Swordsmanship
Encyclopedia
Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in the art of the sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword. The formation of the English word "swordsman" is parallel to the Latin word gladiator
, a term for the professional fighters who fought against each other and a variety of other foes for the entertainment of spectators in the Roman Empire. The word gladiator itself comes from the Latin word gladius
, meaning "sword".
In Chinese culture the double-edged sword also known as jian
is considered a master's weapon or a gentlemen's weapon, both from the considerable skill required to fight with this weapon and from the fact that commanders of armies favored the jian in order to move easily amongst the troops.
Whilst many martial arts
in China include training with both the dual-edged sword, or jian
, and the single-bladed sword, or dao
, (as well as many variant weapons), no well known Chinese martial art trains exclusively with the sword.
The sword has long held a significance in Japanese culture from the reverence and care that the samurai
placed in their weapons.
Kenjutsu
is the term used for sword arts in Japan.
Kendo
, a swordsmanship-based sport art, and Iaido
, the way of drawing the sword and re-sheathing it, as well as cutting an opponent with it, are of note here. Many schools also focus almost exclusively on swordsmanship which grew from the noble families' patronage of certain teachers. Some koryu
, or ancient, schools still exist along with some more modern schools.
's centralised government and the need to fend off frequent foreign invasions were conducive to the development of swordsmanship as a standardised military discipline. Along with other martial systems, forms of swordsmanship were formalised in the military manual Muyejebo
(1610) based on Qi Jiguang
's Ji Xiao Xin Shu
, and in the revisions, Muyesinbo
(1759) and Muyedobotongji
(1790). Muyedobotongji also describes standard lengths and weights of the swords used; while not exclusive to swordsmanship, 8 of the 23 chapters are devoted to it, reflecting the needs the era when the guns have not yet matured enough for short-range combat.
Swordsmanship was a subject of the examinations prerequisite to holding a military commission, and the Hangul
version publication of Muyedobotongji suggests that the book was used to train lower rank personnel illiterate in Hanja
. This practice continued until the Imo Mutiny
of 1882 that lead to the abolishment of the five old legions in Seoul, although it is uncertain whether the same also took place in the provinces.
One school claimed to continue the tradition is Shippalgi
, whose founder, Kim Gwangseok (b. 1936), studied under Yun Myeongdeok, an officer of the old army. Others, including Muye24gi and Gyeongdang, reconstruct the techniques of Muyedobotongji.
Most other Korean swordsmanship schools either have foreign origins (e.g. Kumdo
) or were privately developed after 1970s and lack a literary tradition (e.g. Haidong Gumdo
).
Rome provides the foundation for the widespread use of the sword as a weapon in its own right in the West. The Roman legionaries
and other forces of the Roman military used the gladius
as a short thrusting sword effectively with the scutum
, a type of shield
, in battle. Gladiator
s used a shorter gladius than the military. The spatha
was a longer double-edged sword initially used only by Roman Cavalry units; however by the 2nd century A.D. the spatha was used throughout much of the Roman Empire
's legionary force.
Imperial Roman soldiers were heavily trained and prided themselves on discipline. This probably carried over to their training with weaponry, but we have no Roman manuals of swordsmanship. One translation of Juvenal's poetry by Barten Holyday
in 1661 makes note that the Roman trainees learned to fight with the wooden waster
s before moving on to the use of sharpened steel. In fact, it is also found that Roman gladiators trained with a wooden sword, which was weighted with lead, against a straw man or a wooden pole known as a palus (an early relative of the later wooden pell). This training would have provided the Roman soldier with a good training in swordsmanship, to be improved upon from practical experience or further advanced training.
). What little has been found, however, shows the use of the sword was limited during the Viking age, especially among the Vikings themselves and other northern Germanic tribes. Here, the spear, axe and shield were prominent weapons, with only wealthy individuals owning swords. These weapons, based on the Roman spatha, were made very well. The technique of pattern welding
of composite metals provided some of these northern weapons superior properties in strength and resilience to the iron
gladius of early Rome.
As time passed, the spatha evolved into the arming sword
, a weapon with a notable cruciform hilt
common among knight
s in the Medieval Age. Some time after this evolution, the earliest known treatises (Fechtbücher
) were written, dealing primarily with arming sword and buckler
combat. Among these examples is the I.33
, the earliest known Fechtbuch. The German school of swordsmanship
can trace itself most closely to Johannes Liechtenauer and his students, who later became the German masters of the 15th century, including Sigmund Ringeck
, Hans Talhoffer
, Peter von Danzig and Paulus Kal
. It is possible that the Italian fencing treatise Flos Duellatorum, written by the Italian swordmaster Fiore dei Liberi
around 1410, has ties to the German school. During this period of time, the longsword
grew out of the arming sword, eventually resulting in a blade comfortably wielded in both hands at once. Armour technology also evolved, leading to the advent of plate armour
, and thus swordsmanship was further pressed to meet the demands of killing a very well protected enemy.
For much of the early medieval period, the sword continued to remain a symbol of status. During later years, production techniques became more efficient, and so, while the sword remained a privilege, it was not so heavily confined to only the richest individuals, but rather to the richest classes.
The German school of swordsmanship, in general, faced a decline during the Renaissance as the Italian and Spanish schools, which tilted more toward the rapier
and civilian duel
ing, took the forefront. The compendium compiled by Paulus Hector Mair
in the 1540s looks back to the preceding century of work and attempts to reconstruct and preserve a failing art. The treatise by Joachim Meyer
, dating to the 1570s and notable for its scientific and complete approach to the style (it is suggested that Meyer's students came to him with less military knowledge and therefore required more basic instruction), is the last major account of the German school, and its context is now almost entirely sportive.
The use of the longsword continued to decline throughout the Renaissance period, marked by the increased effectiveness of the arquebus
(a firearm) and the use of pike square
s as a powerful implement of battle. During this time, civilian swords evolved to side-sword
s, also known as "cut and thrust" swords, and progressed towards the thicker, tapering sword that eventually became the 17th century rapier
. This new weapon was popular for both protection on the street and as a tool in the duel
, but found little success on the battlefield. The Italian, French, and Spanish schools embraced this change in civilian armament and developed systems of rapier
fencing. The German school, however, provides little on this weapon and ceases its prevalence thereafter.
became the last prominent battlefield sword. The backsword was not a new invention, but managed to outlast other forms of war swords, and was last used primarily by cavalry
units and officers. The power, accuracy, and reliability of firearms continued to improve, however, and soon swords had little place on the battlefield aside from ceremonial purposes. The preferred civilian dueling weapon shifted from the rapier to the faster but shorter smallsword, and eventually shifted totally away from swords to the pistol
, following developments in firearm technology. The civilian affair of dueling was banned in most areas, but persisted to some degree regardless of law until well into the 19th century.
's fencing academy in England established the essential rules of posture and footwork that still govern modern sport fencing, although his attacking and parrying methods were still much different from current practice. Angelo intended to prepare his students for real combat, and did not use masks, but he was the most prominent fencing master yet to emphasize the health and sporting benefits of fencing more than its use as a killing art, particularly in his influential book The School of Fencing. As fencing progressed, the combat aspect slowly faded until only the rules of the sport remained. While the fencing taught in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was intended to serve both for competition and the duel (while understanding the differences between the two situations), the type of fencing taught in a modern sport fencing salle is intended only to train the student to compete in the most effective manner within the rules of the sport. As this evolution has continued, the training and techniques have become increasingly further removed from their martial roots. One driving force behind this evolution is sport fencing's award of a point to the fencer who scores the first touch with right of way; this encourages the competitors to use scoring techniques that result in a first touch in a sporting encounter but would leave them defenseless against a counterthrust, even from a mortally wounded opponent, in a duel with lethal weapons. The development of the first touch rule itself was, in turn, driven by the increasing tendency of duels to be fought to first blood rather than the death, with the result that training for a first touch could result in victory in a duel as well as a sporting encounter, even without killing or disabling the opponent.
community, interested in the later rapier and smallsword swordplay, finds its beginnings during this time period. These individuals focus their efforts on the martial systems of combat and dueling developed for these earlier weapons and attempt to practice as accurately as possible, preferring replica or antique blades to modern sport fencing weapons. While interest dwindled in the middle 20th century, it revived in the early 21st century
Amberger, J. Christoph. The Secret History of the Sword: Adventures in Ancient Martial Arts (1999).
Meyer, Joachim. Untitled Fechtbuch (1570).
Angelo, Domenico. The School of Fencing (1763).
Angelo, Henry. Hungarian & Highland Broadsword (1799).
Alfred Hutton. Cold Steel: A Practical Treatise on the Sabre (1889). Old Sword-play: The System of Fence(1892).
Burton, Sir Richard Francis. The Sentiment of the Sword: A Country-House Dialogue(1911). A New System of Sword Exercise for Infantry (1923).
East Asian swordsmanship
Miyamoto Musashi. The Book of Five Rings (1645).
Yagyu Munenori. Heiho Kaden Sho (1632).
Yi Deok-mu, Pak Je-ga. Muyedobotongji
(1790).
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
, a term for the professional fighters who fought against each other and a variety of other foes for the entertainment of spectators in the Roman Empire. The word gladiator itself comes from the Latin word gladius
Gladius
Gladius was the Latin word for sword, and is used to represent the primary sword of Ancient Roman soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early...
, meaning "sword".
Chinese
In Chinese culture the double-edged sword also known as jian
Jian
The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BCE during the Spring and Autumn Period; one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian.Historical one-handed versions have blades...
is considered a master's weapon or a gentlemen's weapon, both from the considerable skill required to fight with this weapon and from the fact that commanders of armies favored the jian in order to move easily amongst the troops.
Whilst many martial arts
Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...
in China include training with both the dual-edged sword, or jian
Jian
The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BCE during the Spring and Autumn Period; one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian.Historical one-handed versions have blades...
, and the single-bladed sword, or dao
Dao (sword)
Daois a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping , often called a broadsword in English translation because some varieties have wide blades. In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the gun , qiang , and the jian , and referred...
, (as well as many variant weapons), no well known Chinese martial art trains exclusively with the sword.
Japanese
The sword has long held a significance in Japanese culture from the reverence and care that the samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
placed in their weapons.
Kenjutsu
Kenjutsu
, meaning "the method, or technique, of the sword." This is opposed to kendo, which means the way of the sword. Kenjutsu is the umbrella term for all traditional schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration...
is the term used for sword arts in Japan.
Kendo
Kendo
, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...
, a swordsmanship-based sport art, and Iaido
Iaido
is a modern Japanese martial art associated with the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard, striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard...
, the way of drawing the sword and re-sheathing it, as well as cutting an opponent with it, are of note here. Many schools also focus almost exclusively on swordsmanship which grew from the noble families' patronage of certain teachers. Some koryu
Koryu
is a Japanese word that is used in association with the ancient Japanese martial arts. This word literally translates as "old school" or "traditional school"...
, or ancient, schools still exist along with some more modern schools.
Korean
JoseonJoseon
Joseon, Chosŏn, Choseon or Chosun are English spellings of the Korean *word for "Korea". It may refer to:*Korea*Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, from 2333 BC to 108 BC.*Joseon Dynasty of Korea, from AD 1392 to 1910....
's centralised government and the need to fend off frequent foreign invasions were conducive to the development of swordsmanship as a standardised military discipline. Along with other martial systems, forms of swordsmanship were formalised in the military manual Muyejebo
Muyejebo
The Muyejebo is a Korean martial art manual written during the reign of King Seonjo in 1598.-History:As the Imjin war dragged on for years, Korea needed a way to effectively train a large number of troops, and the Korean military adopted a training methodology based on a Chinese military manual...
(1610) based on Qi Jiguang
Qi Jiguang
Qi Jiguang was a Chinese military general and national hero during the Ming Dynasty. He was best remembered for his courage and leadership in the fight against Japanese pirates along the east coast of China, as well as his reinforcement work on the Great Wall of China.-Early life:Qi Jiguang was...
's Ji Xiao Xin Shu
Ji Xiao Xin Shu
The book Ji Xiao Xin Shu was written by the Chinese general Qi Jiguang of the Ming Dynasty. The title can be translated as New Book Recording Effective Techniques....
, and in the revisions, Muyesinbo
Muyesinbo
The Muyesinbo is Korean martial arts manual published in 1759. The book is a revision of the older Muyejebo and adds twelve methods of both armed and unarmed fighting to the original six which were descbribed in the Muyejebo...
(1759) and Muyedobotongji
Muyedobotongji
In 1790, King Jeongjo of Korea commissioned a book called the Muyedobotongji which was an illustrated manual of Korean martial arts. This book, written by Yi Deokmu and Pak Jega , described in detail Korea's martial arts of which an unarmed combat style of kicking and punching is extensively...
(1790). Muyedobotongji also describes standard lengths and weights of the swords used; while not exclusive to swordsmanship, 8 of the 23 chapters are devoted to it, reflecting the needs the era when the guns have not yet matured enough for short-range combat.
Swordsmanship was a subject of the examinations prerequisite to holding a military commission, and the Hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
version publication of Muyedobotongji suggests that the book was used to train lower rank personnel illiterate in Hanja
Hanja
Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...
. This practice continued until the Imo Mutiny
Imo Incident
The Imo Incident, also known as Imo mutiny, was a military revolt of some units of the Korean military in Incheon on July 23, 1882.-Background:A variety of causes for this brief disturbance have been put forward...
of 1882 that lead to the abolishment of the five old legions in Seoul, although it is uncertain whether the same also took place in the provinces.
One school claimed to continue the tradition is Shippalgi
Shippalgi
Shippalgi is a kind of Korean martial arts, a system of eighteen traditional martial practices followed in Korea since 1759...
, whose founder, Kim Gwangseok (b. 1936), studied under Yun Myeongdeok, an officer of the old army. Others, including Muye24gi and Gyeongdang, reconstruct the techniques of Muyedobotongji.
Most other Korean swordsmanship schools either have foreign origins (e.g. Kumdo
Kumdo
Kumdo is a modern martial art descended from kendo, which is practiced in Korea. It is also romanized as kǒmdo, gumdo, or geomdo. The name means "the way of the sword," and is a cognate with the Japanese term. Kumdo is a martial art that has become engrained within Korean culture and society since...
) or were privately developed after 1970s and lack a literary tradition (e.g. Haidong Gumdo
Haidong Gumdo
Haedong Kumdo, also spelled Haidong Gumdo, is a name coined around 1982 and used for several Korean martial arts organizations that use swords. Spelling varies between certain organizations...
).
Antiquity
Legionary
The Roman legionary was a professional soldier of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Legionaries had to be Roman citizens under the age of 45. They enlisted in a legion for twenty-five years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for a campaign...
and other forces of the Roman military used the gladius
Gladius
Gladius was the Latin word for sword, and is used to represent the primary sword of Ancient Roman soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early...
as a short thrusting sword effectively with the scutum
Scutum (shield)
Scutum is the Latin word for "shield", although it has in modern times come to be specifically associated with the rectangular, semi-cylindrical body shield carried by Roman legionaries.-History:...
, a type of shield
Shield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
, in battle. Gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
s used a shorter gladius than the military. The spatha
Spatha
The spatha was a type of straight sword, measuring between , in use throughout first millennium AD Europe, and in the territory of the Roman Empire until about 600 AD. Later swords from 600 AD to 1000 AD are recognizable derivatives, though they are not spathae.The spatha was used in gladiatorial...
was a longer double-edged sword initially used only by Roman Cavalry units; however by the 2nd century A.D. the spatha was used throughout much of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
's legionary force.
Imperial Roman soldiers were heavily trained and prided themselves on discipline. This probably carried over to their training with weaponry, but we have no Roman manuals of swordsmanship. One translation of Juvenal's poetry by Barten Holyday
Barten Holyday
Barten Holyday or Holiday was a clergyman, author and poet. He earned a Doctor of Divinity degree, and entered the clergy in 1615; he was appointed archdeacon of Oxford by King Charles I in 1626. Technogamia was his only play. In 1618, the year it was produced, Holyday served as Sir Francis...
in 1661 makes note that the Roman trainees learned to fight with the wooden waster
Waster
A waster is a practice weapon, usually a sword, and usually made out of wood, though nylon wasters are also available. The use of wood or nylon instead of metal provides an economic and safe option for initial weapons training and sparring, at some loss of genuine experience...
s before moving on to the use of sharpened steel. In fact, it is also found that Roman gladiators trained with a wooden sword, which was weighted with lead, against a straw man or a wooden pole known as a palus (an early relative of the later wooden pell). This training would have provided the Roman soldier with a good training in swordsmanship, to be improved upon from practical experience or further advanced training.
Medieval
Little is known about early medieval fencing techniques save for what may be concluded from archaeological evidence and artistic depiction (see Viking Age arms and armourViking Age arms and armour
Knowledge about arms and armour of the Viking Age is based on relatively sparse archaeological finds, pictorial representation, and to some extent on the accounts in the Norse sagas and Norse laws recorded in the thirteenth century.According to custom, all free Norse men were required to own...
). What little has been found, however, shows the use of the sword was limited during the Viking age, especially among the Vikings themselves and other northern Germanic tribes. Here, the spear, axe and shield were prominent weapons, with only wealthy individuals owning swords. These weapons, based on the Roman spatha, were made very well. The technique of pattern welding
Pattern welding
Pattern welding is the practice in sword and knife making of forming a blade of several metal pieces of differing composition that are forge-welded together and twisted and manipulated to form a pattern. Often called Damascus steel, blades forged in this manner often display bands of slightly...
of composite metals provided some of these northern weapons superior properties in strength and resilience to the iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
gladius of early Rome.
Arming sword
The arming sword is the single handed cruciform sword of the High Middle Ages, in common use between ca. 1000 and 1500, possibly remaining in rare use into the 16th century...
, a weapon with a notable cruciform hilt
Hilt
The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard,grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case...
common among knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s in the Medieval Age. Some time after this evolution, the earliest known treatises (Fechtbücher
Fechtbuch
Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, detailing specific techniques of martial arts.Prose descriptions of martial arts techniques appear late within the history of literature, due to the inherent difficulties of describing a technique rather than just demonstrating...
) were written, dealing primarily with arming sword and 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...
combat. Among these examples is the I.33
I.33
Royal Armouries Ms. I.33, also known as "the Tower manuscript" because of its long stay in the Tower of London, is the usual name for the earliest known surviving European fechtbuch, although it deals only with the sword and buckler. The illuminated manuscript, of German origin, is now in the...
, the earliest known Fechtbuch. The German school of swordsmanship
German school of swordsmanship
The German school of fencing is the historical system of combat taught in the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern periods , as described in the Fechtbücher written at the time...
can trace itself most closely to Johannes Liechtenauer and his students, who later became the German masters of the 15th century, including Sigmund Ringeck
Sigmund Ringeck
Sigmund Schining ein Ringeck was a 14th or 15th century German fencing master. While the meaning of the surname "Schining" is uncertain, the suffix "ain Ringeck" may indicate that he came from the Rhineland region of south-eastern Germany...
, Hans Talhoffer
Hans Talhoffer
Hans Talhoffer was a Fechtmeister , employed as 'master of arms' to the Swabian knight Leutold von Konigsegg, a feudatory of Count Eberhardt the Bearded of Württemberg in southern Germany...
, Peter von Danzig and Paulus Kal
Paulus Kal
Paulus Kal was a 15th century German fencing master. In 1460, he wrote a combat manual describing the art of fencing .-Literature:...
. It is possible that the Italian fencing treatise Flos Duellatorum, written by the Italian swordmaster Fiore dei Liberi
Fiore dei Liberi
Fiore Furlano de Civida d'Austria delli Liberi da Premariacco was a Medieval master of arms and the earliest Italian master from whom we have an martial arts manual...
around 1410, has ties to the German school. During this period of time, the longsword
Longsword
The longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...
grew out of the arming sword, eventually resulting in a blade comfortably wielded in both hands at once. Armour technology also evolved, leading to the advent of plate armour
Plate armour
Plate armour is a historical type of personal armour made from iron or steel plates.While there are early predecessors such the Roman-era lorica segmentata, full plate armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of...
, and thus swordsmanship was further pressed to meet the demands of killing a very well protected enemy.
For much of the early medieval period, the sword continued to remain a symbol of status. During later years, production techniques became more efficient, and so, while the sword remained a privilege, it was not so heavily confined to only the richest individuals, but rather to the richest classes.
Renaissance
Rapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
and civilian duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
ing, took the forefront. The compendium compiled by Paulus Hector Mair
Paulus Hector Mair
Paulus Hector Mair was an Augsburg civil servant, and active in the martial arts of his time. He collected Fechtbücher and undertook to compile all knowledge of the art of fencing in a compendium surpassing all earlier books...
in the 1540s looks back to the preceding century of work and attempts to reconstruct and preserve a failing art. The treatise by Joachim Meyer
Joachim Meyer
Joachim Meyer was a self described Freifechter living in the then Free Imperial City of Strassburg in the 16th century and the author of a fechtbuch Gründtliche Beschreibung der kunst des Fechten first published in 1570.Meyer's book was reprinted in 1600, and may have been an...
, dating to the 1570s and notable for its scientific and complete approach to the style (it is suggested that Meyer's students came to him with less military knowledge and therefore required more basic instruction), is the last major account of the German school, and its context is now almost entirely sportive.
The use of the longsword continued to decline throughout the Renaissance period, marked by the increased effectiveness of the arquebus
Arquebus
The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
(a firearm) and the use of pike square
Pike square
The pike square was a military tactic developed by the Swiss Confederacy during the 15th century for use by its infantry.- History :The pike square was used to devastating effect at the Battle of Nancy against Charles the Bold of Burgundy in 1477, when the Swiss defeated a smaller but more...
s as a powerful implement of battle. During this time, civilian swords evolved to 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....
s, also known as "cut and thrust" swords, and progressed towards the thicker, tapering sword that eventually became the 17th century rapier
Rapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
. This new weapon was popular for both protection on the street and as a tool in the duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
, but found little success on the battlefield. The Italian, French, and Spanish schools embraced this change in civilian armament and developed systems of rapier
Rapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
fencing. The German school, however, provides little on this weapon and ceases its prevalence thereafter.
Modern
After the demise of the longsword, the backswordBacksword
A backsword is a sword with a blade on one edge, or an "edge-and-a-quarter." The back of the sword is often the thickest part of the blade and acts to support and strengthen it....
became the last prominent battlefield sword. The backsword was not a new invention, but managed to outlast other forms of war swords, and was last used primarily by cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
units and officers. The power, accuracy, and reliability of firearms continued to improve, however, and soon swords had little place on the battlefield aside from ceremonial purposes. The preferred civilian dueling weapon shifted from the rapier to the faster but shorter smallsword, and eventually shifted totally away from swords to the pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
, following developments in firearm technology. The civilian affair of dueling was banned in most areas, but persisted to some degree regardless of law until well into the 19th century.
Sport fencing
The need to train swordsmen for combat in a nonlethal manner led fencing and swordsmanship to include a sport aspect from its beginnings, from before the medieval tournament right up to the modern age. In the mid-18th century, Domenico AngeloDomenico Angelo
Domenico Angelo , fencing master, was born in Leghorn, Italy, as Angelo Domenico Malevolti Tremamondo.According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Angelo was the first to emphasize fencing as a means of developing health, poise, and grace...
's fencing academy in England established the essential rules of posture and footwork that still govern modern sport fencing, although his attacking and parrying methods were still much different from current practice. Angelo intended to prepare his students for real combat, and did not use masks, but he was the most prominent fencing master yet to emphasize the health and sporting benefits of fencing more than its use as a killing art, particularly in his influential book The School of Fencing. As fencing progressed, the combat aspect slowly faded until only the rules of the sport remained. While the fencing taught in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was intended to serve both for competition and the duel (while understanding the differences between the two situations), the type of fencing taught in a modern sport fencing salle is intended only to train the student to compete in the most effective manner within the rules of the sport. As this evolution has continued, the training and techniques have become increasingly further removed from their martial roots. One driving force behind this evolution is sport fencing's award of a point to the fencer who scores the first touch with right of way; this encourages the competitors to use scoring techniques that result in a first touch in a sporting encounter but would leave them defenseless against a counterthrust, even from a mortally wounded opponent, in a duel with lethal weapons. The development of the first touch rule itself was, in turn, driven by the increasing tendency of duels to be fought to first blood rather than the death, with the result that training for a first touch could result in victory in a duel as well as a sporting encounter, even without killing or disabling the opponent.
Historical Fencing
As early as 1880, attempts were made to recreate the older German, Italian, and Spanish schools of swordsmanship. The lineage of Masters trained to teach the arts had been left to dwindle, however. The historical European martial artsHistorical European martial arts
Historical European martial arts is a neologism describing martial arts of European origin, used particularly to refer to arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms...
community, interested in the later rapier and smallsword swordplay, finds its beginnings during this time period. These individuals focus their efforts on the martial systems of combat and dueling developed for these earlier weapons and attempt to practice as accurately as possible, preferring replica or antique blades to modern sport fencing weapons. While interest dwindled in the middle 20th century, it revived in the early 21st century
Classical Fencing
Practitioners of modern fencing who were unsatisfied with the exclusive sports emphasis that modern fencing took steps to preserve the principles of dueling and fencing as practiced in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Classical fencing uses the foil, épée, and sabre according to these older practices.Further reading
Western swordsmanshipAmberger, J. Christoph. The Secret History of the Sword: Adventures in Ancient Martial Arts (1999).
Meyer, Joachim. Untitled Fechtbuch (1570).
Angelo, Domenico. The School of Fencing (1763).
Angelo, Henry. Hungarian & Highland Broadsword (1799).
Alfred Hutton. Cold Steel: A Practical Treatise on the Sabre (1889). Old Sword-play: The System of Fence(1892).
Burton, Sir Richard Francis. The Sentiment of the Sword: A Country-House Dialogue(1911). A New System of Sword Exercise for Infantry (1923).
East Asian swordsmanship
Miyamoto Musashi. The Book of Five Rings (1645).
Yagyu Munenori. Heiho Kaden Sho (1632).
Yi Deok-mu, Pak Je-ga. Muyedobotongji
Muyedobotongji
In 1790, King Jeongjo of Korea commissioned a book called the Muyedobotongji which was an illustrated manual of Korean martial arts. This book, written by Yi Deokmu and Pak Jega , described in detail Korea's martial arts of which an unarmed combat style of kicking and punching is extensively...
(1790).