Muse Magazine Fight Sequences
The February 2003 issue of Muse magazine
features an article on the history of swordplay by Dr. Jeffrey L. Forgeng
(Higgins Armory Sword Guild historical advisor) and Mark Millman
(Higgins Armory Sword Guild teacher). The article is
illustrated with four representative fights dating from the 13th
to the 18th centuries.
The links below lead to pages that include technical
descriptions of each of these fights, as well as to slow-motion video
clips of
the fights.
|
|
Sword and Buckler, c.1300.
This sequence illustrates the basic attack and
defense from the earliest known European martial arts treatise,
Royal Armouries MS I.33, written in Germany during the high Middle
Ages. |
|
Unarmored
Longsword, c. 1550.
This sequence comes from the Vienna manuscript
of Paulus Hector Mair's treatise on the martial arts, which has
both a German and a Latin text. The techniques are very close to
those found in sources from the 1400s. |
|
|
Rapier and Dagger,
1606
This sequence is built from techniques in Salvator
Fabris'
rapier manual, De lo Schermo, overo Scienza d'Arme (Of Fencing, On the Science
of Arms), which was published in Italian in 1606. His principles were considered
fundamental to the rapier's use through the end of the 17th century.
|
|
|
Smallsword, 1771
This sequence is based primarily on A. Lonnergan's smallsword
manual, The Fencer's Guide, which was published in London in 1771. It is typical
of late 18th century smallsword play, which was practiced both for use in
earnest and as a sport.
|
Other links of interest to Muse readers:
Higgins Armory Sword Guild home page
-
demo photographs
and video clips of longsword, rapier, and sword and buckler fights
interpreted by Guild members
-
a discussion
of medieval German longsword techniques
Muse magazine
home page
|
