Swashbuckler
Overview
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
smen ever since. A possible explanation for this term is that it derives from a fighting style using a side-sword
Side-sword
The spada da lato or "side-sword" is the Italian term for the type of sword popular during the late 16th century, corresponding to the Spanish espada ropera....
with a buckler
Buckler
A buckler is a small shield, 15 to 45 cm in diameter, gripped in the fist; it was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat during the Medieval and Renaissance, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons but useful in deflecting the blow of...
in the off-hand, which was applied with much "swashing and making a noise on the buckler". Later the name "swashbuckler" (like Gunslinger
Gunslinger
Gunfighter, also gunslinger , is a 20th century word, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun...
) became common for an archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
and the accordant special film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
.
The word "swashbuckler", generally describes a protagonist who is heroic and idealistic to the bone and who rescues damsels in distress.
