Who is Signoir Montanto and what is his relationship to Beatrice (Act I, scene I)?

Signior Mountanto is Benedick, and Beatrice calls him "Signior Mountanto" in Act 1, Scene 1. This would have been seen as humorous by an Elizabethan audience, as mountanto refers to "montanto," which is a term associated in fencing to an upward thrust. Beatrice is implying, therefore, that Benedick has bad fencing skills. The technique used here is a pun.