Historical European martial arts - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Historical European martial arts (HEMA) is a neologism describing martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

of European origin, used particularly to refer to arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms. The term Western martial arts

Western Martial Arts

Western Martial Arts refers to formalized fighting techniques and skills of European or generally Western origin, as distinct from those originating in Asia....

(WMA) is sometimes used synonymously with HEMA.

While there is limited surviving documentation of the martial arts of Classical Antiquity

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

(such as Ancient Greek wrestling or Gladiator

Gladiator

A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...

ial combat), surviving dedicated technical treatises or combat manuals date to the Late Middle Ages

Late Middle Ages

The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....

and the Early Modern period

Early modern period

In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...

. For this reason, the focus of HEMA is de facto on the period of the half-millennium of ca. 1300 to 1800,
with a German

German school of fencing

The German school of fencing is the historical system of combat taught in the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern periods , as described in the Fechtbücher written at the time...

and an Italian school flowering in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

(14th to 16th centuries), followed by Spanish

Destreza

La Verdadera Destreza is a Spanish system of fencing. The word "destreza" literally means "skill." However, the full name is perhaps best translated as "the true art."...

, French, English and Scottish schools of fencing in the modern period (17th and 18th centuries). Arts of the 19th century such as classical fencing

Classical fencing

Classical fencing is the styles of modern fencing as they existed during the 19th and early 20th century. According to the 19th-century fencing master Louis Rondelle,...

, and even early hybrid

Hybrid martial arts

Hybrid martial arts refer to martial arts or fighting systems that incorporate techniques and theories from several particular martial arts...

styles such as Bartitsu

Bartitsu

Bartitsu is an eclectic martial art and self-defence method originally developed in England during the years 1898–1902. In 1901 it was immortalised by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories...

may also be included in the term HEMA in a wider sense, as may traditional or folkloristic styles attested in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including forms of folk wrestling

Folk wrestling

A folk wrestling style is a traditional wrestling discipline which may or may not be codified as a modern sport. Most human cultures have developed their own sort of grappling style unique from other styles practiced...

and traditional stick fighting

Stick fighting

Stick fighting is a generic term for martial arts which use simple long slender, blunt, hand-held, generally wooden 'sticks' for fighting such as a staff, cane, walking stick, baton or similar....

methods.

During the Late Middle Ages, the longsword

Longsword

The longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...

had a position of honour among these disciplines, and sometimes Historical European Swordsmanship (HES) is used to refer to swordsmanship

Swordsmanship

Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in the art of the sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword...

techniques specifically.

Modern reconstructions of some of these arts arose from the 1970s and have been practiced systematically since the 1990s.

Early history (before 1350)

There are no known manuals predating the Late Middle Ages

Late Middle Ages

(except for fragmentary instructions on Greek wrestling

Greek wrestling

Greek wrestling, also known as Ancient Greek wrestling and Pále , was the most popular organized sport in Ancient Greece. A point was scored when one player touched the ground with his back,hip,shoulder,or tapped out due to a submission-hold or was forced out of the wrestling-area...

, see P.Oxy. III 466

P.Oxy. III 466

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus III 466 is a fragmentary 2nd century Greek papyrus manuscript containing instructions for wrestling, including the description of various grips and holds, constituting the earliest European martial arts manual...

), although Ancient

Ancient literature

The history of literature begins with the history of writing, in Bronze Age Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.Writing develops out of proto-literate sign systems by the 30th century BC, although the oldest literary texts that have come down to us are several centuries younger, dating to the 27th or...

and Medieval literature

Medieval literature

Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages . The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as secular works...

(e.g. Icelandic sagas and Middle High German

Middle High German

Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...

epics) record specific martial deeds and military knowledge; in addition, historical artwork

History of art

The History of art refers to visual art which may be defined as any activity or product made by humans in a visual form for aesthetical or communicative purposes, expressing ideas, emotions or, in general, a worldview...

depicts combat and weaponry (e.g. the Bayeux tapestry

Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth—not an actual tapestry—nearly long, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings...

, the Morgan Bible

Morgan Bible

The Morgan Bible is a medieval picture bible of 44 folios. It is also called the Morgan Bible of Louis IX, the Book of Kings, the Crusader Bible, and the Maciejowski Bible...

). Some researchers have attempted to reconstruct older fighting methods such as Pankration

Pankration

Pankration was a martial art introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC and founded as a blend of boxing and wrestling but without any rules. The term comes from the Greek , literally meaning "all powers" from "all" + "strength, power". Spartans were taught to use this ancient...

and gladiatorial combat

Gladiator

by reference to these sources and practical experimentation, though such recreations necessarily remain more speculative than those based on actual instructions.

The so-called MS I.33

I.33

Royal Armouries Ms. I.33, also known as "the Tower manuscript" because of its long stay in the Tower of London, is the usual name for the earliest known surviving European fechtbuch, although it deals only with the sword and buckler. The illuminated manuscript, of German origin, is now in the...

(also known as the Walpurgis or Tower Fechtbuch), dated to between ca. 1290 (by Alphonse Lhotsky) and the early-to-mid-14th century (by R. Leng, of the University of Würzburg

University of Würzburg

The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group.-Name:...

), is the oldest surviving fechtbuch

Fechtbuch

Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, detailing specific techniques of martial arts.Prose descriptions of martial arts techniques appear late within the history of literature, due to the inherent difficulties of describing a technique rather than just demonstrating...

, teaching sword

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

and buckler

Buckler

A buckler is a small shield, 15 to 45 cm in diameter, gripped in the fist; it was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat during the Medieval and Renaissance, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons but useful in deflecting the blow of...

combat.

Late Middle Ages (1350 to 1500)

The central figure of late Medieval martial arts, at least in Germany, is Johannes Liechtenauer. Though no manuscript written by him is known to survive, his teachings were first recorded in the late 14th century MS 3227a. From the 15th century into the 17th, numerous Fechtbücher (German "fencing-books") were produced, of which some 55 are extant; a great many of these describe methods descended from Liechtenauer's.

Normally, several modes of combat were taught alongside one another, typically unarmed grappling

Grappling

Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

(Kampfringen
Kampfringen
Ringen is the German language term for grappling .In the context of the German school of historical European martial arts during the Late Middle Ages and the German Renaissance, ringen refers to unarmed combat in general, including grappling techniques used as part of swordsmanship.The German...

or abrazare), dagger

Dagger

A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...

(Degen or daga, often of the rondel

Rondel (dagger)

A rondel dagger or roundel dagger was a type of stiff-bladed dagger in Europe in the late Middle Ages , used by a variety of people from merchants to knights...

variety), long knife

Knife

A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...

(Messer
Grosses messer
Messel during the German Late Middle Ages and Renaissance was a term for the class of single-edged bladed weapons, deriving from the medieval falchion and preceding the modern sabre.Its hilt included a straight cross-guard and...

) or Dussack

Dussack

A Dussack is a type of short, single-edged sword from Central and Eastern Europe ....

, half- or quarterstaff

Quarterstaff

A quarterstaff , also short staff or simply staff is a traditional European pole weapon and a technique of stick fighting, especially as in use in England during the Early Modern period....

, pole arms

Pole weapon

A pole weapon or polearm is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is placed on the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range. Spears, glaives, poleaxes, halberds, and bardiches are all varieties of polearms...

, longsword

Longsword

(langes Schwert, spada longa, spadone), and combat in plate armour

Plate armour

Plate armour is a historical type of personal armour made from iron or steel plates.While there are early predecessors such the Roman-era lorica segmentata, full plate armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of...

(Harnischfechten or armazare), both on foot and on horseback. Some Fechtbücher have sections on dueling shields (Stechschild), special weapons used only in judicial duels.

Important 15th century German fencing masters include Sigmund Ringeck

Sigmund Ringeck

Sigmund Schining ein Ringeck was a 14th or 15th century German fencing master. While the meaning of the surname "Schining" is uncertain, the suffix "ain Ringeck" may indicate that he came from the Rhineland region of south-eastern Germany...

, Peter von Danzig, Hans Talhoffer

Hans Talhoffer

Hans Talhoffer was a Fechtmeister , employed as 'master of arms' to the Swabian knight Leutold von Konigsegg, a feudatory of Count Eberhardt the Bearded of Württemberg in southern Germany...

and Paulus Kal

Paulus Kal

Paulus Kal was a 15th century German fencing master. In 1460, he wrote a combat manual describing the art of fencing .-Literature:...

, all of whom taught the teachings of Liechtenhauer. From the late 15th century, there were "brotherhoods" of fencers (Fechtbruderschaften), most notably the Marx brothers (attested 1474) and the Federfechter

Federfechter

The Freifechter or Federfechter were a fencing guild founded around 1570 in Prague. They were known, from early in their existence, to be skilled, rivalling the Marx brothers who for the best part of a century had held a monopoly...

.

An early Burgundian French treatise is Le jeu de la hache

Le jeu de la hache

Le jeu de la hache is a French manual on combat with the poleaxe dating to ca. 1400.The manuscript measures 240mm by 160mm and consists of ten vellum leaves. The text consists of a prologue Le jeu de la hache ("play of the axe") is a French manual on combat with the poleaxe dating to ca....

("The Play of the Axe") of ca. 1400.

The earliest master to write in the Italian was Fiore dei Liberi

Fiore dei Liberi

Fiore Furlano de Civida d'Austria delli Liberi da Premariacco was a Medieval master of arms and the earliest Italian master from whom we have an martial arts manual...

, commissioned by the Marquis di Ferrara

Ferrara

Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

. Between 1407 and 1410, he documented comprehensive fighting techniques in a treatise entitled Flos Duellatorum covering grappling, dagger, arming sword, longsword, pole-weapons, armoured combat and mounted combat. The Italian school is continued by Filippo Vadi (1482–1487) and Pietro Monte

Pietro Monte

Pietro Monte was a Spanish master of arms who lived in Italy in the late 15th century. He was a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci, and is said to have taught da Vinci to play darts. Monte was versed in many fields; he was a warrior, a scholar, and a theologian who wrote numerous books,...

(1492, Latin with Italian and Spanish terms)

Three early (before Silver

George Silver

George Silver was a gentleman of England during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, who is known for his writings on fencing. He is thought to have been the eldest of four brothers , and eleventh in descent from Sir Bartholomew Silver, who was knighted by Edward II...

) natively English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

swordplay texts exist, all very obscure and of uncertain date; they are generally thought to belong to the latter half of the 15th century.

Renaissance

In the 16th century, compendia of older Fechtbücher techniques were produced, some of them printed, notably by Paulus Hector Mair

Paulus Hector Mair

Paulus Hector Mair was an Augsburg civil servant, and active in the martial arts of his time. He collected Fechtbücher and undertook to compile all knowledge of the art of fencing in a compendium surpassing all earlier books...

(in the 1540s) and by Joachim Meyer

Joachim Meyer

Joachim Meyer was a self described Freifechter living in the then Free Imperial City of Strassburg in the 16th century and the author of a fechtbuch Gründtliche Beschreibung der kunst des Fechten first published in 1570.Meyer's book was reprinted in 1600, and may have been an...

(in the 1570s).

In the 16th century German fencing had developed sportive tendencies. The treatises of Paulus Hector Mair and Joachim Meyer derived from the teachings of the earlier centuries within the Liechtenauer tradition, but with new and distinctive characteristics. The printed fechtbuch of Jacob Sutor

Jacob Sutor

Jacob Sutor was a German fencing master who published a fighting manual in 1612, called the Neues Künstliches Fechtbuch...

(1612) is one of the last in the German tradition.

In Italy, the 16th century is a period of big change. It opens with the two treatises of Bolognese masters Antonio Manciolino and Achille Marozzo

Achille Marozzo

Achille Marozzo was an Italian fencing master teaching in the Dardi or Bolognese tradition.Marozzo was probably born in Bologna. His text Opera Nova dell'Arte delle Armi was published in 1536 in Modena, dedicated to Count Rangoni, then reprinted several times all the way into the next century...

, who describe a variation of the eclectic knightly arts of the previous century. From sword and buckler to sword and dagger, sword alone to two-handed sword, from polearms to wrestling (though absent in Manciolino), early 16th century Italian fencing reflects the versatility that a martial artist of the time was supposed to achieve.

Towards the mid-century, however, polearms and companion weapons beside the dagger and the cape gradually begin to fade out of treatises. In 1553, Camillo Agrippa

Camillo Agrippa

Camillo Agrippa was a noted fencer, architect, engineer and mathematician of the Renaissance. He is considered to be one of the greatest fencing theorists of all time.-Biography:...

is the first to define the prima, seconda, terza and quarta guards (or hand-positions), which would remain the mainstay of Italian fencing into the next century and beyond. From the late 16th century, Italian rapier

Rapier

A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...

fencing attained considerable popularity all over Europe, notably with the treatise by Salvator Fabris

Salvator Fabris

Salvator Fabris was an Italian fencing master from Padua. During his life he taught in various European countries, most notably in Denmark where he was the fencing instructor of King Christian IV. It was during his time in Copenhagen that he published his treatise on rapier fencing, Lo Schermo,...

(1606).

Antonio Manciolino (1531) (Italian)
Achille Marozzo
Achille Marozzo
Achille Marozzo was an Italian fencing master teaching in the Dardi or Bolognese tradition.Marozzo was probably born in Bologna. His text Opera Nova dell'Arte delle Armi was published in 1536 in Modena, dedicated to Count Rangoni, then reprinted several times all the way into the next century...

(1536) (Italian)
Angelo Viggiani (1551) (Italian)
Camillo Agrippa
Camillo Agrippa
Camillo Agrippa was a noted fencer, architect, engineer and mathematician of the Renaissance. He is considered to be one of the greatest fencing theorists of all time.-Biography:...

(1553) (Italian)
Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza
Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza
Don Jerónimo de Carranza is commonly called the "Father of Spanish Fencing" and he wrote his text Of the Philosophy of the arms, of its art and the Christian offense and defense in 1582 under the sponsorship of Don Alonso de Guzmán El Bueno, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia.His work on Destreza, the...

(1569) (Spanish)
Giacomo Di Grassi
Giacomo di Grassi
Giacomo di Grassi was an Italian fencing master who wrote the fencing manual Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'Arme, si da offesa come da difesa in 1570. The text was later translated into English and published again in 1594, as DiGrassi, His True Arte of Defence...

(1570) (Italian)
Giovanni Dall’Agocchie (1572) (Italian)
Henry de Sainct-Didier
Henry de Sainct-Didier
The history of fencing in France begins in the 16th century, with the adoption of Italian styles of rapier fencing.There are medieval predecessors, such as the Burgundian Le jeu de la hache of ca...

(1573) (French)
Angelo Viggiani (1575) (Italian)
Frederico Ghisliero
Frederico Ghisliero
Fredrico Ghisliero was an Italian fencer and soldier who wrote his text Regole di molte cavagliereschi essercitii in 1587.-Biography:Ghisliero was from an upper class Bolognese family. He listed his profession as "soldier," not master-at-arms. He died at Turin in 1619 after a distinguished military...

(1587) (Italian)
Vincentio Saviolo
Vincentio Saviolo
Fencing master Vincentio Saviolo , though Italian born and raised, authored the first book on fencing in the English language.He arrived in London from Padua in 1590...

(1590) (Italian)

Early Modern period (1600 to 1789)

Baroque (1600-1720)

During the Baroque period, wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

fell from favour among the upper classes, being now seen as unrefined and rustic. The fencing styles practice also needed to conform with the new ideals of elegance and harmony.

This ideology was taken to great lengths in Spain in particular, where La Verdadera Destreza "the true art (of swordsmanship)" was now based on Renaissance humanism

Renaissance humanism

Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...

and scientific principles, contrasting with the traditional "vulgar" approach to fencing inherited from the medieval period. Significant masters of Destreza included Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza

Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza

Don Jerónimo de Carranza is commonly called the "Father of Spanish Fencing" and he wrote his text Of the Philosophy of the arms, of its art and the Christian offense and defense in 1582 under the sponsorship of Don Alonso de Guzmán El Bueno, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia.His work on Destreza, the...

("the father of Destreza", d. 1600) and Luis Pacheco de Narváez

Luis Pacheco de Narváez

Don Luis Pacheco de Narváez was a Spanish writer on fencing. He was don Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza's student and later published a multitude of works based on the Destreza school of fencing. Some of his works were compendiums of Carranza's work while others were less derivative.He may be the...

(1600, 1632). Girard Thibault (1630) was a Dutch master influenced by these ideals.

The French school of fencing also moves away from its Italian roots, developing its own terminology, rules and systems of teaching. French masters of the Baroque period include Le Perche du Coudray (1635, 1676, teacher of Cyrano de Bergerac

Cyrano de Bergerac

Hercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French dramatist and duelist. He is now best remembered for the works of fiction which have been woven, often very loosely, around his life story, most notably the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand...

), Besnard (1653, teacher of Descartes) and Philibert de la Touche (1670).

In Italy, 17th century swordsmanship is dominated by Salvator Fabris

Salvator Fabris

, whose De lo schermo overo scienza d’arme of 1606 exerted great influence not only in Italy but also in Germany, where it all but extinguished the native German traditions of fencing. Fabris was followed by Italian masters such as Nicoletto Giganti

Nicoletto Giganti

Nicoletto Giganti was a fencing master in the city of Venice who published a rapier fencing manual in Italian in 1606, entitledThis manual was reprinted in 1608, with 3 additional reprints in both German and French between 1608 and 1619...

(1606), Ridolfo Capo Ferro

Ridolfo Capo Ferro

Ridolfo Capoferro or Capo Ferro of Cagli was a fencing master in the city of Siena best known for his rapier fencing manual published in 1610....

(1610), Francesco Alfieri

Francesco Alfieri

Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri of Padova was a 17th century master of the Italian school of swordsmanship and “Maestro D’Arme” to the Accademia Delia in Padua in 1640.-Works:Several manuals by Alfieri are known:...

(1640), Francesco Antonio Marcelli (1686) and Bondi' di Mazo (1696).

The Elizabethan

Elizabethan era

The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...

and Jacobean era

Jacobean era

The Jacobean era refers to the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of King James VI of Scotland, who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I...

s produce English fencing masters, such as George Silver

George Silver

(1599) and Joseph Swetnam

Joseph Swetnam

Joseph Swetnam was a Renaissance author and Jacobean fencing master, author of the first complete English fencing treatise.- The Pamphlet Wars :...

(1617). The English verb to fence is first attested in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor (1597).

The French school of fencing originates in the 16th century, based on the Italian school, and develops into its classic form in the Baroque period.

Rococo (1720-1789)

In the 18th century Late Baroque / Rococo

Rococo

Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...

period, the French style of fencing with the smallsword and later with the foil

Foil (fencing)

A foil is a type of weapon used in fencing. It is the most common weapon in terms of usage in competition, and is usually the choice for elementary classes for fencing in general.- Components:...

(fleuret), in origin a training weapon for smallsword fencing.

By the year 1715, the rapier had been largely replaced by the lighter smallsword throughout most of Europe, although treatments of the former continued to be included by authors such as Donald McBane (1728), P. J. F. Girard (1736) and Domenico Angelo

Domenico Angelo

Domenico Angelo , fencing master, was born in Leghorn, Italy, as Angelo Domenico Malevolti Tremamondo.According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Angelo was the first to emphasize fencing as a means of developing health, poise, and grace...

(1763).

In the course of the 18th century, the French school became the western European standard to the extent that Angelo, an Italian-born master teaching in England, published his L'Ecole 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 the Encyclopédie
Encyclopédie
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It was edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert...

of Diderot.

Development of modern sports (1789 to 1914)

In the course of the long 19th century, Western martial arts

Western Martial Arts

Western Martial Arts refers to formalized fighting techniques and skills of European or generally Western origin, as distinct from those originating in Asia....

become divided into modern sports on one hand and applications that retain military significance on the other. In the latter category are the methods of close-quarter combat with the bayonet

Bayonet

A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...

besides use of the sabre

Sabre

The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger...

and the lance

Lance

A Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...

by cavalrists

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

.

Apart from fencing with bladed weapons, European combat sports of the 19th century include boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

, numerous regional forms of folk wrestling

Folk wrestling

, and numerous styles of stick fighting

Stick fighting

Stick fighting is a generic term for martial arts which use simple long slender, blunt, hand-held, generally wooden 'sticks' for fighting such as a staff, cane, walking stick, baton or similar....

Fencing

Fencing in the 19th century transforms into a pure sport. While duel

Duel

A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...

s remain common among members of the aristocratic and officer classes, they become increasingly frowned upon in society during the course of the century, and such duels as were fought to the death were increasingly fought with pistols, not bladed weapons.

Stick fighting

Styles of stick fighting

Stick fighting

Stick fighting is a generic term for martial arts which use simple long slender, blunt, hand-held, generally wooden 'sticks' for fighting such as a staff, cane, walking stick, baton or similar....

include walking-stick fighting (including Irish bata or shillelagh

Shillelagh (club)

A shillelagh is a wooden walking stick and club or cudgel, typically made from a stout knotty stick with a large knob at the top, that is associated with Ireland and Irish folklore.- Construction :...

, French la canne and English singlestick or cane) and Bartitsu

Bartitsu

(an early hybrid of Eastern and Western schools popularized at the turn of the 20th century).

Some existing forms of European stick fighting can be traced to direct teacher-student lineages from the 19th century. Notable examples include the methods of la canne and Bâton français

Bâton français

The Bâton français, French for "French staff", also known as French stick fighting, is a European historical fencing discipline which uses a staff about 1.2 m long...

, Portuguese Jogo do Pau

Jogo do Pau

Jogo do Pau is a Portuguese martial art which developed in the northern regions of Portugal , focusing on the use of a staff of fixed measures and characteristics. The origins of this martial art are uncertain, but its purpose was primarily self-defence...

, Italian Paranza or Bastone Siciliano and some styles of Canarian Juego del Palo

Juego del Palo

Juego del Palo is a traditional martial art/folk sport of stick fighting practiced in the Canary Islands. It involves the combative use of a slender stick from long, wielded in both hands, and characterised by fluid motion in attacks and defences.-History:...

.

In the 19th century and early 20th century, the greatstick (pau/bâton/bastone) was employed by some Portuguese, French and Italian military academies as a method of exercise, recreation and as preparation for bayonet training.

Unarmed

A third category might be traditional "folk styles", mostly folk wrestling

Folk wrestling

. Greco-Roman wrestling

Greco-Roman wrestling

Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...

was a discipline at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Inclusion of Freestyle wrestling

Freestyle wrestling

Freestyle wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practised throughout the world. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic games. It is, along with track and field, one of the oldest organized sports in history...

followed in 1904.

Reconstruction

Early attempts at reconstructing the discontinued traditions of European systems of combat date to the late 19th century.
In Germany, Karl Wassmannsdorf conducted research on the German school that is still referred to today and Gustav Hergsell reprinted three of Hans Talhoffer's manuals. In France there was the work of the Academie D'Armes circa 1880-1914.
In England, Egerton Castle

Egerton Castle

Egerton Castle M.A., F.S.A. was a Victorian era author, antiquarian, and swordsman, and an early practitioner of reconstructed historical fencing, as well as the captain of the British épée and saber teams at the 1908 Olympics.He was born into a wealthy family; his maternal grandfather was the...

and Alfred Hutton

Alfred Hutton

Alfred Hutton was a Victorian officer of the King's Dragoon Guards, antiquarian and swordsman. He originated the first English revival of historical fencing, together with his colleagues Egerton Castle, Captain Carl Thimm, Colonel Cyril Matthey, Captain Percy Rolt, Captain Ernest George Stenson...

wrote pioneering books on the history of swordsmanship, and Cyril Matthey republished Silver's Paradoxes of Defence and Brief Instructions. All three took an interest in the practical side of interpretation, giving public demonstrations of reconstructed techniques. Italy had Jacopo Gelli and Francesco Novati

Francesco Novati

Francesco Novati was an Italian historian and philologist.Novati taught in the University of Palermo and Genoa, and in 1890 he became a professor of history and comparative literature at the Regia Accademia Scientifico-Letteraria of Milan. In 1883, he founded the Giornale Storico delle Letteratura...

, who published a facsimile of the "Flos Duellatorum" of Fiore dei Liberi

Fiore dei Liberi

Fiore Furlano de Civida d'Austria delli Liberi da Premariacco was a Medieval master of arms and the earliest Italian master from whom we have an martial arts manual...

, and Giuseppe Cerri, whose book on the Bastone drew inspiration from the two-handed sword of Achille Marozzo

Achille Marozzo

. Spain had Baron Leguina, whose bibliography of Spanish swordsmanship is still a standard reference today.

Throughout the 20th century a small number of researchers, principally academics with access to some of the sources, continued exploring the field of historical European martial arts from a largely academic perspective. Interest in physically interpreting the texts was largely dormant during the post-war period however due to a number of factors, including limited access to the historical texts, distance and a lack of effective communication.
In 1972, James Jackson published a book called Three Elizabethan Manuals of Fence. This work reprinted the works of George Silver

George Silver

, Giacomo di Grassi

Giacomo di Grassi

Giacomo di Grassi was an Italian fencing master who wrote the fencing manual Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l'Arme, si da offesa come da difesa in 1570. The text was later translated into English and published again in 1594, as DiGrassi, His True Arte of Defence...

, and Vincentio Saviolo

Vincentio Saviolo

Fencing master Vincentio Saviolo , though Italian born and raised, authored the first book on fencing in the English language.He arrived in London from Padua in 1590...

.
In 1975, Martin Wierschin published a transcription of Sigmund Ringeck's Fechtbuch, along with a glossary of terms and a bibliography of German fencing manuals. In turn, this led to the publication of Hans-Peter Hils' seminal work on Johannes Liechtenauer in 1985.

Beginning in the 1980s, small numbers of isolated aficionados in the United States and Europe independently began researching Historical European Martial Arts. In the 1980s and 1990s, Patri J. Pugliese

Patri J. Pugliese

Patri J. Pugliese was a historian of science, dance, and fencing, as well as a noted teacher of historical dance. He received his Ph.D in the History of Science from Harvard in 1982, but was best known for his work as a dance historian specializing in the 19th century and for his dissemination of...

began making photocopies of historical treatises available to interested parties, greatly spurring on research. 1994 saw the rise of the Hammerterz Forum, a publication devoted entirely to the history of swordsmanship.
During the late 1990s, translations and interpretations of historical sources began appearing in print as well as online

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

.

Since the early 2000s, there have been flourishing Historical European Martial Arts communities in Europe, North America and the wider Anglosphere

Anglosphere

Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...

.
Since 1999 a number of these groups have held the Western Martial arts Workshop (WMAW) in the United States. In 2000 The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts

Association for Renaissance Martial Arts

Association for Renaissance Martial Arts is an international educational non-profit organization dedicated to the study and practice of historical European martial arts of the 15th to 17th centuries...

(ARMA) held the Inaugural Swordplay Symposium International conference and since 2003 have has held the ARMA International Gathering every two to three years.
The Fiore-oriented Schola Saint George has hosted a Medieval Swordsmanship Symposium annually in the United States since 2003. Internationally, the Schola Saint George also has branches in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, and Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

.
The Higgins Armory Museum

Higgins Armory Museum

Higgins Armory Museum, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, housed in a steel Art Deco Building, is one of the few museums in the Western Hemisphere devoted to arms and armour. The museum is a public, non-profit museum specializing in the history of arms and armor...

is a major center of research and teaching in HEMA.

In 2001 the Historical European Martial arts Coalition (HEMAC) was created to act as an umbrella organization for groups in Europe. Since 2002, HEMAC has organized the annual International Historical European Martial arts Gathering in Dijon

Dijon

Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.
In 2003, the Australian Historical Swordplay Federation became the umbrella organization for groups in Australia, and an annual Australian Historical Swordplay Convention has been hosted and attended by diverse Australian groups since 1999.
The HEMA Alliance

HEMA Alliance

The HEMA Alliance is a martial arts federation dedicated to the study of Historical European Martial Arts. It is organized as a United States nonprofit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Utah....

is a martial arts federation containing dozens of HEMA schools and clubs from around the world, providing insurance and research accreditation to its members.

Literature

Anglo, Sydney. The Martial arts of Renaissance Europe. Yale University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-300-08352-1
Terry Brown, English Martial arts (1997) Anglo-Saxon Books, ISBN 1-898281-29-7
John Clements, Medieval Swordsmanship: Illustrated Methods and Techniques. Paladin Press, 1998). ISBN 1-58160-004-6
John Clements, Renaissance Swordsmanship : The Illustrated Book Of Rapiers And Cut And Thrust Swords And Their Use. Paladin Press, 1997. ISBN 0-87364-919-2
John Clements, et al. Masters of Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts: Rediscovering The Western Combat Heritage. Paladin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58160-668-3
Gaugler, William. The History of Fencing : Foundations of Modern European Fencing. Laureate Press, 1997. ISBN 1-884528-16-3
Hans Heim & Alex Kiermayer, The Longsword of Johannes Liechtenauer, Part I (DVD), ISBN 1-891448-20-X
Tommaso Leoni, The Art of Dueling (2005), ISBN 1-891448-23-4
Tom Leoni, Venetian Rapier (2010) ISBN 978-0-9825911-2-3
Tom Leoni, The Complete Renaissance Swordsman (2010) ISBN 978-0-9825911-3-0
David James Knight and Brian Hunt, Polearms of Paulus Hector Mair, Paladin Press (2008), ISBN 978-1-58160-644-7.
David Lindholm & Peter Svärd, Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of the Longsword, Paladin Press (2003), ISBN 1-58160-410-6
David Lindholm & Peter Svärd. Knightly Arts of Combat - Sigmund Ringeck's Sword and Buckler Fighting, Wrestling, and Fighting in Armor. Paladin Press, 2006. ISBN 1-58160-499-8
David Lindholm, Fighting with the Quarterstaff, (2006), ISBN 1-891448-36-6
Brian R. Price
Brian R. Price
Brian R. Price is an American author, editor, publisher, martial arts instructor of the Italian school of swordsmanship, reconstructive armorer, and member of the Society for Creative Anachronism...

, ed. Teaching & Interpreting Historical Swordsmanship (2005), ISBN 1-891448-46-3
Christopher Thompson, Lannaireachd: Gaelic Swordsmanship (2001), ISBN 1-59109-236-1
Christian Henry Tobler, Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship (2001), ISBN 1-891448-07-2
Christian Henry Tobler, Fighting with the German Longsword (2004), ISBN 1-891448-24-2
Jason Vail, Medieval and Renaissance Dagger Combat (2006) Paladin Press
Guy Windsor, The Swordsman's Companion: A Modern Training Manual for Medieval Longsword (2004), ISBN 1-891448-41-2
Grzegorz Zabinski and Bartlomiej Walczak. The Codex Wallerstein : A Medieval Fighting Book from the Fifteenth Century on the Longsword, Falchion, Dagger, and Wrestling. Paladin Press, 2002. ISBN 1-58160-339-8

External links

A Chronological History of the Martial arts and Combative Sports 1350–1699 by Joseph R. Svinth
Australian Historical Swordplay Federation
FISAS The Italian Federation for Ancient and Historical Fencing
Macdonald Academy of Arms The academy of traditional fencing founded by Maestro Paul Macdonald in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The Academy of European Swordsmanship International non-profit organization dedicated to research and furthering and promoting Western Martial Arts.
Sala d'Arme Achille Marozzo
Scrimipedia: italian wiki site about ancient fencing
The Association for Historical Fencing International Educational Non-Profit association, created in the U.S. for the purpose of promoting historical and classical fencing.
The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts A world-wide coalition of study groups and researchers.
The Company of Maisters A research group specializing in historic English martial arts.
The British Federation for Historical Swordplay British coalition of clubs and researchers.
The HEMA Alliance A non-profit martial arts federation comprising Historical European Martial Arts schools and groups from around the world.
The Higgins Armory Museum Arms and Armor collection and HEMAC research and teaching in Worcester, MA.
The Historical European Martial arts Coalition A Europe-wide coalition of clubs and researchers.
The Hotspur School of Defence The Hotspur School of Defence, based in Northumberland, England.
The Journal Of Western Martial arts
The Martinez Academy of Arms The academy of traditional fencing founded by Maestro Ramón Martínez in New York City.
The Raymond J. Lord Collection of Historical Combat Treatises
The Swordplay Symposium 2000 Conference Archives
The Wiktenauer A comprehensive Wiki site dedicated to the masters, manuals, and techniques of HEMA. Maintained by the HEMA Alliance.
Western Martial Arts Illustrated A magazine about HEMA and related arts
Western Martial arts Workshop (WMAW)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Early history (before 1350)

Late Middle Ages (1350 to 1500)

Renaissance

Early Modern period (1600 to 1789)

Baroque (1600-1720)

Rococo (1720-1789)

Development of modern sports (1789 to 1914)

Fencing

Stick fighting

Unarmed

Reconstruction

Literature

See also

External links