The known

history of fencing The oldest surviving manual on western swordsmanship dates back to the 14th century, although historical references date fencing schools back to the 12th century. Modern fencing originated in the 18th century in the Italian school of fencing of t ...

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 ...

begins in the 16th century, with the adoption of Italian styles of fencing. There are medieval predecessors, such as the Burgundian '' Le jeu de la hache'' ("The Play of the Axe") of ca. 1400, but the history of the classical French school begins with the foundation of the ''Académie des Maistres en faits d’armes de l’Académie du Roy'' (also known as the ''École française d’Escrime'') by

Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II in 1560, and as such was the penultimate monarch of the ...

in December 1567. One master produced by this school was Henry de Saint-Didier, author of a 1573

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...

titled ''Traicté contenant les secrets du premier livre'' (Treatise containing the secrets of the first book on the single sword), dedicated to Charles IX.

Rapier A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Impor ...

treatises are known from the early seventeenth century, such as

François Dancie François Dancie was a French fencing instructor who wrote two treaties in the seventeenth century. He was a gentleman of Limousin in central France. He may be François Dancie of Nonards, recorded as marrying Jeanne de Linnars, daughter of Jacques ...

's ''Discours des armes et methode pour bien tirer de l'espée et poignard'' (c.1610) and ''L'espée de combat'' (1623) and

André Desbordes André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...

' ''Discours de la théorie et de la pratique de l'excellence des armes'' (1610), with both authors citing the Italian origins of their systems. Earlier, in 1597, the great traveller Seigneur de Villamont translated

Girolamo Cavalcabo Girolamo Cavalcabo (known in France as 'Hieronyme' or 'Hieronymus') was a Bolognese fencing master, teaching in Rome and later Paris in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Egerton Castle suggests that his father was Zacharia Cavalc ...

of Bologna’s treatise into French, along with a shorter piece by Paternostrier of Rome. Pariser

Fencing in France was developed into a sport during the 17th century, with codification of rules and terminology and a system of teaching. Cesar Cavalcabo from Italy and son of Italian fencing master Hieronymus was invited to teach the great fencing tradition of Bologna to the future Louis XIII, and has influenced the development of French swordplay in the early seventeenth century. Also, the art of fencing in France was taught by local masters such as Le Perche du Coudray (1635, 1676, teacher of

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

Besnard Besnard is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Armand Besnard *Charlotte Besnard (1854 –1931), born Charlotte Dubray, a French sculptor *David Besnard (born 1977), Australian racing driver *Florent Besnard *Lucien Besnard *Marie ...

(1653, teacher of Descartes),

Philibert de la Touche Philibert may refer to the following people: Forename * Saint Philibert, also known as Philibert of Jumièges (c. 608 – 685), French saint and abbot * Philibert de Naillac (died 1421), Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller * Philibert I, Duk ...

(1670) and L'Abbat of Toulouse (1690, 1696).L'Abbat ''The Art of Fencing'' (English translation, 1734)
/ref> The modern

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

was developed in France as a training technique in the middle of the 18th century; it provided practice of fast and elegant thrust fencing with a smaller and safer weapon than an actual dueling sword. Fencers blunted (or "foiled") its point by wrapping a foil around the blade or fastening a knob on the point (''fleuret,'' "blossom").

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

students took up that practice and developed the ''Pariser'' ("Parisian") thrusting small sword for their

academic fencing Academic fencing (german: link=no, akademisches Fechten) or is the traditional kind of fencing practiced by some student corporations () in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Latvia, Estonia, and, to a minor extent, in Belgium, Lithuania, and Pol ...

bouts. By the 18th century, the French school had become the western European standard to the extent, that

Domenico Angelo Domenico Angelo (1717 Leghorn, Italy – 1802, Twickenham, England), was an Italian sword and fencing master, also known as Angelo Domenico Malevolti Tremamondo. The son of a merchant, he was the founder of the Angelo Family of fencers. He has ...

, an Italian-born master teaching in England, published his ''L'école des Armes'' in French in 1763. It was extremely successful and became a standard fencing manual over the following 50 years, throughout the Napoleonic period. Angelo's text was so influential that it was chosen to be included under the heading of "Éscrime" in

Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominen ...

's ''

Encyclopédie ''Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (English: ''Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts''), better known as ''Encyclopédie'', was a general encyclopedia publis ...

''. The emergence of classical sports fencing in the 19th century was a direct continuation of the French tradition.

Bibliography

*Hieronymus Calvacabo of Bologna and Patenostrier of Rome, ''Treatise or Instruction for Fencing'', trans. Rob Runacres, Lulu.com (2015), *Francois Dancie, ''The Sword of Combat or The Use of Fighting With Weapons'', trans. Rob Runacres and Thibault Ghesquiere, Lulu.com (2014), . *Sainct Didier, '' La Bibliothèque de feu Edouard Rahir'', Paris, 1931, n° 662; facsimile reprint, Paris, 1907. *Pedro De Heredia (translated by Rob Runacres). Book of Lessons. Fallen Rook, 2017. *Domenico Angelo, '' The School of Fencing: With a General Explanation of the Principal Attitudes and Positions Peculiar to the Art'', eds. Jared Kirby and Jak P. Mallmann Showell, Greenhill Books (2005), . * Pascal Brioist, Hervé Drévillon, Pierre Serna, ''Croiser le fer: violence et culture de l'épée dans la France moderne, XVIe-XVIIIe siècle'', Editions Champ Vallon, 2002, .

References

External links

Translation of André Desbordes treatise of 1653 by Rob RunacresTranslation of Charles Besnard's treatise of 1653 by Rob RunacresTranslation of François Dancie’s manuscript of c.1610 by Rob RunacresOnline edition of Sainct Didier's treatiseTranslation into English of Sainct Didier's treatise
{{HEMA Historical European martial arts Historical fencing Swordsmanship

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 ...

Bibliography

See also

References

External links