Classical history The Roman
legionaries and other forces of the
Roman military, until the 2nd century A.D., used the
gladius as a short thrusting sword effectively with the
scutum, a type of
shield, in battle. According to
Vegetius, the Romans mainly used underhanded stabs and thrusts, because one thrust into the gut would kill an enemy faster than slashes or cutting. However, some depictions of Roman soldiers show them using slashing and cuts.
Gladiators used a shorter gladius than the military. The
spatha was a longer double-edged sword initially used only by Celtic soldiers, later incorporated as auxilia into Roman Cavalry units; however by the 2nd century A.D. the spatha was used throughout much of the
Roman Empire. The Empire's legionary soldiers were heavily trained and prided themselves on their disciplinary skills. This probably carried over to their training with weaponry, no Roman manuals of swordsmanship have survived. One translation of
Juvenal's poetry by
Barten Holyday in 1661 makes note that the Roman trainees learned to fight with the wooden
wasters 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 foundation of skill, to be improved upon from practical experience or further advanced training.
Post-classical history 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 armour). 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 early Germanic
spatha, were made very well. The technique of
pattern welding of composite metals, invented in the Roman Empire around the end of the 2nd century A.D., provided some of these northern weapons superior properties in strength and resilience to the iron gladius of early Rome. manuscript, dated to ca. 1290, shows fencing with the arming sword and the
buckler. As time passed, the
spatha evolved into the
arming sword, a weapon with a notable cruciform
hilt common among
knights 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.
Modern history The military importance of swordsmanship rapidly diminished in the 16th century with the advent of
firearms. The last prominent battlefield sword to be used was the
backsword. Although it was not a new invention, it managed to outlast other forms of war swords, being used 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 20th century.
Renaissance duel of German students, around 1900, painting by
Georg Mühlberg (1863–1925) 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
dueling, 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 and the use of
pike squares as a powerful implement of battle. During this time, civilian swords evolved to
side-swords, 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.
Development into a sport 's instruction book. Angelo was instrumental in turning fencing into an athletic sport. 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. The shift towards fencing as a sport rather than as military training happened from the mid-18th century, and was led by
Domenico Angelo, who established a fencing academy, Angelo's School of Arms, in
Carlisle House,
Soho,
London in 1763. There, he taught the
aristocracy the fashionable art of swordsmanship which they had previously had to go the
continent to learn, and also set up a riding school in the former rear garden of the house. He was fencing instructor to the
Royal Family. With the help of artist Gwyn Delin, he had an instruction book published in England in 1763, which had 25 engraved plates demonstrating classic positions from the old schools of fencing. His school was run by three generations of his family and dominated the art of European fencing for almost a century. He 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. Although he intended to prepare his students for real combat, he was the first 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 ''L'École des armes
(The School of Fencing''), published in 1763. As fencing progressed, the combat aspect slowly faded until only the rules of the
sport remained. While 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.
Historical fencing 's swordsmanship show at the
Bath Club. As early as 1880, attempts were made to recreate the older German, Italian, and Spanish schools of swordsmanship. The movement was led in England by the soldier, writer, antiquarian, and swordsman,
Alfred Hutton. In 1862, he organized in his regiment stationed in
India the Cameron Fencing Club, for which he prepared his first work, a 12-page booklet entitled
Swordsmanship. After returning from India in 1865, Hutton focused on the study and revival of older fencing systems and schools. He began tutoring groups of students in the art of 'ancient swordplay' at a club attached to the London Rifle Brigade School of Arms in the 1880s. In 1889, Hutton published his most influential work
Cold Steel: A Practical Treatise on the Sabre, which presented the historical method of military sabre use on foot, combining the 18th century English
backsword with modern Italian duelling
sabre. Hutton's pioneering advocacy and practice of
historical fencing included reconstructions of the fencing systems of several historical masters including
George Silver and
Achille Marozzo. He delivered numerous practical demonstrations with his colleague
Egerton Castle of these systems during the 1890s, both in order to benefit various military charities and to encourage patronage of the contemporary methods of competitive fencing. Exhibitions were held at the
Bath Club and a fund-raising event was arranged at
Guy's Hospital. Despite this revival, the practice died out soon after the death of Hutton in 1910. Interest in the physical application of historical fencing techniques remained largely dormant during the first half of the 20th century, and only revived near the end of the 20th century.
Classical fencing Practitioners of modern fencing, who were unsatisfied with the exclusive sports emphasis that modern fencing had, 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. Fencing and sword fighting have been incorporated into films as part of cinematic action sequences. Usually choreographed, these scenes are designed for
entertainment but often demonstrate a high level of skill. Actor
Errol Flynn became known for his sword-fighting scenes, such as in
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Other examples include
The Princess Bride (1987),
Rob Roy (1995), and
Die Another Day (2002). ==Africa==