Translation: Le Perche du Coudray’s salle play

This little text (only three-and-a-half thousand words) is the source of a large amount of confusion among fencing historians. In this foreword, I wish to delve into a few of the questions that this interesting work raises; though I can offer no hard answers, I hope to contribute something to its study. The most puzzling… Continue reading Translation: Le Perche du Coudray’s salle play

Dubois on Lacaze: A new treatise on “ambidextrous fencing” in translation

The text that follows is the product of a collaboration between two largely forgotten figures in the history of historical fencing. I use this unwieldy term advisedly – while Georges Dubois (1865-1934) and Albert Lacaze (1880-1960) were masters of the fencing of their day, they also played an interesting role in reconstructing the practices of… Continue reading Dubois on Lacaze: A new treatise on “ambidextrous fencing” in translation

The Right Tool for the Job: A study of sabres for fencing and practice as detailed in historical sources

Introduction When recreating a fencing system as recorded in a historical treatise or manual, due consideration is needed when selecting the training tools used for such an undertaking. If these tools are not informed by the historic context in which a given treatise existed, the resulting practical experiment could have fundamental flaws. Compared to most… Continue reading The Right Tool for the Job: A study of sabres for fencing and practice as detailed in historical sources