François Dancie was a French fencing instructor who wrote two treaties in the seventeenth century. He was a gentleman of Limousin in central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He may be François Dancie of Nonards, recorded as marrying Jeanne de Linnars, daughter of Jacques de Linnars, Judge of Bretenaux. Jeanne’s brother Jean was married to Marie de Maynard, daughter of Géraud de Maynard,

counsellor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dipl ...

to the

Parliament of Toulouse The Parliament of Toulouse (french: Parlement de Toulouse) was one of the ''parlements'' of the Kingdom of France, established in the city of Toulouse. It was modelled on the Parliament of Paris. It was first created in 1420, but definitely estab ...

, and also sister to the poet François de Maynard, who wrote a poem for Dancie’s publication of 1623. Dancie's first work, ''Discours des armes et methode pour bien tirer de l'espée et poignard'' (Discourse Of Arms And Method To Properly Fence With The Sword And Dagger) is a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

of two parts, written some time before 1617. The first part concentrates on the

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

and

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...

, the second on the single sword. Dancie is brief in his description of

posture Posture or posturing may refer to: Medicine * Human position ** Abnormal posturing, in neurotrauma **Spinal posture ** List of human positions * Posturography, in neurology Other uses * Posture (psychology) In humans, posture can provide a s ...

and guard, concentrating mainly on drawing the opponent into an attack as well as how to deal with overly-aggressive opponents. The second, ''L'Espee de combat'' is a fuller development of Dancie's system published in 1623. In this work, he pours criticism on those who follow the 'classic' method of

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

, such as Agrippa, yet praises teachers such as the Calvacabos of Bologna, who taught at the French Court at the time. Dancie's methodology is predominantly concerned with drawing out and countering an attack from the opponent as well as how to face down an enraged and reckless enemy. Dancie's work does not appear to have been reprinted after 1623, nor does he appear to have been referenced in any future text. rioirst P., Drevillon H. & Serna P, Croiser le fer: Violence et culture de l’épée dans la France moderne, 2002/ref>

References

External links

Translation of François Dancie’s manuscript of c.1610
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dancie, Francois Historical fencing Swordfighters Year of birth missing Year of death missing French male fencers

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Further reading

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