion.
For the first time in the English language, this carefuly edited work is a fundamental text, for those who already know Verdadeira Destreza as well as for those who are starting to study it.
