The scolaro in the arte de spada is synonymous with the term "master" or further, "swordmaster". In the plays, the scolaro is the swordsman demonstrating to us the finer technique that we as his pupils must learn in order to better our skill of the longsword.
He is often illustrated as a bearded man wearing a crown, and there has been some recent speculation that the scolaro shown in the treatises was in fact a depiction of Fiore de'i Liberi himself.
In HEMA groups, the title of "scolaro" is often given to common-level teachers, or instruttore.