Category Archives: Historic Text

The Bodleian Libraries Have a New Copy of Hope

Posted on July 31, 2021 by S
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Danet’s Art of Arms

Posted on May 15, 2021 by S

Phil Crawley, Provost with the Black Boar Swordsmanship School and administrator with the Smallsword Symposium, has released a new English translation of Danet’s 1766 treatise, the Art of Arms (vol I). Crawley’s translation is dedicated to memory of Victor Markland … Continue reading →

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The Epic Study & Interpretation of the 1805 Manuel de Brea’s Destreza-Fencing Treatise

Posted on April 18, 2021 by S

André Hajjar Sesé has released his English interpretation of de Brea’s 1805 destreza manual, Principios Universales Y Reglas De La Verdadera Destreza Del Espadin… on his blog, Destreza Nova. La Verdadera Destreza refers to the Spanish school, a school of … Continue reading →

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Plate from Liancour, 1686, pg 25

Posted on February 25, 2018 by S

Examine Liancour’s 1685 manuscript by downloading a pdf (in French) on our Study Page.

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McArthur’s 1780 Manuscript Transcribed

Posted on February 21, 2018 by S

Jamson and Crawley have teamed up to transcribe and digitally present a legible edition to McArthur’s 1780 smallsword manual.  Crawley states, “McArthur is the most accessible smallsword treatise for starting out yet the least available” so he and Jamson have … Continue reading →

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Angelo’s Plates I-XV from Escrime in the Encyclopédie, 1765

Posted on February 17, 2018 by S

Domenico Angelo rocked the fencing world.  He was an Italian trained in France, appointed as Royal Fencing Instructor by George II where trained the future King, George III, in escrime.  In 1763, working with artist Gwyn Delin, he published L’Ecole … Continue reading →

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The Duke of Wellington on the Supremacy of the Smallsword

Posted on October 30, 2016 by S

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, is regarded as one of the great military leaders of the 19th Century.  Having served in Belgium and India, he rose to the rank of Major-General and was then appointed Field Marshal … Continue reading →

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Hope’s Fundamentals and Rules

Posted on October 18, 2016 by S

Sir William Hope (1660-1724) was trained in the French school of the smallsword but came to conclude it lacking. Sir William went on to devise an approach to the smallsword that incorporated the techniques established in the English backsword tradition … Continue reading →

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Blackwell’s Disarm in Tierce

Posted on October 7, 2016 by S

Study everything Blackwell had to say in his 1702 publication by following the link below at the SmallswordProject.com Blackwell, H. (1702). The English fencing-master. London: Printed by J. Downing in Bartholomew-Close, for the author. [English]

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New de La Touche Translation Forthcoming

Posted on October 17, 2015 by S

Reinier van Noort has just announced a forthcoming translation of de La Touche’s seminal work, The True Art of the Single Sword (1670). Combined with plates reworked by Todd Glenn, this translation should be of great interest to enthusiasts of the … Continue reading →

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