A brief history of the development of swordplay
...f the blade. Romans adapted to Celtic swordplay, learning how to block the enemy’s sword with their shield, in such a manner as to bend the weak Celtic blade (Cohen 9-10). After the fall of the Roman Empire, small groups of people banded together, and no real power controlled Europe. Each group of people owned some land called a fief. The fief was protected by a knight. Knights had a certain code to follow, supporting the idea of chivalry found in the epic poetry of the time In turn for the knight’s protection, the peasants who worked the land had a duty to provide food for the knight. (Cohen 12-13). Dimeff 3 From the twelfth through the fourteenth century, many spectators enjoyed watching jousting events. Tournaments—which also included swordplay and other forms of martial arts—began essentially as deadly and chaotic battles. Gradually, rules and regulations transformed jousting into sport. Although jousting was still very dangerous, deaths were accidental and far less common (Cohen 13-17). Gunpowder made its first significant appearance in European warfare at the Battle of Crecy in 1346, during the Hundred Years’ War. However, until the 1600s, the longbow was more accurate and effective than anything powered by gun powder. Eventually, muskets made even the thickest armor useless. The first step to the modern artful style of fencing was knights losing their armor (Cohen 20-21). Medieval swordplay often favored strength over skill, because knights mainly used swords to bash the opponent’s thick armor (Evangelista 14). Once insignificant foot soldiers now held the upper hand in combat. They were more experienced in fighting without armor (as they never could afford any) than knights were. Early fencing schools taught swordplay with wrestling and punching, attracting the lower class and criminals. Fourteenth century Germans formed the Marxbruder, the first organized fencing school. After the formation of the Marxbruder, new schools began to pop up across Europe, some times disagreeing about fencing techniques(Evangelista 16-17). In sixteenth century Italy, masters had already founded the basics of fencing. Italian works of this period explained attacks, counterattacks, and parries (Gaugler 1). One important figure of the 1500s was Achille Marozzo, who wrote the first book that Dimeff 4 began to establish fencing as an art and science (Evangelista 17). Achille Marozzo of Bologna was, as the world knows, the most excellent master of this noble art, and after having produced an infinite number of valorous disciples left for the benefit of all the present publication, a work truly indicative of his great genius. (Gaugler 1) Achille Marozzo explained his theories of swordplay in Opera Nova, published in 1536. Marozzo had 15 basic movements—cuts and thrusts- that he believed made up every action. Marozzo also believed in drills and practice bouts between students of different levels (Gaugler 2). Another significant master of the 1500s was Camillo Agrippa, who emphaisized logic in fencing. In the 17th century, Salvator Fabris combined many different styles (Evangelista 17). Fabris’ most significant work was Sienza [sic] e practica d’arme, which was first published in Germany, despite the fact that it was written in Italian, his native langauge (Gaugler 30). Ridolfo Capo Ferro, another master from the 1600s, was the first to recognize the lunge as the most effective attack (Evangelista 17-18). Rivalries of schools supporting the cut and schools supporting the thrust arose with the appearance of the rapier. The rapier had a thin blade and sharp point—it was not designed for older swordplay’s emphasis on the cut. Eventually, the rivalries died out and the rapier became the preferred weapon (Evangelista 17). When most of the masters of this age wrote books about fencing, their second volumes would mainly deal with applying ideas established in their original works to swordplay with daggers and capes (Gaugler 3). Swordsmen still used long clumsy Dimeff 5 swords in the 1500s, making a buckler, cloak, or dagger in the free hand necessary for defense (Hutton 1). After the rivalry between cut and thrust had faded away, friction between those favoring the French and those favoring the Italian styles of fencing grew. The French preference of strategy opposed the Italian focus on the physical aspect of the sport (Evangelista 19). Furthermore, during the 1600s, Italy was still using a longer heavy rapier, and France had begun to use a shorter form (Hutton 1-2) . The argument between old and new is reflected in the literature of the times. A character from Romeo and Juliet mocks an enemy, who follows the newest fashions in swordplay. He fights as you sing prick-song, keeps time, distance, and proportion; rests me his minim rest, one, two, and the third in your bosom: the very butcher of a silk button, a duellist, a duellist; a gentleman of the very first house, of the first and second cause: ah, the immortal passado! the punto reverso! The hai!(Shakespeare 91) As the rapier grew smaller and lighter, straight attacks became the only way to gain enough momentum for a good touch. Thus, linear fencing replaced the circular patterns swordsmen fought in before the eighteenth century. The use of the blunt foil, starting in the 1700s, cleaned up fencing. Masters became refined philosophers, and fencers became sons of wealthy nobility (Evangelista 19-20). The epee first appeared in the 1800s. Nineteenth century duelists fought with the epee, which does not have a restricted target area. The saber, the descendant of cavalry swords, was designed at around the same time as the epee (Evangelista 21). The scimitar, Dimeff 6 an Arabian sword, was the first form of the saber. The saber is the only Olympic sword in which the side of the blade can be used to score a touch (Evangelista 193-195). The fencing mask became popular in the late 1800s, decades after...