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OF 

SPORTS AND PASTIMES 

EDITED BY 

HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G. 
ASSISTED BY ALFRED E. T. WATSON 

FENCING, BOXING, WRESTLING 

PRINTED BY 

SrOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE 

BY 

WALTER H. POLLOCK, F. C. GROVE, AND 
CAMILLE PREVOST, Maitre d'Armes 

/r/77/ A COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE ART 
BY EGERTON CASTLE, M.A., F.S.A. 

BOX I NG 

E. B. MICHELL 

WALTER ARMSTRONG 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM INSTANTANEOUS PHOTOGRAPHS 

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 
^^^i^^^rfttMitftaB 

BBlOH^^p^^va UTAH 

DEDICA TION 

TO 

H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES. 

Badminton October^ 1889. 

Having received permission to dedicate these volumes, 
the Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes, 
to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, 
I do so feeling that I am dedicating them to one of the 
best and keenest sportsmen of our time. I can say, from 
personal observation, that there is no man who can 
extricate himself from a bustling and pushing crowd of 
horsemen, when a fox breaks covert, more dexterously 
and quickly than His Royal Highness and that when 
hounds run hard over a big country, no man can take a 
line of his own and live with them better. Also, when 
the wind has been blowing hard, often have I seen 
His Royal Highness knocking over driven grouse and 
partridges and high-rocketing pheasants in first-rate 

vi DEDICA TION 

workmanlike style. He is held to be a good yachtsman, 
and as Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron is 
looked up to by those who love that pleasant and 
exhilarating pastime. His encouragement of racing is 
well known, and his attendance at the University, Public 
School, and other important Matches testifies to his 
being, like most English gentlemen, fond of all manly 
sports. I consider it a great privilege to be allowed to 
dedicate these volumes to so eminent a sportsman as 
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and I do 
so with sincere feelings of respect and esteem and loyal 
devotion. 

bp:aufort. 

BADMINTON, 

PREFACE. 

A FEW EINES only are necessary to explain the object 
with which these volumes are put forth. There is no 
modern encyclopaedia to which the inexperienced man, 
who seeks guidance in the practice of the various British 
Sports and Pastimes, can turn for information. Some 
books there are on Hunting, some on Racing, some 
on Lawn Tennis, some on Fishing, and so on but one 
Library, or succession of volumes, which treats of the 
Sports and Pastimes indulged in by Englishmen — and 
women— is wanting. The Badminton Library is offered 
to supply the want. Of the imperfections which must 
be found in the execution of such a design we arc 

viii PREFACE 

conscious. Experts often differ. But this we may say, 
that those who are seeking for knowledge on any of the 
subjects dealt with will find the results of many years' 
experience written by men who are in every case adepts 
at the Sport or Pastime of which they write. It is to 
point the way to success to those who are ignorant of 
the sciences they aspire to master, and who have no 
friend to help or coach them, that these volumes are 
written. 

To those who have worked hard to place simply and 
clearly before the reader that which he Vvall find within, 
the best thanks of the Editor are due. That it has been 
no slight labour to supervise all that has been written he 
must acknowledge but it has been a labour of love, 
and very much lightened by the courtesy of the Publisher, 
by the unflinching, indefatigable assistance of the Sub- 
Editor, and by the intelligent and able arrangement 
of each subject by the various writers, who are so 
thoroughly masters of the subjects of which they treat. 
The reward we all hope to reap is that our work may 
prove useful to this and future generations. 

THE EDITOR. 

CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER PAGE 

IV. Practical Instructions — contmued 74 

VII. Singlestick no 

III. The Art of' Boxing 148 

X CONTENTS 

CHAPIER I'ACE 

Appendix — Bibliotheca artis Dimicatori.*: 241 
Index 295 

IL L USTRA TIONS. 

The eighteen Intaglio Plates in Fencing^ are given l^y permission of 
Messrs. Hachette Co. from a French work in preparatioji.^ entitled 
 UEscrime^ par C. Prevost a?id G. Jollivet,^ The Woodcuts are engraved 
ly J. D. Cooper after Photographs by Geo. Mitchell. 

Vignette on Tit Up age 
The Salute position after disengagement into outside 

line. Parried by tierce Frontispiece 

First Position To face p. 36 

Second Position on guard 38 

Third Position: the lunge or extension 38 

Parry in Seconde 44 

Parry in Tierce 44 

Parry in Quarte 44 

Parry in Septime 44 

Time Thrust in Sixte 92 

Time Thrust in Octave 92 

The Salute taking position 98 
ILL US TRA TIONS 

The Salute First position 

The Salute taking distance 

The Salute Recognition to the left 
The Salute Recognition to the right 
The Salute position after disengagement into inside 
line. Parried by quarte 

End of the Salute adversaries saluting each other. 

To face p. 98 
BOXING. 

On Guard 

Stop with the Left 

Stop for Right- Hand Lead-off 

Retreat in good order 

Ducking to the Right 

The Side Step 

Slipping 

Left Arm Guard 
Left-hand Lead-off 
Right Arm Guard 
Lead-off at the Body 
Double Lead-off with the Right 
Right-hand Lead-off at the Body 
Right-hand Cross-counter 
Cross-counter Body-blow 
Left-hand Cross-counter 
Page 156 
ILL US TRA TIOI^S 

The Hank To face p. 175 

Catch Hold Style 194 

Buttock 198 

Inside Lock or Click, Cornwall and Devon 200 

The Hold 204 

Bally Heave, Cornwall and Devon 224 

Half Nelson, Lancashire 230 

f^ 

BY 

W. H. POLLOCK, F. C. GROVE, and CAMILLE PREVOST. 

By F. C. Grove. 

The art of giving without receiving has been studied for a very 
considerable time but, though those who devoted themselves 
to it had every possible reason for endeavouring to improve it, 
to develop its true principles, to bring it to perfection so far 
as might be — were in fact stimulated by the strongest and most 
enlightened form of self-interest, that which urges a man to 
take his enemy's hfe and preserve his own — but very little progress was made for a long period, and the noble science,' as 
it was very early called, remained in a terribly imperfect state, 
hindered and encumbered by infinite pedantry and nonsense, 
and taught by pragmatical and very foolish Masters of Fence to 
pupils who were content to follow egregiously wrong systems 
although skill in disposing of an adversary was literally a 
matter of most vital concern to them. It might be thought 
that truth at the sword's point would soon penetrate, but such 
was far from being the case. 

To show clearly how tardy was the development of fencing, 
and how singularly wrong were the methods followed in what was 
of the highest importance to all who were or aspired to be gentle- 

B 

U 

men, in the old-fashioned sense of the word, we must reverse 
the usual process and begin at the end of our story. Let us, 
then, take fencing as it is now taught and practised, and suppose that some man accustomed to various forms of athletic 
exercise, but totally ignorant of fencing and its history, sees for 
the first time an accomplished French swordsman place himself en garde.' He will very likely perceive that the attitude 
is obviously the right one, so far as anything can be said to be 
perfect in a world in which methods of destruction are always 
being improved. The combatant's sword-arm is free as can be 
for any thrust or parry he may wish to execute. He is perfectly 
firm on his feet, and at the same time can advance or retire 
with ease, while the body is no more exposed than is necessary 
for a steady balance. The hand and sword are in the position 
which is best for attack, and at the same time for defending 
the vital parts. After admiring the really admirable attitude ^of 
the swordsman, the unlearned observer will probably think 
that it is clearly the right one, and the only right one that it 
must have been hit upon without very much trouble, and that, 
whatever the complexities of lunges, parries, ripostes, &c. may 
have been, the fittest way of facing an adversary must soon 
have been discovered by those who devoted themselves to the 
art of fence. 

Well it took them about two centuries and three-quarters 
to find it out. Men began to ponder in Italy on the best way 
of encountering an 'opposite' who could thrust as well as 
slash in the first half of the sixteenth century, and when the 
position which is now adopted by all the best swordsmen was 
finally decided upon, the present century was at least a quarter 
sped; some would fix the date a good deal later. 

The layman would thus be very considerably in error but 
nevertheless his mistake would be a most pardonable one. 
The position now taken by the fencer when he throws himself 

 

on guard seems so certainly the right one, and, if we may use 
the expression, the natural one, that it appears difficult to understand why it took so long to find it out and, if this be thought 
an over-bold expression of opinion and a hasty condemnation of 
the great masters, we may quote, in support of it, the authority 
of one who was well versed in the old literature of the schools, 
and who ranked high amongst the quickest fencers that even 
Paris ever saw, enjoying a considerable reputation in what we 
may call the Bertrand period, when skill was carried as far as 
it has ever been, before or since. 

In that inimitable book, Les Secrets de TEpee,' the 
Baron de Bazancourt describes himself as seeking to show 
a totally untutored man how to face the foe in real or mimic 

fight. My dear C he says, you have never taken to 

fencing, I think — will you kindly allow me to use you as 
an exponent?' 'With pleasure,' answers the other, adding, 
naturally enough, that he will be very awkward, For a few 
minutes, perhaps,' replies the Baron; 'that is the common 
fate, and none can escape it. Now place yourself on guard. 
This expression alone tells you what you have to strive for — 
to be on guard — that is, to be equally ready for attack and 
defence. Bend the haunches (forgive an expression which 
is perhaps incorrect, but expresses my meaning with clearness) sink the body a little. {Asseyez-vous sur vous-meme /) 
The right arm must be half stretched out. With this 
position the sword can pass through all the lines it has to 
guard. 

 I advance on you. To retreat, and at the same time keep 
your proper distance, you have only to step back with the left 
foot, and let the right follow immediately. To advance is the 
same thing reversed the right foot advances, the left follows. 

 Bravo ! you are moving like a fencing-master [some pardonable exaggeration here]. Take care to keep the legs bent 

and the body steadily balanced, equally ready for attack and 
defence. Are you tired ? 

 So much the better it shows that your attitude is the 
right one, that none of the muscles are cramped, and that it 
does not paralyse you in any movement. Such is defence.' 
After this Bazancourt goes on to explain, in like simple manner, the principal attacks of the fencer, and winds up by saying, 
 One last word why have this position and these movements 
been chosen ? Because they are natural and instinctive.' 

He certainly seems right in so far as such w^ords can be 
applied to the use of the sword but it is strange that people 
should have laboured for two hundred and seventy-five years 
before they learnt to rely on natural and instinctive movements. How these years were for the most part misspent, and 
how by a remarkably slow process of evolution the right 
method was reached at last, we shall endeavour to tell but 
our chronicle must be a brief one, as this is a practical Manual 
of Fencing, not a History of the Art of Fence. 

It has been said with perfect justice by Mr. Egerton Castle 
in his well-known work,^ by far the best which exists on the 
subject, indeed the only real history of fencing there is, that,' 
strange as it may seem, fencing resulted from the introduction 
of fire-arms. The Barons of old, who are usually referred to in 
no very complimentary way, but from whom nevertheless everyone would fain think himself descended, cultivated precision 
with the lance, but when fighting with the sword they had little 
need for anything but strength. Their hand-to-hand combats 
must in one respect have resembled what in the great days of 
prize-fighting was known as a real slogging match. Covered with 

1 Schools and Masters of Fence from the Middle A^es to the Eighteenth 
Century, with a Sketch of the Development of the Art of Fencing with the Rapier 
and the Small Siuord by Egerton Castle, M.A., Con Brevetto di Nomina a 
Maestro di Scherma London George Bell and Sons. 

INTRODUCTION S 

plate-armour, and often with a shield to boot, they had no need 
to think of not exposing the body unnecessarily, or of protecting it with the sword. They hacked away at each other vigorously until a joint w^as pierced, weak armour cut through, or 
until one succumbed from sheer exhaustion. As, however, 
armour by degrees fell into disuse, and as duels very much 
resembling modern duels gradually took the place of the 
tremendous battle on horse or on foot in which the knights 
delighted, it grew more and more incumbent on those who 
had any self-respect to acquire what they at first despised and 
left to men of low degree, skill in the use of the sword until in 
time it became as necessary for a gentleman to fence as it is 
now for a man to ride or shoot indeed, there w^as far more 
need for fencing than there can be for riding and shooting, 
because these do not preserve from sudden death, whereas it 
was fervently hoped, not without reason, that fencing might. 

Dexterity in the use of the sword — as distinguished from 
mere hacking and hewing — which thus became so important, originated with the sword-and-buckler men who, bearing 
only the latter for defence, and not being clad in armour of 
proof, had need to be deft with their w^eapons. In time gentlemen had to imitate their vulgar skill, and although at first skill 
in fencing was despised, not only in England, but also, strangely 
enough, in France, it gradually became apparent that a gentleman would do well to gain proficiency wath the sword, unless 
he was willing to be killed by the first bully he met, or to fall 
in any sudden quarrel. It is needless to say, however, that he 
soon changed the weapon of his humbler fellow-creature. As 
schools of fence grew to be the resort of men of gentle blood, 
the cutting sword, derived from the knight's ponderous weapon, 
was discarded for the rapier, which, we would here remark, must 
never be confounded with the small-sword of later days. The 
error is a very common one, at least in England, and, when 

there is a public exhibition of fencing, an assault with rapiers is 
very frequently announced. This is entirely wrong, being, as 
lawyers would say, a frightful misnomer. The rapier, which 
was used by many generations of fighting men before the smallsword was heard of, was essentially a cut-and-thrust weapon, 
having a long narrow blade, often double-edged. As it remained 
in use during so many generations, there is hardly any need to 
say that its length and size varied considerably at different 
times. One of us has handled in an Italian collection a 
beautifully mounted rapier, so long that it was hard to understand how any ordinary man could wield it, or how any man 
under seven feet and a half could even draw it. The practical 
good sense of duellists, however, discarded this absurdity after 
awhile, and the rapier, reduced to reasonable proportions, became a very useful and formidable weapon. It was not so 
deadly as its successor the small-sword, and could not be 
handled with anything like the same precision but for a considerable period it was found quite good enough for all ordinary 
purposes. Probably, if a duellist of the day could be revived, 
he would say that rapier fights very often ended in the death 
of one of the combatants, and what more, after all, could be 
required ? We need hardly inform our readers that for weapons 
of this kind were devised those exquisitely beautiful hilts which 
are at the present day the glory and delight of the collector of 
arms. 

To the Italians and the Spaniards belongs the honour of 
having been first pre-eminent in rapier practice, and both had 
schools of arms of high repute but the latter, following an 
utterly irrational system, most deservedly lost after a time the 
reputation they had gained, and the principal fact now remembered in connection with their schools is that one of their 
famous teachers produced the most elaborate, and quite the 
most ridiculous, treatise on fencing ever written, which, we may 

observe, is saying a great deal. In Italy the case was different, 
as there was after long time progress, though very slow progress. 
The method, if method it can be called, of the early Italian 
swordsmen was a very bad one but this is not at all astonishing, 
as the use of the pointed sword w^as a totally new art, which 
had to be learnt. Considering, however, the vital importance 
of fencing in those days, indeed its necessity for gentlemen and, 
we may add, for others who wished to preserve a whole skin, 
it does seem surprising that a vicious system should have lasted 
so long, and that progress should have been so slow. In our 
own days we have seen what excellence may result where there 
are strong reasons of expediency for being handy with one particular weapon. Some citizens of the Great Republic have found 
it highly advisable to be good revolver shots, and in consequence 
a quickness and precision in firing have been attained in parts 
of America which seem miraculous to those Europeans who have 
been lucky enough to witness and survive an exhibition of skill. 
With the primitive fencers, however, the pressing need for the 
sword did not lead to anything hke effective use of it, and though 
the early Italian fencers may have been formidable from constant practice, and may have mastered some dangerous tricks, 
their method remained, even after there had been ample time 
for developing it, a singularly bad one, altogether opposed in 
many respects to the true art of swordsmanship as now understood, which we may observe is, in theory, so perfectly simple 
that men may be pardoned for agreeing with the Baron de 
Bazancourt, and for wondering greatly when they learn what a 
long time has been taken to evolve it but it is always dangerous 
to judge early students by the light of after-acquired knowledge. 
It must also of course be borne in mind that the Italian 
swordsmen fought at first with sword and buckler, and afterwards with sword and dagger, and that the use of the former 
weapons necessitated an attitude differing somewhat consider- 

S FENCING 

ably from that now assumed. With the dagger, however, the 
best position was not, or rather should not have been, of so different a character. The principal use of the weapon must have 
been for parrying thrusts directed to the left, and for use at close 
quarters. To attack left-handed with the dagger a man who 
held a sword in his right hand would be to court death and we 
can hardly suppose that the old masters of fence ever practised, 
or even counselled, such attacks in actual combat, though they 
may have described them in their books, in which they certainly 
seem to have described every attitude and movement possible 
except the right ones. But it is difficult to believe that all the 
antics they spoke of, and set forth in picture, were meant for 
serious and practical combatants. They probably inserted a 
large amount of superfluous matter to give an imposing appearance to their works, and to fill pupils with amazement and 
admiration at the Maestro di Scherma's knowledge and in this 
respect the usage of the old masters has unfortunately not been 
so much departed from as might be wished in later days. 
There was also another and a more creditable reason why the 
old teachers should set forth for their pupils' benefit various 
strange gymnastics. They had to teach men, not merely how 
to wield the sword in a regular combat, but also how to defend 
themselves against a sudden attack, or in la rixe. For this 
purpose tricks and antics, if practised till they became almost 
instinctive, might be very valuable. 

Of books to tell us how the old swordsmen were trained to 
fight, either in sudden brawl or with all ceremony on the field 
of honour, there are many, though the earliest have disappeared. The works of Jayme Pona de Majorca, published, or 
said to have been published, at Perpinan of Pedro de la Torre 
of Pietro Moncio, published in 1509 and Francisco Roman, 
published in 1532, are not now to be found, and some doubt has 
been felt as to their ever having existed but, on the whole, it 

seems most probable that these were real books, though now beyond even the book-hunter's ken. The earliest works at present 
extant are those of Antonio Manciolino, which appeared in 153 1, 
and of Achille Marozzo, which was produced at Modena and 
Venice in 1536. The latter writer had apparently a great reputation as a fencing-master, and several editions of his work appeared but it had nothing like the value of that of Camillo 
Agrippa, published at Rome in 1553, or of Giacomo de' Grassi, 
which saw the light seventeen years later at Venice. The first 
of these was an amateur — that is to say, fencing was not his sole 
or main pursuit — and it is therefore to an amateur or quasiamateur that belongs the honour of having first made an important step in the use of the rapier. The Schoolmen calculated 
how many angels could dance on the point of a needle, and 
Agrippa first discerned the vast capacity for homicide which lay 
in the point of a sword, and how many souls could be rapidly 
released from the bondage of the flesh, if puncturing, rather than 
slashing, was resorted to. Grassi saw the value of the point 
quite as clearly as his predecessor, and bade fighters rely upon 
it for straightforward attacks. In all probability both writers 
utilised largely the unwritten lore of the schools, which, however, 
they were certainly the first to put into a clear and definite 
form, thus laying the foundation of modern fencing; but it 
must be said that the superstructure took a considerable time 
to raise. 

It was to the knowledge of the value of the point which was 
first insisted on in their published works by these two accomphshed swordsmen that the Italians owed their skill and reputation as fencers. In many respects their system was absurd 
and, though it may seem easy to speak thus in 1889, the condemnation will hardly appear excessive when it is known that 
they persisted in making passes to both sides— i.e. in skipping 
about first to one side and then to the other— long after 

Agrippa had taught that, generally speaking, it was best to 
keep the right foot forward. He and Grassi were succeeded 
by Viggiani, whose book Lo Schermo appeared at Venice in 
1575. In one respect he made, and almost literally, a real 
step. His punta sopra mano,' as described by him, and as 
illustrated afterwards by his imitator, Meyer, was certainly a 
direct ancestor of the developpement of the French fencers, and, 
though far from being so near an approach to the true attack 
as that which Capo Ferro showed forty years later, indicated 
the right movement. Viggiani, we should observe, was really 
a contemporary of Agrippa and Grassi, as his book was 
finished fifteen years before it was published but in this case, 
as in others, credit must be given to those who have first made 
themselves known to the world. Of these three writers, Agrippa 
was certainly, on the w^hole, the most original to him, in the 
first place, but to the other two not a little, belongs the credit 
of having insisted on the use of the point. In this respect they 
were enhghtened swordsmen, and it was the knowledge of the 
use of the point instilled by these writers and acquired in the 
schools of fence of Italy which made the Italian fencers so 
formidable and famous throughout Europe. The English continued to hack and hew one another in a barbarous, brutal, but 
withal somewhat jolly fashion. The Spaniards were slaves to a 
senseless pedantry, and obeyed a set of elaborate rules which had 
as much to do with fencing as they had with astronomy. Even 
the French made little progress at first but the Italian method 
had one cardinal merit, and Italian teachers were for long the 
best. It seems strange indeed that, having comparatively 
early got so far, they did not, during many years, get any 
further, but continued for generations to teach a variety of wild 
and senseless movements, unable, after having made a great 
advance, to free themselves any more from the thraldom of 
tradition. 

The next work of any importance by an Italian was Vincentio 
Saviolo's Practise/ published in London in 1595. Saviolo, like 
others of his countrymen in the sixteenth century, and like 
Angelo in the eighteenth, came over to instruct the barbarians — 
i.e. Englishmen— in the art offence and he seems to have been 
much patronised by men of high degree but with humbler 
people he fared very ill, having been, according to the amusing 
narrative of George Silver, to be referred to later on, insulted 
and thrashed by English masters of defence. His book was no 
great advance on those which had preceded it, but is a valuable 
compendium of all relating to the art as then understood, and 
was certainly quite good enough for Englishmen, who had everything to learn, and who, save in the ranks of the nobility, showed 
a marked distaste for rapier play, which has never altogether died 
away. It is not a little remarkable that the only two original 
works of any note in the English language on fencing should 
have been written by Itahans. Next in order of time to Saviolo 
came Docciolini, whose book was published at Florence, and 
Fabris of Bologna, who brought out his very stately work under 
the august patronage of Christian IV. of Denmark. It had 
merit, but merit hardly proportioned to its size and grandeur 
and it may be said that no special advance was made in the art 
of using the sword from the time when Viggiani foreshadowed 
the lunge in his punta sopra mano,' until Nicoletto Giganti 
taught at Venice and Ridolfo Capo Ferro at Siena. Whether 
one learnt from the other, or from report of the other's teaching, it is impossible to say but both explained and drew for 
their fortunate, and we doubt not enraptured, pupils the lunge, 
very nearly as now taught and delivered. It is curious to see, 
however, what deadly error there was when one truth had at last 
been reached. Fencers who have not read Mr. Castle's or Capo 
Ferro's work will shudder to learn that he bids the combatant 
to keep his eye on the adversary's blade, so as to see its move- 

merits and determine what he had- better do. Nothing could 
be more purely vicious. This is precisely what the modern 
maitre d'armes most emphatically and most justly tells his pupil 
not to do on the first attack. Where there is great disparity of 
skill, the better fencer, infinitely quicker than the other, may 
parry by the eye but in ordinary contests no course can be 
followed at the outset more likely to ensure defeat on the ground 
or in the salle d'armes. 

With these two distinguished writers and masters of the 
sword fencing may be said to have culminated in Italy. 
Men continued to cultivate it with great vigour there were 
teachers of renown and others of less note. Three works of 
some value appeared during the century but, if the art did 
not sensibly decline, it made no progress in the hands of 
Italians, and by degrees the swordsmen of the Peninsula 
lost their prominent position, ceased to be looked upon as 
the first in Europe, and had to give place to the mattres 
(Tarmes of France. During the latter part of the sixteenth 
century the French were really dependent on the Italians for 
instruction in the sword. The treatise of St. Didier, published 
in 1573, was entirely taken from Italian sources; but in the 
first half of the seventeenth century Ducoudray flourished, w^ho, 
if he has been wTongly credited with the invention of the lunge, 
probably made attack more formidable and, in 1653, Besnard 
of Rennes brought out a work which showed that, after carefully studying the Italian method, the French masters had 
improved on it. One thing he and his contemporaries saw very 
clearly which was never comprehended by the Italians, who, 
zealous as they were, and clever as they w^ere, do sometimes 
remind one of Charles Lamb's Chinamen who burnt dow^n their 
houses to eat roast pig. The maestri w^ould have no purely 
defensive movements with the sword. Every parry must also 
be a thrust. The Frenchmen perceived what the quick-witted 

Italians ought to have perceived before, that, generally speaking, 
trying to do two things at once was a mistake separated the 
defensive from the offensive movements, and indicated faintly 
what was long afterwards developed into the 'riposte de pied 
ferme,' perhaps the most deadly of all thrusts with the sword. In 
other ways improvements on the Italian methods were indicated 
by Besnard, who was followed in 1670 by De la Touche, whose 
name seems almost as appropriate as that of Gatechair did in 
our own time, by De Liancourt in 1686 and by Labat inj^(^o, 
1696, and 1 701. When the latter wrote the French schools 
were supreme. The Italians had had their day. .They had 
practised fencing with fervour, written about it with eloquence, 
and illustrated it with great beauty. But now they were 
completely distanced by their ultramontane brethren, who, 
if they had advanced slowly, had continued to advance, and 
who, at the end of the seventeenth century, had learnt to rely 
entirely on the point. The illustrations of Labat show very 
clearly what fencing was at this time. Some of the movements 
resembled those of a swordsman of the latter part of the last 
century or the beginning of this; but the Italian waltzing was not 
yet altogether abandoned, and the left hand played a large part 
in the encounter, sometimes parrying, sometimes grasping the 
adversary's sword. One of Labat's illustrations represents a fencer 
apparently wresting the sword from the other's grasp with his left; 
and we may here observe that the practice of using the left 
thus — which, of course, prevailed in the days of the earlier 
swordsmen — quite explains, as Mr. Castle points out, the fight 
in Hamlet,' which has puzzled so many people. In struggling 
at close quarters, one combatant might succeed in wrenching 
his adversary's sword from his hand, but lose his own weapon 
at the same moment. One of us once saw a sailor of extraordinary strength seize a cutlass close to the hilt, where the 
edge is blunt, and break it short off. In fencing the use of the 

left hand gradually disappeared but it is not a little curious 
that, after enjoying a long period of repose, it should again, in 
every sense, have come to the front. In a comparatively recent 
duel one of the combatants parried with his left hand and 
killed his antagonist. There were peculiar circumstances in 
the case which made his conduct perfectly fair, but the question 
naturally arose whether the use of the left hand is permissible. 
There was apparently no body which could give a formal 
decision but we believe that the general opinion of French 
fencers was that parrying with the left hand is strictly forbidden, 
alike in the mimic and real combat. 

At the beginning of the eighteenth century the edge was, 
as has just been said, practically discarded for the point, and a 
weapon much resembling the present epee de co77ibat was used 
but albeit French masters of fence were incontestably the 
first in Europe, they did not, after having made a marked 
advance, improve their art so much as might have been expected nothing like modern fencing— that is, fencing as it has 
prevailed from the days of Bertrand's fame to our own time — 
was approached. One reason which may partly account for 
this slow progress when the art had such intense interest for 
the best society will be presently stated. Books were published, 
but they had no very great value, the only one of importance 
being that of Danet, which appeared in 1766. Though somewhat pedantic, he wrote sensibly about his art but unfortunately he was too slow in addressing the world, and 
allowed himself to be anticipated by one who spoke from 
amidst the outer barbarians, though he was not of them. 
Before Danet published, Angelo had dared to bring forth, in 
London, of all places in the world, his magnificent work, which, 
whatever the true skill of the author as a swordsman may 
have been, was undoubtedly a complete and admirable exposition of the art of fencing as it then existed, showing 

perfectly the system which the French fencing-masters had 
developed from the complex rapier play of the Italian masters. 
Before, however, speaking of this grandiose volume, it is necessary to glance at the history of fencing in other countries than 
Italy and France, and also to describe briefly the methods 
of attack and defence which gradually led to small-sword 
play. 

Respecting the history of fencing, i.e., rapier and small-sword 
play, in Germany and Spain, there is little to be said of interest 
to any, save those who wish to make themselves exhaustively 
acquainted with the history of the sword. The Germans had a 
mighty corporation, with all sorts of exclusive rights and privileges but, like some of those families which had the monopoly 
of the executioner's office, they do not seem to have attained any 
great excellence in their work, though undoubtedly they succeeded in killing somehow or other. They began to write about 
swordsmanship very early but it would be difficult to name any 
German writer who attained a reputation approaching that of 
Marozzo, Agrippa, Grassi, Viggiani, Capo Ferro, Marcelli, Liancourt, Labat, or Angelo. Indeed, the best works in the German 
language were translations, and though there were schools of 
arms in Germany, there do not seem to have been any in which 
skill in rapier play was acquired, as it was in those of Italy or 
France. As the Germans then were, when using the rapier, 
nothing but followers of the swordsmen of these two countries, 
it is not necessary to make any mention of German manuals of 
the art of fence. It would be something like writing about 
English violinists. In Spain the case was different the 
Spaniards had at first, as has been said, a reputation equal to 
that of the Italians, and were thought to be great masters of the 
refined and mystic art of wielding the rapier, and their schools 
were sought by gentlemen desirous of completing an education 
lamentably deficient in one respect. But while the Italian 

maestri long preserved their glory, the Spaniards soon succeeded 
in losing their early renown. The most practical of arts was lost 
in a haze of pedantry, and though the courage of the Spaniards 
and constant practice must have made them very formidable duellists, they probably, like the English athletes who went through 
the training in vogue fifty years ago, became strong in spite of 
the system they followed, and not by reason of it. In 1599- 
1600, forty-six years after Agrippa wrote in Italy, and only seven 
years before Giganti's work appeared, Don Luis Pachecco de 
Narvaez published at Madrid a treatise already referred to, 
which, even when all allowance is made for the crude condition 
of swordsmanship at the time, appears absurd. It seems something like those Eastern systems of medicine which are elaborate, 
and even symmetrical, but unfortunately have no relation whatever to the human body or its ailments. A magic circle was 
inscribed in which the combatants had to go through a series 
of solemn movements, which seem to have borne about the same 
relation to the passes and volti of the Italians that a minuet 
does to a waltz. This work is worth mentioning on account of 
the reputation it acquired amongst a people very fond of arbitrary 
and elaborate rules based on nothing in particular, and also 
because an elaborate paraphrase of it was published in very 
magnificent fashion thirty years after its appearance; but of the 
other Spanish writers, and of the Spanish schools, there is no 
need 'to speak. So far as anything good was taught in them, it 
probably came from Italy. 

Much more amusing is the history of fencing in England, 
though, perhaps, it is something like what a history of boxing in 
France would be. When the rapier was first introduced into 
our country by men who had travelled in Italy and Spain, and 
when the use of the point as well as the edge was first advocated, the English people viewed the new sword play with 

 Girard Thibault, Acad^mie de I'Epee,' folio, Leyden, 1628. 

extreme disfavour, not because it was more deadly than the 
other— men were not troubled with humanitarian scruples in 
those days — but seemingly because Englishmen had been 
accustomed to hack and slash each other, and regarded this 
way of operating as the only legitimate kind of fighting, and 
looked upon the new system as treacherous, unfair, and ignoble 
why, it is impossible to say: but no dislikes are so deeply rooted 
and so lasting as those for which no reason can be given. The 
aversion with which the English people from the first regarded 
the pointed rapier has certainly proved lasting, since the prejudice against fencers was, if the expression may be allowed, 
transferred en bloc in a liberal spirit, when Frenchmen took the 
place of Italians, and, as has been already observed, can hardly 
be said to be extinct now. How strong this dislike was from the 
first is shown by an amusing episode in the history of swordsmanship which Mr. Castle has described fully, but of which we 
can only speak in very brief and cursory fashion. 

In the latter part of the sixteenth century Italians came to 
England to teach swordsmanship, much to the disgust of the 
indigenous swordsmen. Amongst the native masters of defence 
who were greatly aggrieved by the advent of the foreigner, 
twice accursed, first insomuch as he was a foreigner, and secondly 
because he came to take honest Englishmen's bread, was one 
George Silver, who was by no means inclined to remain inactive 
under grievous wrongs, and who, having helped to discomfit the Italians, told of their discomfiture by himself and 
others, and argued with no mean skill against their method of 
fighting. In his Paradoxe of Defence,' pubhshed in London 
in 1599, he tells of three Italians, ^teachers of offence of great 
reputation, established in London in his time, who certainly, 
if they gave as much offence as they received, must have been 
adepts in their art and well competent to instruct anybody. 
These were 'Signior Rocko,'who seems to have occupied much 

the same position that Angelo did a century and three-quarters 
later Jeronymo, his son, and Vincentio Saviolo already spoken 
of. Now if it be true, as Silver says, that Rocko received twenty, 
forty, fifty, or a hundred pounds for a course of lessons, it is not 
wonderful, considering what these sums then represented, that 
the English masters of defence grew very wroth. When men are 
hit at once in purse and vanity, they are apt to grow desperate, 
and even unmannerly. The English swordsmen proved both. 
First one Austen Bagger went to the house of Rocko, called 
him a cowardly fellow and bade him come forth. This Rocko 
did with a two-hand sword,' but Bagger defended himself well, 
tripped the other up, cut him over with a stroke more familiar 
to Eton boys in the head master's presence, without first fault 
to plead, than to fencers, and trampled upon him, but allowed 
him to live. On the second occasion when injured feeling broke 
forth, words only passed, but these were of a serious nature befitting the grave dispute. Rocko the younger and Saviolo spoke 
contemptuously of English swordsmanship. There was then, 
as there would be now, some reason for their sneers, but their 
remarks were not in good taste, and they certainly chose their 
time very badly. They having asserted that Englishmen were 
accustomed to retreat before the sword. Silver and his brother 
Toby challenged them to fight on a scaffold, so that the man who 
ran away would be in danger of breaking his neck but this 
highly practical proposal, which, with due modifications, is sometimes carried out in our day, was not accepted, and the Italians 
were put to shame. Afterwards Saviolo was still more discomfited, as he was mauled by a Somersetshire bravo, towards 
whom he showed, according to Silver, the most Christian forbearance. The dispute ended tragically, as disputes usually did 
in those days. Poor Jeronymo Rocko was run through the 
body by an EngKshman named Chiefe, who, seeing him in a 
coach with a girl to whom he was attached, thought it a happy 

and obvious occasion for calling on him to fight, and killed 
him forthwith. 

So the Italian Maestri di Scherma fared very ill at the hands 
of their English brethren, and proved themselves less stout 
men, having all the worst of it in actual combat, and fearing to 
accept a challenge, if Silver's narrative is to be trusted but 
probably it was largely adorned by fancy, which has usually 
played a great part in fencing stories. A 7naitre d'ariJies^ telling 
of his own defeat, or of the defeat of a fellow-countryman by 
a foreigner, is a phenomenon as yet unobserved by a student 
of the science of arms. Given the personality and nationality 
of the speaker, the conclusion of an account of an assault or 
duel may be stated almost with the certainty of a mathematical 
solution. Whether truthful or not, however, Silver's pages are 
most amusing and it must be said that his suggestion mentioned above was an admirable one, and might well be carried 
into effect in our own time. Nothing would tend more to 
promote steady play and to make men acquire it, than causing 
them to fence on a platform without rails and only allowing some 
four steps backwards. Putting individual cases apart, it is not 
to be desired that fugitives should break their necks, as Silver 
charitably hoped the Italians might but a series of ignominious 
tumbles would bring about an amount of ridicule which would 
cause those timorous fencers who dance away from an attack 
like frightened girls either to mend the error of their ways 
or to give up a masculine sport which is entirely unsuited to 
their peculiar idiosyncrasies. 

The dislike for fencing — i.e. for thrusting — and the love for 
the cutting sword, which Silver expressed so vigorously, continued to animate his countrymen, and the result of the fondness of Englishmen for what was looked upon, for some inexplicable reason, as the national weapon may be seen in our 
own time in the game of single-stick, which is neither sabre 

play nor cudgel, but a bastard sport, with no particular 
meaning. By the mass of Englishmen fencing was for long 
regarded as a fashionable amusement of objectionable foreign 
origin, suited only for fine gentlemen, just as the Italian opera, 
after its introduction, was for long looked upon as an entertainment fit only for the hyper-refined. It is with the most sincere 
contrition that we allude to anyone so frequently forced on the 
public as the Needy Knifegrinder, but really his hackneyed 
saying is most applicable to fencing in England. With or 
without the blessing of Providence, story there is none to tell. 
During a good many generations a certain number of Englishmen learnt fencing as it was practised in Italy and France, but 
nothing originated here, and, though a good many works were 
published by Englishmen, none save translations had any real 
value. It is true that Sir William Hope, who wrote several 
books on fencing, had a few good ideas, but on the whole his 
elaborate writings had no great merit, and, though he studied 
in France, he was behind the French fencers of his day. It 
may almost be said that fencing was the one subject on which 
Englishmen and Scotchmen could not produce a good manual 
for after the publication of Saviolo's treatise no original books 
of real value saw the light until Angelo brought out his gorgeous 
folio L'Ecole des Armes.' 

To this magnificent work we have already referred. When 
it appeared the art of fencing was growing something like 
what it now is and, after long time, an approximation to a 
symmetrical and rational method had been reached, though 
one vitally important change had to be made, and for this, 
strange to say, people had to wait some fifty years onger. 
Much, however, had been done when Angelo wrote, though 

1 There is a ghastly story about this book. It is said that some of the 
plates were engraved by a man condemned to death, who was allowed a respite 
to finish them for the benefit of his wife and children. The work done, he was 
hanged. Whether this painful legend is true, we are unable to say. 

certainly the old masters of fence took an unconscionable time 
over their work. From Marozzo in 1536 to Domenico Angelo 
Malevolti Tremamondo (simplified at the request of a noble 
friend into plain Angelo) in 1763 seems a long period when the 
important and highly practical nature of the art is considered 
and, strange to say, the improvement which was so slowly made 
consisted more in getting rid of what was bad than in introducing 
what was good. As has been seen, when the pointed rapier 
first came into use, the buckler was carried for defence. 
Afterwards the dagger served both for offence and defence, 
though far less for the former than for the latter. The use of 
these two arms partly accounts for some of the features of the 
old fencing, but does not altogether account for them and, 
when every allowance has been made for the peculiarities of 
swordmanship which were due to these two arms, it is, as has 
been said already, very hard to understand why, as the importance of the point became more and more appreciated, the 
old fencers failed to see the impropriety — we might almost 
say the bad taste — of gymnastics, antics, and gambols, which 
made accurate use of the point about as practicable as good 
covert shooting would be for a man who persisted standmg 
on one leg. To give any idea of their antics and gambols would 
necessitate, not only a long description, but also a long series 
of illustrations showing how not to do it, which cannot be 
given here. The reader who desires to become well acquainted 
with the quaint history of a deadly pursuit is referred to 
Mr. Castle's instructive pages. It is sufficient now to say that 
what is in the present day most strictly forbidden was formerly 
most strictly enjoined. To begin with, the swordsmen were, 
as has been stated, taught that every movement of defence 
must also be one of attack that each guard or parry must also 
be a thrust that is to say, with no command of point, they 
were told to do in every instance what with perfect command 

of it is now recognised as the most difficult feat possible, only 
to be rarely attempted. Although the advantage of keeping 
the right foot foremost was perceived early, it was not thought 
necessary to keep it steadily foremost. It was quite permissible 
to bring the left foot to the fore, not always for the sake of 
using the dagger, but to facilitate a quick twist round of the 
body, the enormous danger run being overlooked. A variety 
of movements to the right and left, for the purpose of avoiding 
the sword and taking the adversary at a disadvantage, were 
taught, sometimes the right foot, sometimes the left, being foremost and though the point must have been most irregularly 
disordered, these no doubt were executed by the duellist with 
much grace and vigour. It was a chasse-croise ending in death. 
Occasionally a combatant did more than step to the right or left. 
One of Agrippa's pictures represents a fencer in a position which 
seems to invite a thrust in a portion of the frame usually thought 
to be more in danger from the boot than from the sword and 
when it is remembered that in those days ignominy attached 
to wounds behind, it seems strange that such a way of avoiding 
thrust should be counselled but, in truth, the old masters of 
fence were altogether strange in their method of defending 
themselves against thrusts. They failed to see the advantage 
of internal lines, and to perceive that a man who stepped to the 
right or left in front of his antagonist, exposed himself and 
could not by any possibility retain perfect command over the 
sword. It could not be done, even with the light weapon of 
our days, much less with the ponderous rapier. 

In course of time, however, the French masters, and it should 
be added some of the later Italians, gradually saw their way 
to better things. While retaining the dagger for a time and, 
after it was dropped, the parry with the left hand, and even 
allowing the left foot to be brought forward now and then, they 
perceived that, on the whole, it was better to keep the right foot 

for the most part to the front, and also that transverse movements were a mistake, and that the fencer should step forwards 
and backwards in one line. They also much improved the 
parries, and improved if they did not perfect, the riposte — most 
formidable of all ways of using the sword, mastery of which 
beyond aught else makes a man formidable in the duel. 

When Angelo wrote, then, a very pretty system of swordsmanship existed, though he thought fit to give historical illustrations, probably for the purpose of swelling out his book. 
The principal part of it taught very practical small-sword play 
but in the method which he set forth there was one vital 
defect, due to the singular obstinacy of amateurs and masters 
of fence, who refused for long to accept a contrivance which 
would have greatly aided them in the pursuit to which they 
were devoted. As had happened before, and as happened afterwards, an art which ought to be as practical as book-keeping 
was made the subject of a senseless pedantry. 

For, strange to say, the old fencers were very slow in consenting to wear masks. As long ago as the middle of the last 
century coverings for the face, not indeed such as they now 
are, but giving protection, were invented but, though it might 
be difficult to say precisely when they came into general use, it 
seems clear that, for a considerable time, fencers of repute 
would have none of them. It was thought bad taste, or, as it 
would now be called, bad form, to wear them. To hit an 
antagonist in the face, even by accident, was considered discreditable in the mimic combat, and gentlemen apparently 
would not take a precaution which indicated a fear of inartistic 
work by an opponent which was courteous certainly but 
even when the elaborate ceremonial of the time is taken into 
consideration, the courtesy seems a little strained for it can 
have been but a partial consolation to a man who had just 
been gouged to know that his antagonist was seriously annoyed, 

and would be thought careless and inelegant in style. Then it 
seems singular that those who were given to swordsmanship 
did not perceive how much masks would aid their practice. 
Without them the fencer was obliged, in order to avoid the 
risk of grave accident, to keep his head back as far as 
possible, and to rest the whole weight of the body on the 
left leg and this must* have made assaults slow, clumsy, and 
unreal. Anyone trained in the modern method, who will take 
the trouble to assume the position of the ancients, will find how 
awkward and cramped play becomes, and will probably wonder 
much that the old swordsmen did not accept a necessary safeguard which would have made the free use of their limbs 
possible." As it was, the free use of the limbs was not gained 
until some time after the safeguard was generally adopted. As 
has often happened in other things than fencing, rules made 
for certain circumstances were obeyed when circumstances had 
changed. Fencing-masters taught what they had learnt in 
their youth, and men who fought each other on the smallest 
pretext obeyed the pedantic dicta of their instructors with blind 
and touching devotion. 

After the time of Angelo's work the history of fencing is to 
a certain extent traditional, and must be gathered in part from 
the unwritten lore of fencing-rooms and from contemporary 
journalism. There is every reason to believe that, even after 
the use of masks was introduced, and after the style of play 
had become more free, pedantry was, as it had been before, 
the bane of fencing. Stiff and formal, the fencing-masters of 
the early part of the century executed each movement with 
absolute precision, and, not altogether without reason, were 
most intolerant of anything like rough-and-ready sword play 
and, in a way, their assaults must have been very pretty, but 
they wxre wanting in spontaneity, quickness, and reaUty. A 
great master of fence, himself now long departed, who well 

remembered the old days, described to one of us what an 
assault between two maitres d'armes was like when form 
still reigned supreme how each would throw himself on guard, 
making an appel (which, alas, they seem to have been given 
to) with a defiant Voila. monsieur ! followed perhaps by another 
beat of the foot how an elaborate lunge, perfect in style, but 
not erring on the side of quickness, was parried and answered by 
a riposte, not du tac-au-tac certainly or of hghtning rapidity, 
but, as the lunge was, perfect in style how one combatant 
would form, with exquisite precision, half a dozen successive 
parries, which the other, in an equally polished manner, would 
deceive how throughout there was strict adherence to rule 
no flurry, no unseemly scrambling. It was very finished, very 
clever in its way, but it was not la guerre,^ La guerre^' however, was destined to come in time. 

For, after the stately old fencing-masters had reigned for 
long — retarding, so far as can be told now, the progress of an 
art which ought to have become much more practical after 
masks came into general use — the terrible Bertrand, who has 
been called the Napoleon of fencing, appeared, to baffle and 
bewilder the dogmatic veterans, as Napoleon bafiled and bewildered the generals of Austria. He did not by any means 
despise rule, or form as it would now be called but, on the 
contrary, accepted all that was good in it, and never belonged 
to the ranks of the energetic insurgents known as irregular 
fencers but he absolutely refused to be bound — in practice at 
least— by what was pedantic and artificial, or to consider anything as forbidden merely because the fencing-masters chose to 
forbid it without giving any valid reasons. In a word, he broke 
through rule where rule was unmeaning, showed that movements of defence and assault which were thought too hazardous 
to be attempted were safe and practicable and bringing life,, 
vigour, and fire to the assault, made it what it ought to be, 

the image of the actual combat. The old fencers shuddered 
but, beating them and their disciples, Bertrand prevailed. If 
a yearly average of his hits, as compared with those of others, 
could have been compiled, it would have been an amusing 
one. As has been indicated, it was in practice chiefly that he 
shone, for he was not a theorist, and left no work behind 
him nor was he very successful as a teacher, only producing 
during his whole career one pupil of great renown, the justly 
celebrated Pierre Prevost,^ long resident in this country. But 
in the assault he was supreme, and the force of his example 
largely influenced fencing in Paris, and to him more than to 
anyone else in this century is due the modern French school 
which, combining regularity with freedom, demands obedience 
to rule, but only to rule for which practical and unassailable 
reasons can be given. 

M. Legouve has drawn a charming sketch of this extraordinary fencer, who seems, like those men who can play 
twenty games of chess at once, to have been created for his 
special pursuit, and to have been physically gifted as perhaps one 
man may be in two or three generations. Of his extraordinary 
vitality the following story, told to one of us by the person who 
had the misfortune to be reproved by him, may give some idea. 
It was his custom when making his rounds in the morning 
to run from the house of one pupil to another, not the least 
because he was in a hurry, for he was a man who would not 
hurry himself for anybody, but because walking was too 
slow for his superabundant energy. One very frosty morning when he and his assistant were going along at a smart 
pace together, the latter slipped and fell. Trainard,^ 
said Bertram, c'est parceque vous laissez la patte trap longtemps par terre. Levez-la vite^ et vous n'avez pas le temps de 
glisser.^ Which he exemplified by running off at his full 

1 Father of Camille Prevost, part author of this work. 

INTRODUCTION 27 

speed — which was very high speed indeed — along the sHppery 
pavement, leaving the other to follow as best he might. 
Another story from the same source shows his astonishing 
skill. At a public assault, he fell out with his antagonist, a very 
famous fencing-master of the day, because the latter would 
not acknowledge hits. The public seemed rather disposed to 
side with his foe, whereupon Bertrand, after a very impertinent 
remark to the audience, put on his mask, which he had taken 
off for a moment, and placed himself on guard. His antagonist attacked with rare vigour and rapidity. He was met 
by an irreproachable parry, but there was no riposte. A second 
onslaught followed, which met with a like response, and presently 
it became apparent that Bertrand would not attack or riposte 
or retreat an inch. Naturally exasperated, the other did 'all he 
knew,' to use the apt language of the Ring; but in vain he could 
not mark Bertrand's jacket with a touch that would have killed a 
fly, and after a long effort had to give up exhausted. Such feats 
have often been described in novels, even as the splitting of the 
willow wand by an arrow was described in the famous romance; 
but in real life they have been, to say the least, extremely rare. 
When the antagonist has skill and quickness, a fencer who acts 
only on the defensive, and does not retreat, is almost certain to 
be hit before long. Another story shows Bertrand's intense 
vanity, and also his readiness. One day, coming late to his 
fencing-room, he found a gorgeously clad young officer of the 
Gardes du Corps who had been waiting for some time. M, 
Bertrand^^ observed the youth sharply, vous etes en retard,^ 
 Je ne suis pas un cocker de fiacre,' retorted the other. Qu'-estce que vous etes done ? Vous etes un maitre d'' amies,' Monsieur^' replied the maitre d'armes with infinite scorn and 
majesty, avec deux aunes de drap on fait un officier comme 
vous — et dans le monde entier il n'y a qu'un Bertrand' 

The art which this prince of swordsmen exemphfied has had, 

as may well be imagined, various literary exponents during the 
present century, but, of many books, however, only four need 
be named those of Possellier, known by the pseudonym of 
Gomard Grisier, Cordelois, and Prevost aine, and that of 
Bazancourt already mentioned. The first of these, who adopted 
the name of a fencing-master to whose school he succeeded, 
was very well versed in the history of the sword— unusually so, 
indeed, for the time at which he wrote — and his Theorie de 
FEscrime,' published in 1845, contains a list of the Italian and 
French writers on the subject which w^as the best, or one of 
the best, to be found until Mr. Castle's work appeared. 
Grisier's book enjoyed popularity for a time, and the writer 
had the enormous advantage of having it heralded by a long 
preface from the pen of Alexandre Dumas but the work has 
for some time ceased to be accepted as a standard authority, 
and is now but little studied. The well-known Lemons 
d'Armes of Cordelois appeared in 1862. Copious, written 
with the greatest care, and admirably illustrated, it achieved 
deserved renown, and has long been an honoured text-book 
in the schools. We cannot but think that it is open to considerable criticism; but we do not wish to undertake the 
invidious task of picking holes in the work of a distinguished 
fencer, who is still remembered by many. On one point, however, it is necessary to speak plainly. Cordelois condemiued 
the coup de temps and coup (T arret which Bertrand had 
perfected. The coup de temps is a dangerous stroke, but when 
delivered with proper judgment is one of the most brilliant in 
fencing. The coup d'arret is invaluable in the fencing-room, 
and on the ground against a rash and unskilled antagonist. 

The little work of Prevost aine, 'Theorie Pratique de 
FEscrime,' published in London, in i860, and translated into 
English, was, as might be expected, perfect of its kind. Concise in the extreme, but at the same time perfectly clear, it 

INTRODUCTION 29 

contained all the instruction which could possibly be given in 
the very limited space to which the author strictly confined 
himself. His pamphlet was not meant to be a full and exhaustive manual of fencing, but was intended principally for the use 
of his own pupils, who desired to study carefully his method of 
teaching, and who also desired that some record of it should 
remain. Necessarily, however, it was but an abstract. Anything more would have been useless at the time in this country. 
Of a very different nature from the four works named is 
 Les Secrets de I'Epee' of the Baron de Bazancourt quoted at the 
beginning of this brief history. The others were swordsmen 
who took to writing. He was a writer who had a fancy for discoursing about the sword. More courageous than the famous 
author who was content to preface Grisier's volume, he spoke for 
himself, absolutely, as an instructor, and boldly contravened 
many of the dogmas most cherished and revered by the pundits 
of the sa//e d^armes, and this he did, it must be said, with infinite 
skill, fire, and audacity. The fencing-masters thought first, and 
last too in all probability, of explaining precisely how to use 
the sword. Bazancourt — albeit a mighty swordsman himself and much interested in the art — followed inevitably the 
writer's instinct, and thought first of pleasing which he did 
unmistakably. From its happy title to the happy sentence 
which ends it, his book, written in that perfect style which 
seems no style at all — just as the best manners are no manners 
at all — never palls or loses its hold on the reader, and, unlike 
most works on fencing which seem somewhat severe outside 
the fencing-room, it may be read afar from the clink of the 
foils. But, fascinating as his light-hearted writing is, the reader 
must not forget that he is dealing with a very expert literary 
dodger, and that for the literary mind bright paradox has often 
an irresistible charm. In bright paradox the Baron de 
Bazancourt dealt largely but, being an able man, his paradox 

30 FENCING 

was not all in all to him, as it would have been to a weak one, 
and he mixed up with it a certain amount of good sense. 
 Why have I written this book ? he pleasantly asks in his opening sentence. To amuse and to mislead might be answered 
by an indignant swordsman of the old school, and the answer 
would not be altogether without truth, though it should in fairness be added, that it was in some respects a not unsuccessful 
effort to instruct. 

Clever as his work is, however, it would not need other than 
the most brief notice in this attempt to give an epitome of the 
history of fencing were it not that he represents in the mos t 
brilliant manner the malcontents whose very name stirs to fury 
a righteous inaitre d^armes — professeur d'escrime it should be — 
but we may be allowed to follow the example of M. Legouve, 
and loathe this modern appellation, which, by the way, some 
great fencers seem inclined to reject. The irregular combatants 
can no more be ignored in any account of swordsmanship than 
naval critics can be ignored by the Admiralty, and, possibly like 
the latter, mingle some truth with a great deal of nonsense. 
They are the irreconcilables of the salle (Tarmes^ thoroughly 
discontented with existing laws, and no inapt or dull opponents 
of them. They are not a party of recent date, but have existed 
since the days of the battle between the romantics and the 
classics, if not from an earlier time, and they are a power to be 
reckoned with, as regular swordsmen now and then find to 
their cost. To give their views would be impossible, because 
they are not bound, as the others are, by any set of views 
set forth in the shape of rules and instruction but 
Bazancourt may be regarded as their best literary exponent, 
though, as is usually the case with rebel leaders, he has been 
hugely outstripped by those who have followed him. Shortly, 
it may be said that the irregular fencer thinks that he is at 
liberty to get at his antagonist, or to avoid his thrusts, in any 

way that seems good to him to contort the body, to twis t, 
to duck, to double himself up, to run back, to prod and 
poke as he thinks fit which at first sight appears plausible 
enough but it must be remembered that, if rules are artificial, 
fencing itself is artificial. A man does not come into the world 
with a sword in his hand, though a sword in somebody else's 
often sends him out of it. To attempt to follow instinct where 
it can be no real guide may be, not only to do what is wrong, but 
perhaps to do the exact opposite of what is right. Men used 
bows and arrows for a considerable time before it was discovered that it was best to draw the string to the ear. 

As has been shown briefly, and but imperfectly we fear, 
modern fencing is the result of a long study, extending over 
very many generations, of the art of using the sword. It was 
impeded and hindered by pedantry, by undue conservatism, 
by a kind of mysticism, and even by wild fancies innumerable; 
but still, being of great practical importance, it made progress 
by degrees, got slowly better and better, more precise, more 
certain, more based on knowledge of how to make the limbs 
and body serve the sword — more deadly, in a word; and three 
centuries after Marozzo wrote it may be assumed that the art 
of using the weapon had become as nearly perfect as can be 
hoped for in an imperfect world, and certainly very much 
better than anything that anybody could invent for himself out 
of his own mother- wit. 

It was three centuries after Marozzo that Bertrand flourished, 
and to Bertrand's period Bazancourt belonged but the rules 
which that volcanic genius was willing to obey were too 
severe for the amateur, and, not content with girding most 
happily at pedantry, he claimed license for the fencer to caper 
about according to his own sweet fancy, of which his followers 
have availed themselves to an extent which certainly he never 
anticipated. Such license is not and was not permissible, 

plausible as may be the reasons given for granting it. A system 
which it has taken three centuries to mature must be studied 
and mastered throughout, not taken up and dropped just as 
suits the pupil. Though tenacious of life almost beyond belief, 
absurdities and pedantry have gradually been threshed out, and 
fencing according to the system of the French school as expanded 
by Bertrand is now as practical as anything can be. Of this 
there can be no better proof than the amusing sentence of 
Bazancourt, quoted at the beginning of this chapter; he thought 
that the position of guard must be natural and instinctive, 
because it was so eminently practical, and obviously, as it 
seemed to him, the right position. So far as can be told now, 
it is the best position and the German manner of using the 
bow of the violin is undoubtedly the best. One is about as 
spontaneous, obvious, and natural as the other. 

So with the rest. The rules of fencing are not, as was 
once the case, due to dogma and caprice, but are the result 
of hundreds of thousands of combats, and of infinite pains 
devoted to one object, the most practical method of handling 
the sword. Difficult the system undoubtedly is, and time and 
work are required to master it, but this is the case in any pursuit 
where excellence is desired. After the system has been mastered, 
and real skill with the foil attained, the fencer will be in a 
position to judge what it is worth, and may abandon it and 
join those who deride discipline but the probabiHty of his 
coming to the conclusion that his pains have been thrown 
away is, to say the least, remote. There is, we believe, no case 
on record of a swordsman who, having attained repute as 
a regular fencer, went over to those who claimed liberty to do 
as they pleased. It is easy to deride method, but less easy to 
deal with a sword which is always in line and a point never far 
from the body. Rira Men qui rira le dernier,^ Of course it 
may happen that an irregular fencer beats a regular one hollow. 

No system can altogether make up for the inequaUties of nature 
and put the slow by the side of the swift, and a man who is 
naturally quick and active may be too much for one who is 
naturally slow and heavy. Bazancourt, who was a left-handed 
swordsman, had astounding natural quickness, and may have 
prevailed against well-skilled fencers. In like manner a man 
who has a natural talent for acting, but has never studied, in 
the old sense of the word, may produce certain brilliant effects 
but study is advisable for those who wish to act all the 
same. 

In the pages which follow this chapter, an attempt is made 
to acquaint Englishmen in the most practical manner possible 
with the method of fencing or small-sword play which is now 
followed in the best French schools. The system followed is 
essentially that of Bertrand, with whom, perhaps, swordsmanship 
culminated after its long period of slow progress for assuredly, 
despite the zealous efforts of ambitious and most accomplished fencers, his method of using the point has been but little 
departed from or improved upon during the time which has 
elapsed since he was supreme in the assault. As has been 
said, he left nothing written behind him but his system was 
thoroughly mastered by his one really distinguished pupil, the 
elder Prevost, who in turn imparted it to his son, labouring 
most strenuously to teach it to him during a long course of 
careful tuition. Aided by such knowledge as practice in fencing 
since the age of five, and more than twenty years' experience 
as prevot and maitre d'armes in Paris had given him, the son, 
working for French fencers, endeavoured to put the method of 
the great swordsman in a written form, with such modification 
in detail and amplification in some respects as experience had 
shown to be necessary. An attempt is now made by two 
English colleagues and by himself to do the like for those who 
practise fencing in England, and to give what is believed to be 

D 

a really practical theory of small-sword play — that is, a rule of 
instruction which, while altogether rejecting irregular fencings 
recognises regularity merely as a means to an end, and exacts 
obedience to rule, but only to rule which can be thoroughly 
explained and indisputably justified. 

It may be well to begin by the explanation of a few elementary 
technical terms in constant use. The others will be explained 
in the course of the instructions. 

Tierce Quarte. — These words, which are often referred to 
as something cabalistic, are really the simplest possible. Strictly 
speaking, they mean third and fourth, tierce being the third and 
quarte the fourth of the eight parries of the foil or small sword, 
shortly to be described but as they are much more used than 
any other parries, they are much more frequently spoken of, 
and are thought by many to indicate the whole art and mystery 
of fencing. The easiest way of explaining them in popular 
language is to say that tierce means right, and quarte left. 
Thus, when the swords are crossed with the points upwards, 
the fencers are engaged in tierce — if the blades are to the right 
of each other in quarte, if to the left. To lunge in tierce is 
to lunge high to the right of the opponent's sword to lunge in 
quarte, to lunge high to the left of it. Fencers speak of the lines 
of quarte and tierce. These, together with the other lines, will 
be described a little farther on. It should be explained that 
in a combat between a right-handed and left-handed fencer, 
one is engaged in quarte when the other is engaged in tierce. 

Supination pronation. — The hand is said to be in supination when 'the finger-nails are turned uppermost in pronation, 
when they are turned downwards. 

Opposition, — To take opposition is so to protect the body 
with the blade when the swords are crossed, that the opponent 
cannot hit in the line of engagement e.g., if the swords of two 
fencers are crossed in quarte, and one holds his blade so far to 
the left that, if the other thrusts to the left his point must go 
past the body, the former takes opposition in quarte. 

Nullify, — To nullify, avoid, or deceive a parry, is so to 
manipulate the foil or sword in attacking, that the opponent's 
parry misses it e.g., if the blades are crossed in tierce, and 
one fencer, dropping his point under the other's hand, makes 
a sham thrust to the left of his blade, so as to cause him 
to parry to the left, and then, rapidly returning, makes the real 
thrust to the right of the other's blade, he nullifies or avoids 
the parry to the left. This is the simplest form some of the 
methods of nullifying parries are, as will be seen, complex in 
the extreme. The French always call this deceiving a parry. 
Tromper une parade is the regular expression. In this case, 
however, a literal translation would hardly be the best, so we 
usually speak in these instructions of nullifying or avoiding a 
parry. It is hardly necessary to point out that, in order to do 
this, the attacking fencer must rightly forecast the other's defensive movement. If the combatant who is attacked does not 
make the parry expected, the attack will be all wrong. Nothing 
more marks a great master of the sword than the power of 
divining what his opponent is going to do — a power which 
sometimes seems to those unaccustomed to fencing-rooms 
almost miraculous. 

HOW TO HOLD THE FOIL OR SWORD. 

Let the thumb be flat on the upper — that is, the convex — 
part of the corded hilt, the forefinger holding the two sides 
and lower part, and the other fingers being flat against the left 

FIRST POSITION 

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS yj 

side. The fingers should touch each other lightly. This way 
of holding the sword is incontestably that which lends itself 
best to linger play — that is, to directing the point by the action 
of the thumb and forefinger aided by the other fingers. If, as 
some masters have taught, the forefinger is stretched away, the 
middle finger and the other two fingers must grip the hilt, and 
this will tend to make the movements less quick and less 
light. The parries specially will be wanting in precision and 
smartness. 

THE POSITIONS. 

Three only, in our opinion, are rightly recognised in 
fencing -— 

1. That which the fencer takes before placing himself on 
guard. 

2. The position on guard. 

3. The extension — i.e. the lunge. 

First position. — The heels must touch, the right foot 
pointing towards the adversary, and the left foot at right 
angles to it the legs straight the body turned towards the 
right and presenting three-quarters face to the adversary the 
hand holding the sword at about the height of the head, the 
arm straight and inclined to the right the hand in supination 
the left arm falling naturally by the side, but clear of it, the 
hand turned outwards. 

Second position. — To change from the first to the second 
position Lower the right hand, turning the knuckles downwards, and move it towards the left, which grasps the blade 
lightly just as if it was sheathed lift the arms to the top of the 
head, giving a roundness to the movement quit hold with the 
left hand, and place it slightly backwards, keeping it at the 
same height, the arm half stretched out and rounded bring 
the right hand in front of the chest, a little below the right 

breast, the arm bent, the elbow close to the body, the button 
of the foil at the height of the eyes carry the right foot forward about two soles' lengths, the distance varying slightly with 
the height of the individual and the size of the feet, and bend 
both legs equally. Keep the right heel in a line with the left. 
Let the iveight of the body be equally divided between the two legs, 
and the right knee be over the instep. Press the left hip in well 
without turning the body to the left. The fencer must not efface 
himself three-quarters face to the adversary must be strictly 
maintained. This position is known as being on guard. When 
it has been assumed, the combatant can attack or defend himself, advance or retreat, with equal ease, and without any preparatory movement. If, on firs-t taking it, the pupil does not 
find it natural and instinctive, as Bazancourt called it, let 
him be persuaded that the fault is not with his teacher or the 
art, but with himself. The more this conviction penetrates 
with regard to this and other positions and movements the 
more chance there is of ultimate success. One of the beauties 
of fencing is, that, like a kindly doctor, it teaches men many 
facts connected with themselves which they never in the least 
suspected before. 

Third position. — To pass from the second to the third 
position stretch the right arm straight, keeping it at the 
height of the shoulder, without bending the body the hand in 
supination; advance the right foot about a sole and a half— the 
stature of the individual being always taken into consideration 
—lifting the toes a little, the heel brushing the ground. At the 
same moment that the foot is advanced, tighten the loins (as 
men do when settling down in the saddle before a leap), press 
in the left hip, straighten the left leg and thigh, drop the left 
hand to the left thigh without touching it, the palm turned outwards. 

The left foot must remain flat on the ground, and the 

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shoulders must drop naturally, any rigidity being carefully 
avoided. The right knee must be straight above the instep. 

This is the developpement of the French fencers — Anglice^ 
the lunge or extension. 

REMARKS RESPECTING THE GUARD. 

The height of the point should vary according to the 
stature of the adversary so far as may be practicable the 
sword should point towards his eyes. 

It has been urged by a well-known writer on fencing who 
has had many followers, in practice at all events, if not in 
theory, that the combatant should efface himself as much as 
possible— that is, should turn the left side as much as he can 
away from the antagonist, presenting only the right side, thus 
exposing himself as little as may be. In our opinion this is 
an error. With the body turned round in this manner, it is 
extremely difficult to preserve a steady balance, and in consequence the parries become large and slow, and the lunge less 
rapid than it should be, as it is impossible to get that action 
of the loins which is essential to a quick extension. 

Care must be taken to hold and drop the left arm in the 
manner indicated. It is not, as is sometimes imagined, merely 
posed for grace, but is an important counterbalance to the right, 
helping and quickening the extension as it falls, and greatly 
aiding the recovery as it is raised again. The body must be 
kept perfectly upright, bearing neither forwards nor backwards. 
Indeed this is of the highest importance. If the fencer leans 
forward, he exposes the upper part of his body to the adversary's 
point, and, resting too much on the right leg, has not the 
freedom necessary for quick extension. Leaning back, on the 
other hand, thereby throwing the weight on the left leg, makes 
it almost impossible to retreat, exposes the lower part of the 

body, and retards extension in attack and the riposte by the 
time necessary to bring the body well on to the two legs again. 
Further, this position obliges the combatant to jump and, in 
spite of all that has been said in novels about the bounds of 
fencers, there is no such thing as jumping either in the advance 
or the lunge. 

It has been said that the left knee should be straight over 
the end of the left foot but this forces the left haunch out of 
its proper position, and gives an awkward curve to the left leg. 
The knee should be in front of and a little inside the front of 
the left foot. 

OBSERVATIONS ON THE LUNGE OR EXTENSION. 

However rapid the lunge, the hand must always start first 
that is, the movement of the hand must precede that of the 
body^ since the hand holds the foil or weapon with which the 
antagonist is touched, or with which it is hoped to touch him. 

Care must be taken not to let the body drop forward, as 
this destroys the balance, and tends to pull the left foot off the 
ground, thereby depriving the fencer of his main hold on it, 
rendering recovery extremely difficult, and putting him in a 
position of much danger. 

The old practice of making the sole of the shoe resound 
on the floor should never be indulged in. It has long been 
altogether abandoned in the best schools, and is now looked 
upon as vulgar. To make this senseless noise it is necessary 
to lift the foot, and this deadens the movement. The lunge 
is a glide and not a step, and the heel must press the ground 
first when the fencer reaches his limit. 

To return to the guard. Let the elbow drop by the side, 
bringing back the sword to the position of guard bring the 

right foot back to within some two soles' length of the left heel 
bend the left knee again, and raise the left hand. To bring 
the body back rapidly and steadily, there must be pressure of 
the loins and of the left hip, similar to that which gave impulse, 
steadiness, and quickness to the attack. 

The fencer may also regain the second position or guard 
by drawing the left foot forward as follows Bring the left foot 
to within about two soles' length of the right, drop the right 
elbow to the side and lift the left arm, assuming the position of 
guard. This method of rising from the lunge should only be 
adopted when the adversary has retreated considerably on 
being attacked, and is better suited for those who have attained 
some skill in the assault than for beginners. 

When an attack has not succeeded and the fencer wishes to 
place himself instantly out of distance — Throw all the weight 
of the body on to the left leg by a vigorous effort of the right 
leg bring the right heel against the left, and step back about 
two soles' length with left foot, dropping the right elbow by the 
side, raising the left arm, and falling into the position of guard. 

To regain the first position, — This can be done either forwards, by bringing the left heel up to the right, or vice versa. 

To advance, — Being on guard, step forward a few inches 
with the right foot and bring the left foot forward the same 
distance, the right starting first, and the position of guard being 
maintained. As to advance is, more or less, to confront danger, 
small steps are advisable. 

To retreat, — Being on guard, step back a few inches with 
the left foot, and bring the right foot back the same distance, 
the left foot starting first, and the position of guard being maintained. When it is necessary to get instantly out of distance, 
the retreat is the same when on guard as when on the lunge. 

The appel, — To make the appel is to stamp, or rather 
to slap the floor with the sole of the right foot, producing 

the unmeaning noise already spoken of. So far as first-class 
fencers were concerned it was long ago abandoned in the 
assault, but, until quite recently, it was still heard in the Salute, 
to be described hereafter. Now, however, the French Academy 
of Arms has happily also abolished it even in the Salute, and 
the appel therefore is a thing of the past. 

In the days when idiocy played so large a part in fencing 
it was thought that the appel frightened the adversary. Of 
course it never frightened anybody over five, and served no 
purpose but to put the antagonist on his guard and to retard 
the attack of the booby who made it. It was a favourite with 
the gallery in public assaults. 

THE LINES. 

A LINE, SO called, is the space between the one side or the other 
of the fencer's foil or sword and the corresponding side or limit 
of the body. The word is not a happily chosen one, but we 
must accept established usage. 

There are four lines in fencing two upper and two lower, 
the blades in the first case being pointed high, in the second 
low. The upper lines are called inside and outside the inside 
being to the left of the blade, the outside to the right. The 
lower lines are called lower and exterior lower to the left of 
the fencer's blade, exterior to the right. 

In order to determine the lines, it is necessary that the 
blades should be pointed up or down but it is not necessary, 
as has been alleged, that there should be engagement. 

THE ENGAGEMENT. 

The engagement is the junction of the blades. It may take 
place in each of the four lines, and is either called engagement 
simply, or is named after the parry which is being formed when 
the blades meet. Engagements in the lower hues are rarely 

 The French terms are dessous and dehors. Of the latter, when used 
in this sense, no exact translation in one word can be given, and, in order to 
avoid a dual name, an arbitrary meaning is given to the word exterior. 

resorted to by French fencers. When the Itahan system is 
followed it is otherwise. 

SIMPLE PARRIES. 

Simple parries are those which meet the blade directly in 
the line in which the thrust is made. 

Eight are recognised two for each line. They are called 
— Prime, Seconde, Tierce, Quarte, Quinte, Sixte, Septime, 
Octave. Tierce, Quarte, Quinte, and Sixte are in the upper 
lines, the others in the low hues. The parries are transverse 
movements in the upper lines, semi-circular in the lower when 
engagement changes from the upper to the lower, and vice 
versa. 

Frwie. — The hand in pronation opposite the left shoulder; 
the arm bent, the elbow lowered somewhat, the point low 
and a httle outside the lower line. 

Seconde. — Hand to the right a little higher than the right 
hip, and well in front hand in pronation the arm straight 
without stiffness, the point a little lower than the hand and 
slightly outside the exterior line. 

Tierce. — The hand to the right in pronation, the elbow by 
the side the point at the height of the eyes and a little 
beyond the outside line. 

Quarte. — The hand to the left, neither in pronation nor 
supination, but the thumb uppermost; the elbow close to the 
body the point at the height of the eyes and slightly beyond 
the inside line. 

Quinte. — The hand to the left in pronation, at the height 
of the belt the point well beyond the inside line. 

Sixte. — The hand to the right in supination the point at 
the height of the eyes, and a little beyond the outside line. 

Septime or semi-circle. — ^The hand to the right in supination 

 

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at the height of the shoulder the arm half extended the 
point to the left at the height of the breast or shoulder. 

Octave. — The same as seco7i.de but the hand in supination. 

Such are the eight simple parries recognised in fencing. 
We have described them because it is necessary that the fencer 
should know what are the regular parries, and should understand the meaning of terms which he will hear in the fencing room and find in books but in practice the simple parries may 
be reduced to four. This happy change was first introduced 
by Bertrand, who was above all things practical, and abundant 
experience has shown that the great swordsman was right. 

The four parries which may be abandoned are — 

1. Prime^ because it is large and therefore slow difficult on 
account of the position of hand and blade, and because, while 
it is very easily avoided, coming back to another parry after 
prime has been avoided is by no means easy. Septime, which 
covers the same lines, is better, because it is smaller and therefore quicker, and because, if it has been deceived, recovery is 
much easier, the hand being in supination. 

2. Quinte, because, with the point well outside the line and 
the hand in pronation, the riposte is difficult, while quarte covers 
the same line without this drawback. 

3. Sixfe^ because, the hand being in supination, there are 
only the ends of the fingers to resist the effects of a smart beat 
in the outside line, which may drive the blade over to the left 
or knock it right out of the fencer's hand. With tierce there is 
the thumb to meet the shock of a sharp parry or beat, and 
tierce protects the same line as sixte. Not a few fencers think 
that sixte is quicker than tierce, but this is an error indeed, it 
is likely to be slower, because to deflect the adversary's blade 
the point must be raised higher than it need be for the other 
parry. We may observe that the pronation in tierce must be 
pronounced but slightly. 

4. Octave^ because, the hand being in supination, this parry 
is inferior to seconde for a reason precisely similar to that just 
given. Seconde protects the same line as octave. 

We will now indicate the manner in which, starting from 
the four engagements, the four essential parries are made. 

From the Engage ?7ient in Quart e. 
To parry seconde^ drop the point, making it describe a 
half-circle from left to right. Take the position of seconde. 

To parry tierce^ move the hand to the right, taking the 
tierce position. 

To parry septime, move the hand to the right and to the 
height of the shoulder, the arm half extended, and, at the same 
time, carry the point to the right, and let it describe a half- circle 
from right to left, coming to the position of septime. The 
parry thus executed from engagement in quarte combines tierce 
with septime or demi-cercle. 

From Engagement in Tierce, 

To parry seconde^ bring the foil into seconde by making 
the point describe a half-circle from above to below by the 
left. 

To parry quarte^ move the hand and point from right to 
left, taking the position of quarte. 

To parry septi77ie^ bring the foil into septime by making 
it describe a half-circle from right to left, passing under the 
adversary's blade or hand. 

From Engagement in Seconde, 

To parry tierce^ make the point describe a half-circle 
from below to above by the left, and bring foil to tierce 
position. 

To parry quarte^ make the point describe a half-circle 

from below to above, passing from right to left, and bring foil 
to quarte position. 

To parry septvne^ bring the foil into septime position. 

I^ro7n Engagement in Septime, 

To parry seconde^ bring foil to seconde position. 

With this engagement there is no need to parry tierce, since, 
as has been shown, septime covers the tierce line. The inside 
line is also covered by this comprehensive parry but, never theless, when the adversary's point is aimed high, the quarte 
parry may be used without making the half-circle to do this 
raise the point and move the hand to the left, lowering it a 
little. 

THE CHANGE OF ENGAGEMENT AND DOUBLE 
ENGAGEMENT. 

The change of engagement in the upper lines is made by 
passing the point under the adversary's blade. The change 
by passing the blade over his point is not advised, being ex* 
tremely dangerous. 

Changes in the lower lines are made by passing the point 
over the blade but, as has been said, engagements in these 
lower Hues are not largely practised by French fencers. As 
the adversaries cannot both be equally covered in the line of 
engagement, it is obvious that a change of engagement must 
frequently be made to get out of a dangerous position and take 
opposition in the other line without pressure on the blade. 

The double engagement or double engage. — This is the name 
given to two successive changes of engagement made rapidly. 
Opposition is taken on the second change. Simple as this 
movement is, lightness of hand and skill in finger-play are 
required to execute it properly, and, for this reason, it is an 

admirable exercise. In advancing it is of great use, as it is not 
easy to snatch a lunge upon it but it should not be resorted 
to in the retreat. 

SIMPLE ATTACKS. 

Simple attacks are those which are preceded by no feint. 
There are four: the straight thrust, the disengagement, the 
coupe, and the counter-disengagement. 

The straight thrust. — In this attack, as in all others, the 
movement of the hand and arm must precede that of the body 
or foot. It is impossible to pay too much attention to this most 
absolute rule of fencing. 

The straight thrust is made by extending the arm and lunging 
in the line in which the swords are engaged. When in this or 
any other attack the point is directed to the body, the hand 
is best in supination some few exceptional positions apart, 
pronation is very apt to send the point out of the right line, 
and makes finger-play difficult. The opponent's blade may be 
held or quitted in the straight thrust. When the adversary's 
point is too low, an almost irresistible straight thrust may be 
given by seizing with the fort of the sword the faible of his, 
the hand being held high. To effect this stroke successfully 
very great quickness is necessary. 

The disengage. — This is quitting the line in which the 
blades are engaged and thrusting in another, the blade in the 
vast majority of attacks passing under that of the adversary. It 
maybe made from one upper line to the other, from upper line 
to lower, from lower to upper, and from lower to lower. The first 
is that which is usually practised in fencing. The second may 
occasionally be used but the two latter are very seldom resorted to in the French school, save for feints, or after feints. 

To disengage in the upper lines. — Pass the point from one 
line to another under the opponent's blade and hand by a 

spring-like movement of the thumb and finger, and lunge, taking 
opposition at the'same time the hand in supination. 

It is a grave mistake to suppose, as many fencers do, that 
in the disengage, the point should be kept as close to the adversary's blade as possible. On the contrary, the point should 
be advanced so as to pass under his hand or arm there 
should be, in fact, one continuous spiral, if the expression may 
be allowed, from the moment when the point leaves his blade 
to that when it happily touches his body — or is unhappily prevented from doing so by his objectionable activity. 

To disengage from high to low. — Drop the point and pass 
the blade under the adversary's into the lower line. 

The two other disengagements above named are of course 
effected by passing the blade over that of the adversary. 

The coupe or cut-over. — The coupe is the opposite of the 
disengage, the blade being passed over the adversary's blade 
instead of under. In the French school it is only used in the 
upper lines. 

To make the coupe. — Raise the point and pass it over the 
other, by the action of the thumb and forefinger, loosening the 
other fingers. Tighten them slightly as it drops into the other 
line, bringing the hand into supination, extending the arm and 
lunging. 

The counter-disengage. — This can only be made on a 
change of engagement, or a double engage. By means of it 
the fencer may baffle the attack and snatch a lunge, though 
this of course requires considerable address. Preceded by a 
feint, or an attack on the sword, it serves to nullify a parry. 
As stated above, a disengage is made by quitting one line 
for another. A counter-disengage, on the contrary, is made in 
the same line the movement, though similar in appearance, is 
in fact reversed. 

To counter-disengage on a change from quarte to tierce. — The 

E 

instant that touch of the adversary's blade is gone, drop the 
point, pass the blade under his by a very delicate movement of 
thumb and forefinger, keeping to a continuous spiral, extend 
the arm and lunge, taking opposition with the hand in supination. Reverse this to nullify the change of engagement from 
tierce to quarte. 

On a double engagement the counter movement must be 
made on the second change. In the lower lines the counterdisengage is made by passing the point over the adversary's 
hand. 

The counter-disengage may sometimes be abridged by 
passing from an upper line to a lower, or vice versa. Thus 
when the engagement is in quarte, the fencer may, the instant 
touch is given, drop his point to the exterior line and lunge in 
that hne. In like manner, with engagement in tierce, he may 
drop the point and lunge in lower Ime. These are still called 
^^^////^r-disengages, as they are still made in the reverse way. 

SIMPLE PARRIES AS AGAINST SIMPLE ATTACKS. 

When the straight thrust is attempted without quitting 
the blade, take opposition in the hne. When the blade is 
quitted, give a hght but smart rap or beat, taking opposition. 
If the mistake of holding the point too low has been made, and 
the antagonist endeavours to force the straight thrust, safety 
can be gained in either line by raising the point so as to bring 
the fort against the faible of the other's blade, and by taking 
opposition. 

On a disengage into the inside line, parry, quarte, or 
septime into the outside line, tierce into the lower or into the 
exterior line, parry septime or seconde against a coupe into 
the inner Hne, parry quarte into the outer line, tierce. 

On a counter-disengage bringing blades to inside line 

after the change parry quarte or septime with blades brought 
to outside hne, tierce with lower and exterior lines, septime 
and seconde respectively. 

FINGER-PLAY OR DOIGTE. 

The point should be directed in fencing by the use 
principally of the thumb and forefinger, which govern all its 
movements. The other fingers merely aid by giving the 
blade steadiness in feint, power in an attack on the sword, 
and by supporting it in a shock or when it is necessary to close a line by taking or maintaining opposition. 
There must be momentary or brief pressui'e with them when 
required, ceasing the instant necessity for it ceases; but they 
must never quit the hilt, which they ought always to feel. 
The hilt, however, may on occasion be separated by a little 
from the palm of the hand, and brought back to it by the 
pressure of the fingers. Without this it is impossible to execute circular or semicircular movements properly. 

The proper use of the thumb and fingers, called doigte, 
is of the greatest importance in fencing, but is extremely 
difficult to acquire, action with them being contrary to a man's 
natural instinct, which prompts him to use his whole hand and 
wrist. In first lessons, therefore, the greatest possible pains 
must be taken to make the pupil govern the point in the 
manner indicated. If, instead of relying on the supple fingers, 
the fencer gets into the habit of working with the arm and 
clenching and stiffening its big muscles, he will contract an all 
but incurably vicious style of swordsmanship, only to be got rid 
of by such an amount of perseverance and self-control as will 
probably exhaust his entire stock, and leave him none for the 
other efforts of life. 

ATTACKS ON THE SWORD. 

By means of these movements the adversary's sword is got 
out of the way in order that the body may be attacked. They 
are made by a pressure, a beat, a scrape, or a twist {pressions, 
battements^froisses^ croises, liements). 

The attack by pressure. — This is merely to press on the 
other blade so as to move it out of the line and make an 
opening, with a view either to attacking directly, or to nullifying 
a parry. 

The beat, — This is a light but smart tap on the adversar}^'s 
blade, paralysing it, and making- it the more difficult for him to 
resist a direct attack, or one made by nullifying his parry. 
Great care must be taken not to move the foil too far from the 
other in order to give a very smart tap, as this makes it easy 
for the adversary to avoid the beat. All the fingers must work 
in the battemejtt. 

The scrape. — If slang were allowed, this ought to be called 
the Scrooge but there is no English word which precisely 
reproduces the French /r^/V^^. 

It is delivered in tierce when the adversary has his point 
too low, or his arm stretched out. The object of it is to 
paralyse his hand and arm for the moment, or to drive his 
blade out of the line, so that his body may be attacked. Often 
it disaniTS. 

To execute it — seize, so to speak, with the fort of the sword 
the faible of his, then, with a vigorous pressure of the fingers, 
bring the point down to his hilt, keeping touch the meanwhile, 
and giving his sword a scrape which ought to unnerve his hand 
for the moment, There must be energy in this movement, 
and the adversary's blade must be well felt but there must 
be no heavy pressure due to clenching of the muscles. The 

"Scrape in tierce is the only one that the fencer is advised to 
attempt. 

The tiioist (croise), — This is bringing the adversary's 
blade from an upper to a lower line, the object being to disarm, or thoroughly to paralyse the defence for a moment. It 
can only be effected when the other's point is too low. 

It is thus executed — with engagement in quarte seize 
the faible with the fort, and, by a pow^erful but rapid movement, 
bring the adversary's blade into seconde, passing the point 
over his hilt. This ought to give a scrape and twist which will 
either disarm him or completely loosen the sword in his grasp. 
At the end of the movement the point should be a little higher 
than it is in the usual engagement in seconde. With engagement in tierce seize faible with fort, and bring the other blade 
inco septime, passing the point over his hilt. 

The twist from quarte into seconde is undoubtedly the 
more telling of the two. 

The twist and lunge (liement), — This is somew^hat like 
the last movement, but is less violent and does not disarm, and 
the body, as well as the blade, is attacked in ouq continuous 
movement, so that it is not quite in the same category as the 
four attacks on the blade just described. It is only possible 
when the adversary's point is too low. 

To execute it — with engagement in quarte seize the fort 
with the faible; pa^s your point over the other's hilt, straightening the arm at the same time, and lunging in the exterior line 
with the hand in supination, and taking marked opposition to 
the right. This is the famous thrust known as flanconnade or 
liement d ^octave. 

The twist and lunge from tierce to a bwer line and from 
seconde to an upper line are not now resorted to, as they so 
often result in simultaneous hits (coup double). 

Attacks on the sword are often preceded by changes of 

engagement, and the scrape may be prefaced by a change of 
engagement or double engage and coupe. 

Hoiv to avoid and frustrate attacks on the sword^ and hoiv 
to parry the attacks on sword and body. — The pressure on the 
blade, the beat, and the scrape are frustrated by a disengage 
into the other upper line or into a low line. 

As the first two attacks on the sword may be made in the 
lower line, they may be nullified by a disengage into the other 
lower line or into an upper line. 

The twist from quarte to seconde is frustrated by a disengage into tierce that from tierce into septime by yielding 
the blade completely and disengaging into the exterior line. 

The twist and lunge, being an attack on the body as well 
as on the sword, must not be escaped and frustrated by a disengage in the marner just described, as there would be great 
danger of simultaneous hits; the latter part of it must therefore be parried. 

To parry the flanconnade. — Without losing touch, yield 
the sword completely at first, until the blade is horizontal (the 
point being then to the left) drop the hand slightly, and raise 
the point so that the blades be in quarte position, and take 
opposition in that line. 

A change of engagement with an attack on the sword is 
frustrated in the same way as an ordinary change of engagement, i.e. by a counter-disengage. 

The change of engagement made by the twist may also be 
frustrated by a counter-disengage. On the change of engagement, coupe and scrape, disengage on the scrape, and do the 
same with the double engage, coupe and scrape. 

FEINTS. 

A feint is a sham or false attack made without extension, 
and indeed without moving the body. 

In order to deceive — that is, to nullify or avoid a foreseen 
parry by preventing it from reaching the blade in time — a composed attack, in which one or more feints precede the real 
attempt to hit, must be made, save in some few cases which 
need not now be considered. 

It is by no means uncommon for fencers to advance the 
hand a little and no more on each feint, only stretching the 
arm out fully at the end. We cannot but think this a mistake. 
The arm should be extended on the first movement but it 
must be kept quite supple, and great care must be taken not to 
move the body forward. The reasons for extending the arm 
are very simple. The adversary, startled by seeing the point so 
close to him, is almost obliged to make a parry in the line in 
which he appears to be in danger, thereby rendering it all the 
more likely that he will be a victim to the real attack. Further 
in composed attacks the end must be quicker than the beginning. The nearer the point to the body the quicker the end 
will be. 

In feints the body must be kept perfectly steady, and, for 
their fit execution, command of finger-play is essential. In 
all feints, even in those in the low lines, the hand should be in 

Whatever the nature of the composed attack may be, the full 
extension [i.e., the movement of the right foot and of the body] 
must be at the end — that is to say, there must be no extension 
with the false movement. When there is an advance with 
a composed attack, step and feint must be together, the 
extension being made with the real attack only. 

To nullify or avoid the adversary's parries, or to cheat his 
steel, if a paraphrase of the French expression tromper le fer 
may be allowed, it is necessary to foresee what his parry will be, 
or to watch his blade and, by superior quickness and precision 
due to finger-play, avoid it as each parry is formed. This latter 

course is, generally speaking, only practicable when there is some 
disparity in skill. It is almost needless to say that no rules can 
be laid down for this, which depends entirely on mastery of foil 
and quickness of perception. The personal equation comes in 

here. 

The first way of cheating the steel may be called nullifying 
by forecast, the other nullifying parries by the eye. When a 
series of parries are to be nulhfied, both methods may be 
resorted to. The fencer makes a guess what the first parry wnll 
be, and, this proving right, trusts to eye and hand for nullifying 
the others. In doing this it is essential for him to regulate his 
speed by that of the adversary. 

Too many fencers unfortunately try to nullify parries in a 
haphazard and utterly meaningless manner. They make a 
composed attack, without considering what the parry is that 
this movement nullifies or what the adversary's defence 
is likely to be. Of course such an attack may succeed, 
but it is due to pure chance, and reflects no credit on the 
swordsman. Very often an attack of this kind brings about 
one of those unpleasant jars which are known as parries by 
contraction. 

It cannot be too strongly insisted on that every move?nent in 
fencing should have a purpose. There can be no greater mistake than to indulge in vague flourishes of the sword or movements made without any definite object. To do this is to be 
like a child w^ho thumps the keys of a piano under the impression 
that it is playing. 

COUNTER PARRIES. 

A counter is a circular parry — that is to say, one in which 
the blade makes a circular movement following that of the 
adversary in order to meet it again at the point of departure and 
ward it off the body. The word counter is chosen as the near- 

est approach to the French contre, for which there is no precise 
equivalent. Counters are named according to the engagement 
from which the parry is made. They can only be properly 
made when the adversary attacks in the hne opposed to that 
of the engagement — i.e. attacks in quarte from tierce or z^/V^ 
versa in seconde from septime or vice versa. Counters are 
made as follows — 

Engaged in quarte to parry counter-quarte. — The moment 
the adversary disengages or makes a coupe, to attack in outside line, describe a circle with your point passing under his 
blade or hand from left to right in the lower segment of the 
circle, and take opposition in quarte, as your blade catches his. 
The point must be directed by the thumb and forefinger, aided 
at the last moment by smart pressure of the fingers, so as to 
give a sharp clean rap which will drive the other blade away. 

From tierce to parry counter-tierce, — The instant the adversary disengages or makes .a coupe to attack in inside line, make 
the point describe a reverse circle to that of counter-quarte, 
following the principles laid down for that parry. 

From seconde to parry counter-seconde. — Directly the 
adversary quits the blade to attack in the low hne, make the 
point describe a circle moving first from right to left, passing over 
his hand, and follow the same principles as in counter-quarte. 

From septime to parry counter~septi??ie, — The moment the 
sword is quitted for attack in exterior line, make the point 
describe a circle, moving first from left to right, passing over his 
hand, and observe the same principles as in the other parries. 

When there is no junction of the steel, the parries are 
named according to the lines approximated to. If the blades 
are to the left of each other, w^ith the points high, the parry is 
called counter-quarte with points low, counter-septime and 
so with the other two. 

Septime, it is to be observed, may very often be advan- 

tageously used instead of counter-tierce. It protects from 
the same attacks as the other, and covers the lower Hnes as 
well as the upper. It can, moreover, be executed more quickly 
than counter-tierce, as, owing to the point having to describe 
considerably less than a circle, the antagonist's blade is much 
sooner caught. 

REVERSED COUNTER-PARRIES (CONTRE-OPPOSES). 

These, as the name indicates, are the ordinary counterparries executed the opposite way. Thus, being engaged in 
quarte, to parry the reversed counter {contre-oppose de quarte) is 
to parry counter-tierce. In order to take opposition there must 
be a transverse as well as circular movement, but the two must 
be welded so as to form one continuous parry. Reversed 
counter from quarte engagement is, therefore, tierce and 
counter-tierce reversed counter from tierce engagement, quarte 
and counter-quarte. The first is seldom resorted to, but the 
other is an excellent parry, as it is easily made and not easily 
avoided. Reversed counters are hardly ever used in the lower 
lines, save when the adversary parries seconde with direct riposte 
(to be explained later on) then, in retreating, septime and 
counter-septime may sometimes be useful. 

HOW TO NULLIPT OR AVOID THE SIMPLE PARRIES. 

Engaged in qnarte ta nullify the parry of quarte (the adversary 
being exposed in the line of the engagement, without which of 
course there can be no straight thrust) 

1. Simulate a straight thrust, or make a beat, and diserbgage 
into the outside or low line (line of tierce or septime). 

2, Simulate straight thrust or beat, and make a coupe. 

In the other lines parries corresponding to the line of 
engagement are nullified in a similar manner, but in the lower 
lines there can be no coupe. 

From engagement in quarte, — To nullify seconde diseno;ao-e into the outside line. 

To nullify tierce — 

1. Simulate disengagement into outside line and disengage 
into inside line. This is called one-two, and is a frequent 
attack in fencing. It may be abridged by simulating thrust 
in low line and attacking in inside line, and by simulating disengage into outside line and attacking in exterior line. 

2. Disengage into low line. 

3. Change engagement, giving a pressure or beat, or the 
scrape on making the change, and disengage into exterior or 
inside line. 

To nullify septime — 

1. Make feint in low line, feint, well-marked, in inside line 
(one-two low and quarte lines) and counter-disengage. 

2. If the adversary is exposed in the line of engagement, 
simulate straight thrust or beat, and counter-disengage. 

Fro?n engagement in tierce. — To nullify seconde one -two, 
first dropping point as though to attack in seconde, then attacking in tierce. 

To nullify quarte — 

1. One-two, feinting of course in quarte and attacking in 
tierce. 

2. One-two low, feinting in quarte and attacking in low^ line. 

3. Change engagement, with a pressure or beat on making 
change, and disengage into outside or low line. 

To nullify septime — 

1. Feint disengage into quarte, and counter-disengage 
into exterior line. This is called a double disengage, or simply 
a double. 

2. Simulate coupe .and counter-disengage. 

3. Change engagement with beat and counter-disengage. 
From engagement ifi seconde. — To nullify tierce one- two 

simulating attack in tierce, and attacking in exterior line. 
To nullify quarte — 

1. Disengage into low line. 

2. Feint, disengage into quarte, and counter-disengage into 
tierce. 

To nullify septime :— One-two, going over \h^ adversary's 
hilt. One may be marked high or low. 

From engagement in septime. — To nullify seconde onetwo over the hilt. 

To nullify quarte one-two, ending the attack in tierce. 

PARRIES FOR MEETING THE ATTACKS JUST DESCRIBED. 

With engagement in quarte. — i. To one-two in inside line 
counter-quarte, septime or tierce and quarte. Seconde may be 
parried if the feint is in outside (or upper) line, but not if the 
feint is in exterior line anyhow, this requires great nicety of 
judgment. 

2. To one-two in exterior line septime, or better, seconde, 
when the attack has been rightly judged. 

A change of engagement in the upper line, with a beat, 
pressure, or scrape on the change, and disengage into quarte, 
is parried in the same way as the first of the attacks described 
in the above paragraph a change with one of these movements 
and thrust in exterior line, in the same manner as the second. 

3. To disengagement into exterior line parry septime or 
seconde. 

4. To one-two counter-disengage, beat and counter-disengage, feint of straight thrust and counter-disengage parry 
septime and seconde, or septime and counter-septime, or 
septime and quarte. 

Engaged in tierce. — i. To meet one-two in upper line: 
counter-tierce, or quarte and tierce. If the attack is rightly 
judged, tierce only may of course be parried. 

2. To one-two with thrust in low line septime, or quarte 
and seconde. A change of engagement with a beat or pressure 
on change, and disengage in outside line, is parried in the same 
way as the first attack mentioned above a change so followed 
with attack in low line in the same manner as the second 
attack spoken of. 

3. To a double, or feint of coupe and counter-disengage, or 
change of engagement and counter-disengage parry septime 
and seconde, or septime and counter-septime. 

HOW TO NULLIFY OR AVOID COUNTER-PARRIES. 

Engaged in quarte to avoid counter-qiiarte, — i. Double the 
disengagement — that is to say, simulate disengagement into 
tierce, and counter-disengage and lunge in tierce. 

2. Double disengage ending low double, as before, but 
end in low line. The hand may, in this case, be in complete 
pronation at the last, and should be a little lower than the 
shoulder, but the point must be kept high on the disengage, 
so as to make the adversary raise his hand. 

3 Simulate disengagement into tierce and make a coupe, 
just at the end of the other's parry, into tierce (this might be 
called counter-coupe). 

4. Simulate coupe and counter-disengage into quarte or 
into low-line in the latter case the hand may be in complete 
pronation at the end. 

E?igaged in tierce^ to avoid counter-tierce. — i. Double disengage, ending in quarte or in exterior line. 

2. Simulate disengagement and make coupe into quarte; 
or, simulate coupe into quarte, and counter disengage into 
quarte or exterior line. Counter-seconde and counter-septime 
are avoided by doubling, the attacks ending either high or low 
for counter-seconde. 

HOW TO MEET THE ATTACKS LAST MENTIONED. 

Engaged in quarte. — To meet a double disengage in upper 
line parry counter-quarte and tierce, or double counterquarte— that is to say, parry counter-quarte twice. To meet 
a double disengage in lower line parry counter-quarte and 
septime or counter-quarte and seconde. 

Engaged in tierce.— To meet a double disengage into 

inside line, feint of disengage and coupe into inside line, or 
feint of coupe and counter-disengage into the same line parry 
counter-tierce and quarte, or counter-tierce and septime, or 
double counter-tierce. 

2. To meet a double into exterior line or feint of coupe 
and counter-disengage into exterior line parry counter-tierce 
and seconde, or counter-tierce and septime. 

In seconde, meet a double disengage, ending low, by double 
counter-seconde; ending in upper line, meet by counter-seconde 
and tierce or quarte in septime, meet the same by double 
counter-septime, or counter-septime and quarte, if the adversary's 
point is aimed high.^ 

HOW TO FRUSTRATE A CHANGE OF ENGAGEMENT AND 
AVOID A SIMPLE PARRY IN THE UPPER LINES. 

Engaged in quarte. — To frustrate a change of engagement to 
tierce and parry in quarte simulate counter-disengage (which 
will mduce the adversary to parry quarte) and disengage this 
movement is called one-two on a change. To avoid the 
change to tierce and parry in seconde one-two on the change, 
with the feint in seconde, and the end in tierce. 

To frustrate a change to tierce and parry in septime double 
the counter-disengage, attacking in exterior (seconde) line. 

Ei2gaged in tierce, — To avoid change of engagement to 
quarte and parry in tierce — 

1. One-two on the change. 

2. Counter-disengage into low line. 

To avoid change in quarte, and parry in ssconde counterdisengage into upper (tierce) line. 

To avoid change to quarte and parry in septime simulate 

1 See page 30. 

a counter disengage into low line, then, passing point over 
adversary's hilt, attack in exterior (seconde) line. 

HOW TO MEET THESE ATTACKS. 

Engaged in quarte. — i. To meet one-two on the change: 
after the change parry the reversed counter (quarte and counterquarte) or quarte and tierce. To meet the counter-disengage 
into seconde (exterior) line after the change parry seconde or 
septime. To meet the double counter-disengage after the 
change parry septime and seconde, or septime and counterseptime or, if the attack is aimed high, septime and quarte. 

Engaged in tierce — i. To meet one-two after the change 
parry septime, or tierce and quarte, or seconde. 

2. To the counter-disengage into low line reply by parrying 
after the change septime or seconde. 

To the counter-disengage into the upper line reply by 
tierce and counter-quarte. 

To feint of counter-disengage into low line and disengage 
into exterior line reply after the change by septime and counter septime, or septime and seconde or, if the attack is aimed 
high, septime and quarte. 

To frustrate a double engage and avoid a simple parry, — On 
the change to the second engagement, make the movements 
which have been described above. To meet these attacks, 
resort to the same defences as have been given for the attacks 
on the single change of engagement. 

To frustrate a change from one high line to the other, and 
nullify a counter-parry. — From engagement in quarte to nullify 
counter-tierce double the counter-disengage, ending in the 
inside or exterior line. 

From engagement in tierce to nullify counter-quarte double 
disengage into outside or low line. 

To meet the first of these attacks when ending in inside 
line parry, after the change, counter-tierce and quarte, or 
counter-tierce and septime, or double counter-tierce to the 
second answer by counter-tierce and seconde, or counter-tierce 
and septime. 

A double-engage is frustrated, and the circular parry 
nullified, by similar movements on the second change and 
these attacks are met by defences similar to those described for 
the single change. 

VARIOUS MANNERS OF NULLIFYING TWO SIMPLE 

PARRIES. 

Engaged in quarte^ to avoid tierce and quarte. — Make onetwo-three — that is to say, feint in tierce, then in quarte, and 
attack in tierce. This may often be shortened by making the 
first feint low, the second inside (in quarte), and the attack in 
the low or in the tierce line or by making the first feint in 
the upper or outside line, the second in the exterior hne, and 
the attack in the outside hne. By this last movement, tierce 
and seconde may be nuUified. 

Quarte and tierce from engagement in tierce are avoided 
in the same way as tierce and quarte, the order being of course 
reversed. 

From engagement in seconde to nullify septime and seconde. 
— Make one-two-three over the hilt. This may be shortened 
by making the first feint in tierce, the second in exterior line, 
and attacking in low line, or by feint in tierce or in low line, 
feint in seconde (exterior) and attack in tierce. 

To avoid septime and seconde from septime. — One- two- three, 
over the hilt. 

HOW TO MEET THE ATTACKS LAST DESCRIBED. 

From engagement in quarte to meet one-two-three, — Parry 
tierce and reversed counter (counter-tierce) or the real attack 
may be awaited, and simple tierce parried or counter-quarter, 
but this requires nice judgment. When the attack is in the 
low line, parry tierce and septime, or tierce, quarte and seconde. 

From engage??tent in tierce.— V^xxy quarte and septime (which 
on the second movement here is better than the reversed 
counter) or, without responding to the feints, septime on the 
attack. 

From seconde and seJ>time,—V 2ixry septime and reverse counter or, septime on the attack or, seconde and reversed 
counter or, seconde on the attack. 

METHODS OF NULLIFYING A COUNTER AND 
SIMPLE PARRY. 

E?tgaged in quarte. — To nullify counter-quarte and tierce — 

1. Simulate double-disengage, feinting in tierce or septime 
(low line), and disengage into quarte. 

2. Double-disengage into low line. In this special case the 
hand is best in supination at the end. 

3. Feint coupe and counter-disengage into tierce or septime disengage into quarte. 

4. Feint coupe, then counter-disengage into septime. Hand 
best in supination. 

5. Feint disengage, and then feint coupe, to avoid the 
counter, and disengage into quarte. This requires considerable precision. 

To nullify counter-quarte and seconde — 

1. Double-disengage into tierce. 

2. Feint a coupe and counter-disengage into tierce. 

To nullify counter-quarte and septime — 

I. Simulate double-disengage into tierce, then double the 
opposite way into exterior line. This attack may be shortened 
and made more easy by simulating the double-disengage into 
septime (low line), instead of simulating it into tierce. 

In complicated attacks of this kind, the necessity of having 
the hand in supination in the feints is even more imperative 
than in simple attacks. With the hand in pronation it is not 
possible for the fencer to have such mastery of finger-play as 
will enable him to regulate the speed of his movements by 
that of the adversary's. There must be perfect command over 
the body, and leaning forward must be carefully avoided. 

Engaged in tierce. — To nullify counter-tierce and quarte — 

1. Simulate double-disengage into inside line, and disengage into outside line. 

2. Double into exterior line, the hand in pronation at the 
end. 

3. Feint a coupe, and then either simulate a counter-disengage into exterior hne and attack in outside line, or simulate 
counter-disengage into inside line and disengage into outside 
line. 

4. Feint a coupe, and counter-disengage into exterior 
line. 

To nuUify counter-tierce and seconde — 

1. Simulate double-disengage into exterior line and disengage 
(passing the point over the hilt) into low or outside line. 

2. Feint a coupe, and counter-disengage into exterior line, 
and then disengage into low or outside line. 

Counter-tierce and septime are practically the same as 
double counter-tierce, and theoretically this defence should be 
nullified by a triple disengage but attacks of this kind are 
dangerous and should be avoided. It is better to try to succeed with a double disengage by sheer quickness, or, if the 

fencer has not speed and precision for this, to rely on the 
counter-riposte or second thrust, to be explained hereafter. 

From seconde to avoid counter-seconde and septime 
simulate a double-disengage into low line and disengage over 
hilt into exterior line. 

From septime to avoid counter-septime and seconde simulate a double disengage into exterior line, and disengage over 
hilt into inside or low line. 

DEFENCES AGAINST THE ATTACKS JUST DESCRIBED. 

Efigaged in quarte. — i. To meet feint of double disengage 
into tierce or septime, and disengage into quarte, feint of 
coupe and of counter-disengage into tierce or septime, and 
disengage into quarte parry counter-quarte, tierce and quarte 
counter- quarte and seconde or counter-quarte and septime. 
The last is, generally speaking, the best defence. 

2. To meet double-disengage into septime line (2) or feint 
of coupe, and counter-disengage into septime (4): counterquarte and seconde or septime. 

3. To meet attacks intended to avoid counter-quarte and 
septime parry counter-quarte, septime and seconde, or (better) 
counter-quarte, septime and counter-septime. 

Engaged In tierce. — i. To meet the double-disengage, and 
disengage into outside line, the feints of coupe, counter-disengage 
into inside or exterior line, and attacks in tierce parry countertierce, quarte and tierce, or (better) counter-tierce and reversed 
counter. 

To meet attacks intended to avoid counter-seconde and 
septime, and counter-septime and seconde parry respectively 
counter-seconde septime and seconde, and counter-septime, 
seconde and septime. These attacks, however, are not common, 

at least in the French school, and probably in each case a stop 
thrust is the best answer. 

VARIOUS WAYS OF NULLIFYING REVERSED COUNTER- 
PARRIES. 

Engaged in quarte^ to nullify reversed counter, — i. Simulate 
one-two (marking the first feint high or low), and counter disengage into inside line, or simply into seconde. 

2. If the adversary is exposed in the line of engagement, 
make a beat, or feint a straight thrust, and counter-disengage 
as above. 

Engaged in tierce^ to nullify reversed counter, — i. Simulate 
one-two and counter-disengage into tierce or into low line. In 
both these attacks the first feint may be in seconde. 

3. If the adversary is exposed in the line of engagement, 
make a beat, or give a scrape, or simulate the straight thrust, 
and counter-disengage into tierce or low line. 

Reversed counter-parries in seconde and septime are 
avoided by one-two and counter-disengage into exterior-seconde 
line, and by one-two and counter-disengage into quarte or low 
line respectively. 

VARIOUS METHODS OF MEETING THE ATTACKS JUST 

DESCRIBED. 

Engaged in quarte, — i. To meet one-two and counter-disengage to inside line, or beat and counter-disengage to inside 
line parry reversed counter and quarte, or reversed counter 
and septime. 

2. To meet one-two and counter-disengage into seconde, or 
beat, scrape, or feint of straight thrust, and counter-disengage 
parry reversed counter and seconde or septime. 

yo FENCING 

Engaged in tierce. — i. To meet one-two and counter-disengage into tierce, or beat, scrape, or feint of straight thrust 
and counter-disengage into tierce parry reversed counter and 
tierce, or double the reversed counter parry (i.e. quarte and 
double counter-quarte). 

2. To meet one-two and counter-disengage into low line, or 
beat, scrape, or feint of straight thrust and counter-disengage to 
low line parry the reversed counter and septime or seconde. 

The scrape, unless made with great lightness and quickness, 
may be frustrated, and the adversary caught on the false movement, by a disengage in the manner indicated when speaking of 
that attack on the sword. 

From seconde and septime to meet one-two counter-disengage parry reversed counter and seconde, or reversed 
counter and septime, or, in either case, double the reversed 
counter-parry. 

VARIOUS mp:thods of avoiding a reversed 

COUNTER AND SIMPLE PARRY. 

Engaged in quarte, — To avoid reversed counter and 
seconde — 

1. Simulate one-two, counter disengage into exterior line, 
and disengage over hilt into tierce. 

2. Make a beat or simulate a straight thrust, counter-disengage into exterior line, and disengage (over hilt) into tierce. 

To avoid reversed counter and quarte — i. Simulate onetwo, counter-disengage into quarte or into seconde, and disengage into tierce. 

2. Give a beat or simulate a straight thrust and counterdisengage into quarte or only into seconde, and disengage into 
tierce. 

3. Simulate one-two and counter-disengage into seconde. 

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS yi 

4. Give a beat or feint a straight thrust and counter-disengage into seconde. 

To avoid reversed counter and septime — 

1. Simulate one- two and make double counter-disengage 
into seconde. 

2. Give a beat or feint a straight thrust and make a double 
counter-disengage. 

Engaged in tierce, — To avoid reversed counter and seconde 

1. Simulate one-two and counter-disengage in tierce. 

2. Give a beat, or a scrape, or feint a straight thrust and 
counter-disengage into tierce. 

To avoid reversed counter and tierce — 

1. Simulate one-two, counter-disengage into tierce and disengage into quarte. 

2. Give a beat, a scrape, or feint a straight thrust, counterdisengage into tierce, and disengage into quarte. 

3. Simulate one-two and counter-disengage into line of 
septime. 

4. Give a beat, a scrape, or feint a straight thrust and counter-disengage into line of septime. 

To avoid the reversed counter and septime — 

1. Simulate one-two, counter-disengage into tierce, and 
double-disengage into seconde. 

2. Give a beat, a scrape, or feint a straight thrust, counterdisengage into septime, and disengage over the hilt into 
seconde. 

METHODS OF MEETING THE ATTACKS JUST 
DESCRIBED. 

Engaged in quarte, — i. To meet one-two, counter-disengage and thrust or disengage in tierce, or beat or feint a 

straight thrust with similar movement parry the two reversed 
counters (counter-tierce and counter-quarte). 

2. Meet one-two and counter-disengage into seconde, or 
beat or feint of straight thrust and counter-disengage into 
seconde by reversed counter-parry and septime. 

3. Meet one-two and double counter-disengage into seconde, 
or beat or feint of straight thrust and double counter-disengage 
with the reversed counter, septime and seconde, or if the end 
is in the inside hne, with reversed counter, septime and quarte. 

Engaged in tierce, — i. To meet one-two and counter-disengage into tierce, or beat, scrape, or feint of straight thrust and 
counter-disengage into tierce parry reversed counter and 
tierce or the double reversed counters (quarte and double 
counter-quarte). 

2. To meet one-two counter-disengage into tierce and disengage into quarte, or beat, scrape, or feint of straight thrust, 
followed by similar attacks parry reversed counter, tierce and 
quarte, or reversed counter and septime. Meet these attacks 
ending in low line with the last-named parry, or reversed counter and seconde. 

3. To meet one-two counter-disengage into septime and 
disengage over the hilt into seconde, or beat, scrape, or feint 
of straight thrust, followed by similar attacks parry reversed 
counter, septime and counter-septime or reversed counter, 
septime and seconde. 

We have now described most of the attacks which can be 
made with the foil or small-sword, and the defences by 
which those attacks can be met. Other and yet more complex 
attacks there are to be met by yet more elaborate parries. 
Thus the aggressive fencer may deceive a counter-parry followed by two simple ones, or a reversed parry followed in like 

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS J2> 

manner, or two counter or two reversed counter-parries and 
to each of these movements of offence there is a fitting answer, 
but we do not think it necessary to speak at length of these 
protracted phrases. First, because the fencer who has thoroughly mastered the movements which have been described 
will easily be able to reason them out for himself; and, secondly, 
because they will be of very little use to him if he does. 
Where there is not high skill and perfect regularity on both 
sides, the blades get entangled in these complicated figures, 
and the result is mere vulgar and senseless prodding. When 
there is real mastery of fence, it is tolerably certain that the 
aggressive but long-winded fencer will not be allowed to terminate his phrase in peace. The other will intimate to him 
by means of a time or stop thrust that there is such a thing as 
despatch, and that, whatever may have been the case formerly, 
prolixity is now out of fashion and if the combat be with 
swords, he will probably be left to complete his prolegomena 
in another world. We will therefore dismiss these attacks, and 
proceed to describe the terrible return- thrust of the French 
fencers, the aptness of which was so obvious that the word which 
describes it has, unlike any other fencing expression, been 
adopted in ordinary speech, and has long been synonymous 
with a happy and ready retort. The riposte is not confined to 
the duelling ground or the fencing-room. 

THE RIPOSTE. 

The riposte is the return thrust which is dehvered after parrying not, be it understood, after making a parry, which is 
avoided by the attacking fencer, but after the parry which 
actually meets the antagonist's blade and wards it off the body. 

On the defensive movement the riposte depends. Just in 
proportion as the first is smart and precise, so will the second 
be quick and deadly, and the more accurate the parry, the 
safer the riposte. 

The return thrust is certainly more difficult than the attack, 
because it is necessary to parry before delivering it, and because the defensive movement may have necessitated such 
quickness as to cause some contraction of the muscles, which 
tends to impede the thrust but, on the other hand, the riposte 
is less dangerous than the attack, by reason of the parry which 
has driven off the adversary's blade, thereby somewhat disconcerting him, and also because the adversary is near when it is 
given, and can be touched by merely extending the arm without moving the body. 

The pressure of the fingers which is needed for the parry is 
not required for the riposte, as the fingers are not used in the 
same way when driving off the steel and when thrusting. To 
deliver the riposte with quickness they must be slightly 

loosened immediately after the clash of the parry. Some 
cases apart, the fencer should always riposte after he has found 
the steel by his parry. 

There are three kinds of ripostes the direct or straight 
riposte the riposte with a change of line or some preparatory 
movement, and the riposte with a pause {riposte a temps 
perdu). 

The direct riposte. — The direct or straight riposte is a thrust 
in the line of the parry, that is to say, of the line in which the 
adversary's blade is found. Thus, to give the simplest instance, if, on a disengage from tierce into quarte, the fencer 
attacked parries quarte, and then thrusts in quarte, he gives 
the direct riposte. 

It may be delivered in two ways without quitting the 
steel, which is called the riposte with opposition or, quitting 
the steel after a clean, smart parry, which ought to sound like 
the click of a good gun-lock. This is called, with happy onomatopeia, the riposte dii tac-au-tac^ and, being quicker than the 
other, is better. As has been already said, it is perhaps the 
most deadly of the fencer's thrusts. 

The direct riposte must be delivered without 7noving the foot 
because it ought to be given at the time w^hen the antagonist 
is extended on the lunge. Indeed the point ought to touch him 
at the moment when his right foot presses the ground. Great 
care must be taken not to bring the body into play., i.e. not to 
7?iove it forivard or raise the shoulder^ as doing so deadens the 
riposte and tends to make the point miss the antagonist's body. 

To deliver what we will call the Bertrand riposte {tac-autac) from quarte. — Turn the hand to supination, and thrust 
with all possible rapidity, taking opposition to the left. To 
execute this riposte properly, it is indispensable that the parry 
should be smart and properly made. 

The riposte without quitting the steel should only be 

made when the adversary presses strongly on the steel in such 
a way as to make it impossible to clear the blades. To execute 
it — Keep the point a little higher than usual in parrying, so 
as to bring with the more certainty the strong part of the sword 
against the yielding part of the adversary's turn the hand to 
complete supination, and raise it so as to dominate the antagonist drop the point somewhat, taking a marked opposition, 
and be careful to keep the strong part of the blade near the 
hilt against the yielding part of the other. 

To give the Bertrand riposte after parrying tierce. — The 
moment the parry has struck true (i.e. of course, the moment 
the parry has warded off the blade) bring the hand to complete supination, so as to direct the point, and extend the arm. 
The riposte with opposition in tierce should, so far as possible, only be given when the adversary presses strongly on the 
blade, so as to make the Bertrand riposte impossible. To 
deliver it — After parrying, raise the point a httle higher than 
usual raise the hand, turning to complete supination then 
drop the point towards the body and extend the arm, taking 
marked opposition to the right. 

It sometimes happens, however, that the swordsman who 
has parried tierce cannot clear his blade for the tac-au tac, 
although the adversary does not press upon it. In this case 
the riposte with opposition should be executed in the same way 
as the tac-au-tac riposte, except, of course, that the steel is 
not quitted. There is another kind of direct riposte in the 
outside line, called de tierce pour tierce— 'im eccentric, not to 
say barbarous, term which we must confess oui utter inability 
to translate. This, which would seem to be a sort of mixture 
of tierce and prime, is executed in the following manner: — 

The moment the parry has told, whether it be clean or with 
opposition, bring the hand into complete pronation, the thumb 
towards the ground, the hand at the same time being raised to 

a level with the shoulder. Extend the arm, directing the point 
to the body, and take opposition to the right. We do not 
counsel this riposte for several reasons. 

1. It is difficult to execute, because the sudden turn or 
twist of the hand into the most marked pronation has a strong 
tendency to make the fencer lift his shoulder, stiffening it at 
the same time, and also to make the body lean or sway to the 
left, the result being that the flat of the blade, and not its 
point, touches the body. 

2. Because, if the riposte is parried or passes (i.e. misses 
the body), it is extremely difficult to form another parry with 
the speed necessary to meet a counter-riposte promptly delivered. 

From seconde^ to g'we the Bertrand riposte, — The instant 
the parry has told, direct the point on to the adversary's body 
by the spring of the thumb and forefinger, loosening the other 
three fingers. The riposte with opposition is executed in the 
same manner. 

From septum^ to give the Bertrand riposte, — Instantly after 
the parry, drop the point so that it may pass under the 
hand of the adversary without touching it and point it to 
the body while extending the arm, the hand being kept in 

METHODS OF MEETING THE RIPOSTES JUST DESCRIBED. 

To meet the tac-au-tac riposte after a parry in quarte. — 
Parry quarte, rising, i.e. regaining the second position (guard), 
at the same time. 

To meet the riposte with opposition after a parry in quarte.— 
With those fencers who make hard or heavy parries, and press 
heavily on the steel when taking opposition, seeking to succeed 
by sheer strength, notwithstanding the other's parry, the fencer 

>]% FENCING 

must lift his point sharply, at the same time bringing the elbow 
to the side again so as to regain the advantage of having the 
fort against the faible of the antagonist's blade, and must take 
opposition as he rises. Often, to frustrate this riposte, it is 
sufficient to yield the point completely, so that the adversary 
finds nothing to resist his pressure, no support so to speak for 
his blade. When this is done, strength tells against the man 
who is exerting it, and sends his point out of line, which gives 
time to his antagonist to take guard (i.e. to put himself on 
guard) out of reach, or to resume the offensive. 

To meet the tac-au-tac riposte after a parry in tierce. — 
Parry tierce while rising or, parry while rising the reversed 
counter (counter-quarte), making use of the impetus given to 
the blade by that of the adversary, and keeping the hand 
higher than in the usual quarte position. Septime with opposition may also be parried in the following manner keep 
the hand very high and to the right while rising, directing the 
point to the left, the hand somewhat bent with the thumb 
highest, and take the position described for septime, but with 
the hand more raised than when making that parry in the 
ordinary manner. 

To meet the riposte with opposition after a parry in tierce, 
or the riposte called tierce pour tierce. — Parry while rising the 
reversed counter, making use of the impetus given by the 
adversary's blade, and keeping the hand higher than in the 
ordinary quarte position; or parry septime with opposition 
while rising, as described above. 

To meet the Bertrand riposte in seconde. — Parry seconde 
this riposte can also be parried in the same way as the 
 flanconnade.' 

To meet the tac-au-tac riposte after a parry in septime. — 
Parry septime, or, if the other's point is directed high, quarte. 

RIPOSTES WITH A CHANGE OF LINE, OR WITH A 
FEINT OR OTHER PREVIOUS MOVEMENT. 

By ripostes with a change of hne one or more parries are 
nulHfied, save in some few cases. 

To succeed with these ripostes, it is necessary to make a 
forecast of the defence, to know the parry to which the antagonist is prone, and w^hich his hand will almost instinctively 
form. The French call it la parade qu'un tireur a dans la 
main — that is, the parry which a fencer makes with the greatest 
ease and, from pure habit, often makes automatically. 

The ripostes with change of line and with feint, &c. are 
many in number. The principal ripostes of this kind are with 
the disengage, the coupe, the counter-disengage, the twist, 
one-two, the coupe-disengage and the double. Others could 
be named. There are just as many ripostes of this kind as 
there are attacks but it is best not to attempt any riposte 
more elaborate than with the double-disengage. 

These ripostes must be made instantly after the strike of 
the parry, without the scintilla of a pause. 

It is sometimes useful in the composed riposte (riposte 
with feint, &c.) to extend a little — e.g. if the adversary draws his 
body back, or rises, while making a parry. In this case the 
composed riposte which nullifies this parry may take so long 
as to make it impossible to reach him before his body is partly 
withdrawn. In such a case it is necessary to make a halfextension, advancing the foot about a sole's length in order to 
reach him before he has resumed guard. But the fencer cannot 
be too strongly warned that this half- extension or semi-lunge 
with the riposte should only take place when it is impossible to 
reach the adversary by the extension of the arm alone, i.e. by 
thrusting (after the feint, &c.) without movement of the foot or 

body; and that, if it is sometimes well to extend, it is invariably wrong to stoop forward, or to let the upper part of the 
bo'dy drop forward. 

After a parry in quarte. — To avoid quarte when the hand 
is held very high riposte in low line. This much resembles 
the tac-au-tac riposte, and can be executed nearly as quickly. 
To meet this riposte parry septime or seconde while rising. 
To avoid quarte when the hand is not held very high or 
seconde riposte by a disengage into tierce. To execute this, 
the point must be passed as far forward under the adversary's 
arm as possible, the hand being in supination, and, in the 
thrust, marked opposition must be taken to the right, without 
any extension. To deliver this riposte properly considerable 
command of finger-play is required. Just as the parry is light, 
smart and accurate, so will the blade clear the other quickly 
and the riposte be true and formidable. 

To nullify quarte with the hand low riposte by coupe into 
tierce. To execute this, the point must be raised towards the 
left shoulder, and the hand drawn a little back towards the left 
breast, so as to pass the point quickly over that of the antagonist then the point must be smartly dropped in the tierce line 
as the thrust is made, the hand being in supination. 

To meet the riposte by a disengage into tierce, or by a 
coupe into tierce parry quarte and tierce or counter-quarte 
or, if the riposte has been divined, and if it is quickly made, 
parry tierce while rising, without making any movement in 
quarte. 

To nullify the parry of septime made promptly without 
any pause counter-disengage into exterior line, the hand in 

To meet this riposte parry septime and seconde or, if 
the point is directed Mgh, parry septime and quarte while 
rising. 

If, in attacking, the adversary takes marked opposition to 
the left, the riposte may be made by a twist into the exterior hne. 
In deHvering this riposte opposition must not be taken to the 
right as when making an attack with the twist, but, on the contrary, the hand must be kept to the left and the fort of the 
blade, close to the hilt, held against the faible of the adversary's blade, the hand being a little higher than the belt and in 

The reasons for this difference between the manner of 
delivering the attack with the twist and the riposte are as 
follows — 

When an attack is made with the twist, the adversary's blade 
is well in front of his body, and if the fencer does not take 
opposition to the right, he will spit himself on the other's 
point. When, on the other hand, the riposte with the twist is 
given the adversary has just attacked and his point is driven 
over to the left by the parry. The respective positions, therefore, are not the same as in the attack, and the fencer could not 
take opposition to the right without bringing the point into his 
own breast. 

To meet this riposte turn the hand to pronation, taking 
opposition in seconde. Owing to the position, the riposte by 
a twist cannot be parried in the same way that the flanconnade is. 

To nullify a parry in tierce riposte with one-two, the finale 
of course in quarte, and the feint in the low line. In ripostes 
of this kind it is not possible to stretch the hand out fully on 
the first movement, as is done with the similar attacks the 
arm can only be fully extended at the end. 

To meet this riposte parry tierce and quarte or septime, or 
seconde while rising. 

Quarte and tierce or tierce may be nullified by a riposte 
with coupe and thrust in the exterior line. To execute this 

G 

the point must be raised towards the left shoulder, the hand 
drawn back a little towards the fencer's left breast, so that he 
may whip his blade neatly over the adversary's point. When 
it has cleared the point (i.e. the riposting fencer's point) must be 
rapidly dropped into the exterior line and the arm extended, 
the hand being in supination and a little lower than the 
shoulder. 

With an adversary who turns round bringing the right 
shoulder forward and leans over covering himself with his hand 
and arm so as to expose his body as little as possible, the 
riposte by a coupe and thrust in exterior line is most telling 
but in this case the hand ought to be inclined towards pronation at the end, and the point directed towards the right flank 
a little above the belt to the right of and close to the elbow. 

To meet this riposte parry second or septime while rising 
or, remain extended and parry tierce with the hand very low 
and the point high. 

To nullify counter-quarte made promptly without the 
slightest pause or hesitation riposte by a double ending in 
low or outside line. 

To meet a riposte with a double ending low parry while 
rising, counter-quarte and septime or seconde or parry tierce 
with judgment so as to catch the blade on the first part of its 
movement, the point being kept high so as to bar the line. 

To meet a riposte with a double ending in outside line 
parry counter-quarte and tierce or parry tierce in first part 
of movement as just described. 

After a parry in tierce. — To nullify tierce with the hand 
high riposte by a disengage into quarte, the hand in supination. 

To meet this riposte parry quarte or septime while 
rising. 

Another way of nullifying tierce with the hand high which 

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS %i^ 

also avails to nullify septime with opposition is to riposte by a 
thrust in exterior line with the hand in supination. This riposte 
is excellent with an adversary who, knowing that he cannot 
parry a straight riposte, turns his body round and stoops in 
order to avoid it. When this is done — and many fencers are not 
ashamed to resort to this ignoble device — the riposting fencer 
must, as above stated, deliver his thrust with the hand inclined 
towards pronation, and direct the point a little above the belt 
close to and to the right of the adversary's elbow. 

To meet this riposte parry seconde or septime while 
rising. 

To nuUify tierce with the hand low riposte by a coupe. 
To execute this the point must be raised towards the right 
and the hand moved towards the right shoulder, while the arm is 
well bent, so that the blade may be easily passed over the adversary's point the instant it is cleared, the point (i.e. the riposting 
fencer's point) must be promptly dropped into quarte, and the 
arm extended with the hand in supination, opposition being 
taken, so far as may be practicable, to the left. 

To meet this riposte parry quarte while rising. 

To avoid quarte or seconde riposte by one-two, ending in 
tierce and marking the feint in the exterior line the hand in 
supination, with opposition to the right. 

To meet this riposte parry quarte and tierce or reversed 
counter (i.e. counter-quarte) while rising. 

To nullify quarte with the hand high riposte with a coupe 
and disengage into low line, the hand either in pronation or 

To meet this riposte parry septime or quarte and seconde. 

To nullify the reversed counter made instantly riposte by 
a counter-disengage into low line, the hand in pronation, or by 
counter-disengage into tierce, the hand in supination. 

To meet the riposte by a counter-disengage into tierce line 

parry reversed counter (counter-quarte) and tierce, or parry 
double reversed counter. 

To nullify septime riposte by a double into exterior line, 
the hand in supination. 

To meet this riposte parry septime and seconde or, if the 
point is directed high, septime and quarte. 

AJter a parry in seconde. — To nullify quarte riposte by a 
disengage into tierce. To execute this it is necessary while 
turning the hand to supination to make the point describe 
a curve large enough to pass round the arm of the adversary. 

To meet this riposte parry tierce. 

To nullify tierce riposte by one-two into exterior line, the 
hand in supination. To meet this riposte parry reversed 
counter or, with judgment, seconde at the end. 

To nullify a reversed counter made instantly without a movement of hesitation riposte by a counter-disengage in exterior 
line. 

To meet this riposte parry reversed counter and 
seconde. 

After a parry in septime. — If the adversary's hand is low 
riposte by a twist from septime into tierce, holding his blade 
the while. This may be called septime holding the sword 
i^parade de septime enveloppee). To execute it the hand 
must be kept high, in supination, and to the right. There 
must be no extension. 

To meet this riposte parry septime with opposition, or 
reversed counter. 

The parry of septime with opposition is avoided by a direct 
riposte or by the feint of a twist into upper line just marked, 
and a disengage into low line. 

To nullify quarte simulate the direct riposte in low line 
and counter-disengage into high line (tierce). This resembles 
one-two ending high. 

To meet this riposte parry quarte and tierce or, better, 
quarte and counter-quarte. 

To nullify septime simulate direct riposte in low line and 
disengage (over the hilt, of course) into exterior line. 

To meet this riposte parry septime and seconde, or, if the 
thrust is directed high (though still in the exterior line), parry 
septime and quarte. 

RIPOSTES WITH A PAUSE (RIPOSTES A TEMPS PERDU), 

Ripostes of this kind are those which are preceded by a 
brief pause, touch of the steel being abandoned, so that the 
adversary may half make or indicate a parry which the riposting fencer can nullify. 

When the parry is perfectly true, this moment's pause 
enables the fencer to regulate his riposte by the adversary's 
movement, and, if it has been rightly forecast, the pause helps 
the fencer in regulating his speed by that of the adversary. 

When the parry is not perfectly true, the pause enables 
the fencer to bring his blade into line, and to deliver the 
riposte with accuracy. 

If the adversary bends the body forward, making a low 
stoop when attacking, the pause enables the fencer to riposte 
just at the moment when he (the adversary) is raising himself. 

All the direct ripostes, save the riposte with opposition, and 
all the ripostes with change of line, or preceded by a feint, 
save the riposte by a twist, can be made with the pause, which 
is specially useful when the adversary hesitates or falters in 
making his parry but nevertheless the fencer will do well not 
to indulge overmuch in this kind of riposte, as the adversary 
m ay make use of the remise. 

Remarks. — Ripostes with a pause, when made by means of 
a coupe, have this peculiarity, that the pause is made during 

the execution of the stroke— that is to say, while the point is 
raised. 

After a parry in quarte the coupe riposte with a pause can be 
dehvered in the following manner Directly the parry has been 
made, lift the point to the right, bringing the hand towards the 
right shoulder then, when the adversary has parried quarte, 
drop the point in the outside line, extending the arm. 

After a parry in tierce it can be delivered thus After the 
parry, lift the point to the left, bringing the hand towards the 
left breast, and directly the adversary has parried tierce, drop 
the point in the inside line, extending the arm. 

This method of executing the riposte with a pause by a 
coupe is decidedly dangerous, as it leaves the whole of the 
bcdy uncovered. 

thp: counter-riposte. 

This is the thrust which is given when the riposte has been 
parried. The fencer whose attack has been defeated, and 
who has in turn parried the riposte, can deliver the counterriposte. 

It has already been said that to parry the riposte the fencer 
.should, whenever it is possible, rise, coming back to the position of guard and, indeed, in the lesson the pupil should 
always be taught to rise, in order that he may acquire the invaluable habit of rapidly withdrawing the body, so as to get it 
out of danger, and have perfect command of any attack. For 
the counter-riposte, then, it is necessary to extend just as for a 
first attack. 

Counter-ripostes may be direct or with change of line, or 
preceded by a feint, like ripostes, but they differ from these 
thrusts in requiring extension, which, as has been said, should 
not usually be necessary with a riposte. 

A thrust delivered after parrying the counter-riposte is 

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS Z-j 

called a second counter-riposte, and, in like manner, there are 
third and fourth counter-ripostes, and the rules which have 
been just given apply to them but to deliver the second, 
fourth, &c., it is well to avoid extension, if possible, as the 
adversary should extend to deliver the first, third, &c. 

Counter-ripostes are most useful, and should be largely 
practised. Few things are prettier in an assault than a vigorous 
attack and defence, in which a series of well-judged counterripostes are exchanged but the moment the fencer perceives 
that the combat is hkely to degenerate into a breast-to-breast 
struggle, a corps-ct-corps^ to use the P>ench expression, he must 
bring the phrase to an end by promptly and rapidly placing 
himself out of distance, taking care to keep the correct position, 
so as to be able to assume instantly the offensive or defensive, 
as need may be. 

88 FENCING 

QUITTING BLADES. 

QunTiNG blades (absence d'epee ou de fer) is the action of 
breaking the engagement when you precede an attack or a feint 
by a pause in order to mystify the adversary and make him 
lose touch of your movements it is the action, too, of breaking 
the engagement and opening the line slightly to draw an attack 
from the adversary. 

Quitting blades is dangerous. To do it you must be sure 
of your parry, for your judgment must depend on a comprehensive glance. 

It is well not to attempt this except with an adversary who 
is not very firm on his legs, or very apt at a swift attack 
without preparation. 

THE FALSE ATTACK. 

The false attack is an attack of any kind which is only half 
executed and which does not aim at reaching the adversary's 
body. You wish him to take it for a real attack, and yet not 
to expose yourself to the risks of a real attack. 

The notion is to make him parry and riposte, keeping your 
own counter-riposte or remise in readiness as the case may be. 
Or you induce him to make an extension, or a time, on which 

you parry and riposte. Or you may do it merely to mystify 
him or to upset or discover his plans or else to find out what 
are his favourite parries so as to be able to deceive them when 
the occasion arises. 

The false attack should approach more or less nearly to a 
complete lunge according to circumstances. If it is made with 
a view to bringing off your own counter-riposte or remise, it 
should go so far as nearly to touch the adversary. Thus he 
will take it for a true attack and reply with a full riposte. If it 
is made to lead him on to an extension or a time, it should 
not reach so far, as there will be no question of the adversary 
parrying. In other cases you must judge by the degree of 
quickness you discover in your adversary's susceptibility. The 
false attack is a useful manoeuvre, but one on no account to be 
abused. 

ATTACKS ON PREPARATIONS. 

These are attacks, as their name implies, made while the 
adversary is himself preparing an attack with the help of 
changes of engagement, on pressures, on quitting blades on 
false attacks made to draw favourite parries on any movement 
of the legs made to facilitate attack or simply on shifting the 
grip to the pummel of the foil to obtain a longer reach, a 
thing which makes parrying very difficult and riposting almost 
impossible. 

Attacks on preparations are safe enough if they are made 
just at the right time. The adversary, occupied as he is 
with his own plan of attack, is seldom able to parry with the 
accuracy and swiftness needed to w^ard off a sudden and decided 
attack. 

Attacks on preparations are generally simple attacks such 
as the straight thrusts, disengagements, preceded sometimes 
by a light beat, and counter-disengagements. To ensure their 

success you must have a good guard, so that you can execute 
the attack without one unnecessary movement. If you have 
yourself to make the very sHghtest preparation for attack, the 
two attacks might start together and result in a double lunge of 
the worst kind. 

Sometimes, if you mistrust your quickness with a straight 
thrust on a preparation made by quitting blades, or if you judge 
that this is a false preparation intended to draw a straight 
thrust, then you may make a false attack to lead to a parry and 
counter-riposte, or you can feint a straight thrust to draw a 
parry and deceive it. 

RENEWED ATTACK. 

A renewed attack {reprise d'attaque) is an attack made 
immediately upon the conclusion of a phrase. For example, 
after one attack and one parry at the least, the two adversaries 
find themselves on guard again, without either one having been 
hit. Then one of the two takes or retakes the offensive by a 
simple or complicated attack, whether advancing at the same 
time or not. This constitutes a renewed attack. 

These often succeed, but to execute them well you must 
be sure on your legs, you must keep your hand well in line, 
and must not lose your balance or position during a phrase. 

To make a simple renewed attack proves much coolness, 
presence of mind, and adaptability to make a complicated 
renewed attack proves the possession, not only of these qualities, 
but also of much judgment, swiftness in comprehending the 
whole situation, and superior finger-play. Indeed it is one of 
the prettiest things in the science of fencing. 

The longer the phrase, the more difficult to execute, but 
the more likely to succeed, is the renewed attack. 

THE STOP-THRUST. 

{i.e. Coup (TAin'H.) 

The stop-thrust is, as indicated by its name, a simple 
attack made on the adversary's advance to stop him when he 
attacks while thus advancing. The stop-thrust must be made 
at the moment when the adversary lifts his foot to take a step. 
The attack must be fully developed without a moment's hesitation. Otherwise it might result in a double lunge. 

The stop-thrust is a good, even a brilliant, answer to 
fencers who attack with the advance, or with a rush (that is to 
say, with several swift steps of advance), their object being to 
come so near as to embarrass you in parrying or riposting, or 
to provoke a mere hand-to-hand struggle. 

If you try the stop-thrust you must have all your wits 
about you, and you must not dream of any preparation. A 
stop-thrust delivered one moment too late is as bad and dangerous as anything in fencing can be. 

It is almost impossible to parry a well-executed stop-thrust 
unless you have foreseen its execution. 

TIME-THRUSTS. 

The time-thrust is an attack made with opposition on a 
complicated attack, and intended to intercept the line where 
such an attack is meant to finish. The time-thrust is a thing 
of the most accurate judgment and readiness; you must, to 
execute it, gauge both the attack and the quickness of your 
adversary. Well done, it is one of the best things, ill done, 
one of the worst things, in the possibilities of fencing. 

The time must be taken before the finish of the adversary's 
attack, and if, as is right, he does not develop the lunge before 
the finish, you must make a half-lunge to meet him half-way to 

touch him, or, at least, to make it harder for him to parry. 
I'he finish of the attack must decide the Hne of the time. 

In quarte, to take a time on a one-two or on a coupedegage in the inside or exterior Hne at the moment when the 
adversary leaves your blade lower your point with a movement 
resembling counter-disengage into the exterior line, with a 
strong opposition to the right, and with a half-lunge, the nails 
upwards. This time can also be taken with the hand in the 
 seconde' position, but the aim of the point will be less certain. 

To make a good time on a one-two in the quarte line, it is 
necessary that the attacker's feint should be made in the 
upper line. If it is made in the lower line, the time is scarcely 
possible without a binding of the blades or a rencontre de garde 
— which tends to put the points of both combatants out of the 
line — unless a quickness infinitely superior to that of the 
attacker makes the time possible on the very moment of the 
attacker's feint. 

In tierce, to take the time on a one-two in the outside 
(tierce) line, whether the attacker's feint is made in the inside 
or exterior line, or on a coupe-degage in the outside line at 
the moment when the adversary quits your blade make a straight 
thrust with opposition to the right, to close the outside line, the 
nails upwards with a half-lunge. 

In quarte, to take the time on a double, in the outside line 
intended to deceive counter-quarte at the moment when the 
adversary quits your blade, counter-disengage as if to avoid a 
change, with the exception that you must oppose to the right 
and half-lunge. 

In tierce, to take the time on a double, intended to deceive 
counter-tierce or septime at the moment when the adversary 
quits your blade lower the point as if to parry septime and 
thrust in the exterior line, nails up, opposition to right, halflunge. 

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In quarte, to take the time on a one-two-three above (to 
deceive tierce and quarte) answer the first feint by an opposition in tierce and make a straight thrust in the outside hne, 
nails up, opposition to right, and half-lunge. 

In tierce, to take the time on one-two-three (to deceive 
quarte and tierce) answer the first feint by an opposition in 
quarte, and lower the point in the exterior line opposition to 
right, nails up^ half-lunge. 

In quarte, to take the time on a one-two counter-disengage 
meant to deceive the reversed counter or septime feign the 
parry of septime, and instead of executing it, thrust in the 
exterior line opposition to right, nails up, half-lunge. 

In tierce, to take the time on a one-two counter-disengage 
meant to deceive the reversed counter feign the parry of the 
contre-oppose, and instead of executing it, thrust in the inside 
line, which becomes the outside line at the finale of the adversary's attack opposition to right, half-lunge. 

In quarte, to take the time on a double and disengage 
meant to deceive counter-quarte and tierce at the moment 
when the adversary quits your blade, double the counterdisengagement in the outside line, extending the arm only at 
the finale opposition to right, nails up, half-lunge. 

In tierce, to take the time on a double and disengage 
in the outside hne meant to deceive counter-tierce and quarte 
or seconde feign the parry of septime and thrust in the outside line opposition to right, half-lunge. 

TIME PARRIES. 

If you are engaged in quarte, and think that your adversary 
proposes to make a time-thrust on your one-two feign a disengagement in the outside line, and instead of completing the 
second movement of a one-two, parry seconde with a half-lunge 

(to inspire more confidence in your adversary who intends to 
time you) and then riposte. 

In tierce, if you think he will time your one-two outside 
feign a disengagement in the exterior line, and instead of completing the second movement of a one-two, parry tierce with 
the hand high and with a half-lunge and riposte. Another way 
is to feign a disengagement and— as the finale of the attack 
determines the line of the time— instead of executing it, parry 
septime with the hand high. 

In quarte, if you think the adversary means to take the 
time on your double as you make the second movement 
of the double, parry tierce with the hand high with a half-lunge 
and riposte. Another w^ay is, instead of executing the second 
movement of the double, to parry septime with the hand high, 
or seconde. 

In tierce, if you think the adversary means to take the 
time on your double — instead of completing the second movement of the double, parry seconde with a half-lunge and 
riposte. 

In quarte, if you think the adversary means to take the 
time on your one-two-three in executing the third movement 
of the one-two-three, parry tierce with the hand high or, instead 
of completing the third movement, parry septime with the 
hand high, half-lunge, and riposte. 

In tierce, if you think the adversary means to time on your 
one-two-three instead of executing the third movement, parry 
seconde with half-lunge and riposte. 

In quarte, if you think the adversary means to time your 
one-two counter-disengage instead of executing the third 
movement, that is the counter-disengage, parry seconde with 
half-lunge and riposte. 

In tierce, if you think the adversary means to time your 
one-two counter-disengage in the outside line in executing the 

third movement, or counter-disengagement, parry tierce with 
the hand high with a half-lunge and riposte or, instead of 
executing the third movement, parry septime with the hand 
high, or seconde. 

In quarte, if you think the adversary means to time your 
double and disengage: parry seconde with half-lunge and riposte. 

In tierce, if you think the adversary means to time your 
double and disengage in executing the third movement parry 
tierce with the hand high, with a half-lunge and riposte, or 
parry septime with the hand high, or simulate a double parry 
quarte and riposte. 

THE REMISE. 

The term remise is applied to the action of again aiming 
your point at your opponent's body when he ripostes, after an 
attack which he has parried, either with a compound riposte, 
or a timed riposte, or a retraction of the arm before riposting. 

Generally the remise is made in the same line as the parry. 
It is done by a slight drawing back of the body (you must not 
draw yourself up completely) so as to feign a retreat, and by 
again aiming your point at your adversary's body with opposition, if opposition is needed. 

A remise is wrong when the riposte hits, or when it fails 
only from want of skill. A remise, therefore, can never be 
rightly given on a direct riposte. 

Opposition is not wanted in a remise made on a timed 
riposte, for the remise must take place during the pause — that 
is, the withdrawal of the blade — which precedes the actual 
riposte. It is well to resume position rapidly after executing 
it. Again, opposition is not necessary in a remise on a riposte 
preceded by a retraction of the arm, for the remise takes place 
during the drawing back of the arm. 

The remise with opposition is certainly to be preferred for. 

to make this, you must judge first that the riposte will not be a 
direct one, and secondly what form it will take. 

After parrying quarte it is wrong to remise on a riposte 
made by a disengagement in the low line. A remise cannot 
be made on a riposte by a twist into the exterior line. It is 
good to remise on a riposte made by a disengagement or a cutover in the outside line. Then you get your remise without 
changing the line, and with opposition on the right to bar the 
line in which only can the riposte take effect. 

As to the ripostes of one-two into quarte and cut-over and 
thrust in exterior line on these you cannot remise as you can 
time, in the exterior line, because in riposting you hardly ever 
finish the first movement of the one-two in the tierce line, and 
because in making a cut-over and thrust in the exterior line, the 
hand is low, which makes that line inaccessible. On these 
ripostes, however, you can remise without change of line and 
without opposition. In this case you must execute the movement with great rapidity, and come quickly back to position. 
Under these conditions the remise is sure to get the first hit, 
but the riposte may also get in a hit, though late. It is better, 
therefore, to try to parry these ripostes, unless, indeed, they are 
ripostes with a pause. 

After the parry of tierce it is wrong to remise on a disengagement in exterior or inside line, or on a cut-over. 

On a riposte of one-two or of cut-over and thrust in the outside line, or on the riposte of the double, you can remise without change of line and with opposition to the right. 

After the parry of seconde on the riposte, timed or not, 
of a disengagement on the outside line you can remise in the 
outside line with opposition to the right. 

On the riposte of one-two exterior you can remise in the 
exterior line with opposition to the right, the nails of the hand 
up or down as you please. 

After the parry of septime on a riposte made with a feint 
below and a counter-disengagement above, one must make a 
remise without changing the engagement and with opposition 
to the right. 

On a riposte made with a feint below and a disengagement over the hilt, the same remise holds good. Counterripostes affect the remise exactly as ripostes do in all cases a 
remise is discounted by quitting the adversary's blade after 
the parry, and then using the same parry a second time. But, 
as an exception, if on a disengage riposte after a parry in 
seconde the adversary remises in the outside or tierce line, 
then parry tierce. 

REDOUBLING. 

This is repeating an attack while still on the lunge when the 
adversary parries but does not riposte. It is done either by a 
cut-over or by a disengagement. A slight drawing back of the 
body is necessary but above all the arm must not be drawn 
back. 

H 

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS— <r^;///;?^(?^. 

THE SALUTE. 

The Salute, or prelude to the Assault, was, towards the end 
of 1888, put into definite and official form by the Academic 
d' Amies of Paris, founded in 1886. Until then it had been 
practised in various schools, with various differences of detail. 
The rules laid down by the Academy are here embodied. 

The purpose of the Salute is to give both fencers an opportunity of showing courtesy to each other and to the spectators, 
and, it may be added, of exhibiting their own proficiency in 
correctness and elegance. It is thus conducted — 

Each fencer, having put his mask on the floor about a yard 
to his left, assumes the First Position opposite his adversary at 
the proper distance, letting his arms fall naturally, the point of 
the foil nearly touching the ground in front of him, and to the 
left of the right foot. Then both execute simultaneously the 
first movement of coming on guard. 

The first movement consists in making a step forward, 
raising and extending the right arm, with the nails of the right 
hand turned upwards on a level with the top of the head, and 
a little to the right, and the blade extended with the arm. 
Then the hand is quickly brought close to the chin, the nails 
towards the face, and the sword upright, so that the fencer can 

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go on to salute his adversary by dropping the sword to the 
right at the full extension of the arm, with the palm of the 
hand turned to the ground. 

The second movement consists in bringing back the right 
arm towards the left hand, which seizes, without grasping it, 
the shoulder of the blade, imitating the gesture necessary to 
sheathe and unsheathe a sword. 

The third movement consists in elevating both hands together above the head with a graceful curve. 

The fourth consists in letting go the blade from the left 
hand, which takes its place behind, and at the level of the top 
of, the head, the left arm still being bent, while the right hand 
drops to the level of the right breast, the arm half extended, 
the elbow in front of, and close to, the body, the point of the 
sword on a level with the face. 

In the fifth movement you advance the right foot about 
two steps in front of the left heel, sinking down on the legs 
and keeping the body upright. 

[These movements, here separated for clearness of demonstration, must in practice glide into each other.] 

In coming on guard for the Salute, each fencer must take 
care to touch his adversary's point in tierce at the moment 
when the right hand drops, so as to give the signal for the 
movement of the legs. At the moment when the right feet 
are firm on the ground, the right hands must keep the position 
of tierce, with the blades joined. 

Once on guard, both fencers recover to the position of the 
first movement. 

One of the fencers invites the other, with the words, A 
vous^ Monsieur^^ to take distance first. It is customary to g\N^ 
precedence in this matter to the elder fencer or to an invited 
guest. 

The one who does take distance first becomes the attacker, 

loo FENCING 

To take distance direct the point, with arm full stretched 
and the nrJls up, the hand on the level of the chin, at the 
adversary's body, without touching him. 

To execute this movement, advance the right about three 
steps and a half in front of the left heel, just shaving the 
ground, and keeping the left leg stretched out. When the foot 
touches the ground, bend the right leg, so that the knee is 
exactly above the instep. The bust remains upright, the loins 
arched, the left hand separated from the thigh. 

Having made his lunge, the attacker recovers himself with 
one movement, resuming the first position, but bringing the 
right hand to a slight distance from the chin, and holding the 
sword nearly upright. This last movement of hand and sword 
must be done simultaneously by both fencers, who then exe*^ 
cute the first of the salutes to the public. This is done by 
saluting to the' left, with the hand in pronation, a little advanced, and at the level of the left breast, the sword almost 
horizontal, and half-way to the left. Then bring the hand 
back near to the face again, as above, and, with the hand in 
supination, reverse the process just described. 

[In public assaults, the salutes should be addressed directly 
to the President and Vice-President, if there is one. On no 
account must both fencers make them in the same direction. 
The President, without rising from his seat, acknowledges each 
salute with a motion of his foil the Vice-President, sitting 
opposite to him, answers with an inchnation of the head.] 

Now the adversaries fall on guard as above described 
(without, however, raising the hand), making an engagement 
in quarte. 

The attacker disengages, with the nails up, in the line of 
sixte-tierce^ without touching his adversary, and taking care 
that the movement of the arm precedes that of the legs. The 
adversary parries tierce or sixte lightly and then drops his point 

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PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS loi 

with the nails down as if threatening a riposte in the low hne. 
The attacker on this parry throws his point upwards and backw^ards past his own left ear with a quick movement of the 
thumb and forefinger. The nails are downwards, the middle, 
ring, and little finger leave the hilt and remain open. The 
arm is extended, the hand on the level of the head and held to 
the right, so that the attacker looks at his adversary between 
the arm and the blade. He keeps this position for a moment 
or two and then falls back on guard, taking the engagement of 
tierce or sixte, which the adversary also takes with opposition. 
The attacker disengages, the adversary parries quarte, and as 
before drops his point as if threatening a riposte in the low line, 
but this time with the nails up. The attacker on the parry 
repeats the movement just described, throwing the point past 
his right instead of his left ear and with the nails upwards. As 
before he remains thus a moment or two and falls back on 
guard. The parryer engages again in quarte. 

The attacker repeats these disengagements in sixte-tierce 
and quarte to the number of four or six. The number must 
be even, so that the last disengagement is in quarte. In the 
last engagement the attacker may ornament his style by a 
slight pause on the lunge, contrasting it with the swift recovery 
after the others. The adversary parries exactly as before. 

He must take his time from the attacker, so as not to make 
him wait either on the engagement or on the parry. 

The attacker now makes the motion of one-two, beginning 
in quarte, without lunge or extension, placing the hand in tierce 
on the second movement, and after this he recovers to the 
First Position, while the parryer remains on guard, with his 
hand in position for parrying tierce. As the attacker recovers, 
the parryer, in his turn, takes distance and recovers in one 
movement, as the attacker has done before. Then the two 
fall on guard, and now the parts are interchanged, the former 

parryer becoming the attacker after taking distance, and vice 
versa. 

After this both come on guard with a step of the left foot 
backwards, the hand in tierce, make three beats on the floor 
with the right foot, the first slowly, the other two quickly, and 
then recover forwards and salute to left and right. 

When the final one-two has been executed, the adversaries 
recover at the same moment, and almost immediately fall back 
on guard, moving the left foot two steps behind the right, and 
taking care that the movement of the arms precedes that of 
the legs. Immediately on this they recover forwards, bringing 
the left foot up to the right, and repeat a second time the two 
salutes already described. Then they come quickly on guard, 
joining blades in quarte. Once more they recover forwards, 
and salute each other, w^ith the hand brought close to the chin, 
the nails tuinei to the face, the sword perpendicular. Then 
the palm of the hand is turned to the ground, and the sword 
lowered to the right at the full extent of the arm. 

It must be again noted that the Academic d'Armes discountenances the old-fashioned appels with the foot, allowing, 
however, a slight beat with the right foot to mark la finale 
des mises e?i garde et des developpemenis,^ 

When two left-handed fencers go through the Salute together, they have only to read right for left throughout the 
directions. A left-handed man engaged in the Salute with a 
right-handed man must — 

1. Lay his mask on his right. 

2. Take the right-handed man's engage in tierce for the 
first coming on guard. 

3. Take distance with the nails dow^n. 

4. The final one-two is done in sixte-tierce^ and to this end 
the left-handed man, after taking distance, gives the engagement 
of quarte to his adversary, who parries quarte on the one-two. 

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5. The Salutes take place together, first in quarte^ then in 
tierce. The left-handed man must so place himself that the 
President is on his right. 

THE ASSAULT. 

The assault is the practical application of the knowledge 
acquired in lessons, and may be called a mock duel. It demands 
unremitting attention, and the rapid conception and execution 
of ideas. The fencer must watch himself carefully lest he 
falls into bad habits, and must never relax in his observance of 
the first principles. 

The assault is far more attractive than the lesson, but must 
not be indulged in without the master's full approval, and the 
master himself must be the learner's first adversary. As for 
the master's part in it, he will of course hold his rapidity both 
of movement and of design in check, so as to put himself on 
something like a level with the novice, whom he will avoid 
discouraging by hitting him too frequently. He will indeed 
give the pupil encouragement by allowing himself to be hit. 

Taking to the assault or loose play too early is an irreparable mistake, and one of which the pupil will be conscious 
throughout his career as a fencer. After the dignity of loose 
play has been reached, it is indispensable to go on taking 
lessons. However watchful over himself he may be, even 
the cleverest pupil cannot without lessons avoid acquiring bad 
tricks. The professor ought to see just where the pupil's 
judgment has failed him, and to give him hints of what line 
to take against this or that adversary, according to each one's 
style. The professor who knows his art will in this way add 
to the lesson's interest and the pupil's progress. 

The assault is a perpetual improvisation. The thing to 
avoid is the adoption of a set style, the making of a certain 

number of attacks or parries, always the same, upon all 
corners. What succeeds with one will fail with another, and 
one's own movements should depend upon one's adversary's. 

The crossing of blades is the signal for beginning the 
encounter. It is indispensable, by way of precaution against 
surprise, to come on guard out of distance, and not to join 
blades till one is completely ready. It sometimes happens that 
the fencers place themselves too near each other, when one 
rushing on the other profits by the other's confusion to make 
a hit. It is therefore a great mistake to come on guard within 
distance. 

It is wise to advance gradually within distance. The 
adversary may be on the watch to attack on the advance 
therefore it is well to have a parry ready in one's head, so to 
speak, for such an attack. Nor is it a bad plan to advance 
with the intention of drawing the adversary's attack and meeting 
it with parry and riposte. The touching of blades is one of 
the principles which should be most rigidly adhered to it is 
indeed the fencer's guide. The right moment for action can 
only be indicated by what is called feeling the steel if the 
blades do not touch, double attacks — that is, attacks made 
simultaneously by each fencer— are often the result. 

In dealing with a fencer who will not join blades, it is well 
to keep out of distance and as much on the defensive as 
possible not to lunge except on his advance to threaten him 
often thus he will probably be induced to join blades. If he 
refuses, feint attacks to draw his parry and riposte, to be met 
with a parry and counter-riposte or to make him thrust and 
be met with a parry and riposte or, again, if one is not quick 
enough to hit him with a straight thrust, feint one to draw a 
parry and deceive it. The point must not be kept immovable 
in front of him it would serve as a kind of finger-post for his 
attacks. 

In dealing with a heavy-handed adversary who presses on 
his opponent's blade to get a point of leverage, it is better to 
join blades very lightly, or not at all. Heaviness of hand must 
be met by the lightest finger-play. Avoid engagements, beats, 
and so on, so as not to leave a point of leverage. 

If in attack or riposte the adversary seeks to force his 
attack straight in, in spite of the parry, then it is good to parry 
with the hand a little closer to the body than usual, so as to 
get the fort of the blade more on the adversary's faible. 

A tall man should avoid attacking with an advance (step 
and lunge) he should, on the contrary, avail himself of his 
reach to keep his adversary at a distance, and attack him on his 
advance or preparation. 

Fencers often come on guard carelessly; they neglect to sink 
down enough on their legs, thinking to avoid fatigue when 
they mean to attack they double themselves up, as it were, to 
get more spring and quickness. During such a preparation to 
attack a simple attack is almost certain to be successful. 

A short man must always advance to get within distance. 
Therefore his hand and blade should be always busy he 
should make frequent changes of engagement, feign sometimes 
to give an opening, and manoeuvre to make the adversary 
attack. He should be strong in the parry and riposte, and 
never relax when once hotly engaged. 

Fencers of about the same height should be chary each 
one of his attacks their success depends in such case on a 
fine sense of time and occasion. 

As all attacks can be parried in more than one way, the 
best way in the jjarticular circumstances must be chosen. 

A slight retreat on the parry helps both the parry and the 
riposte and it is a thing to do specially with an adversary 
whose style one does not know. 

Circular parries like counter-quarte, and semicircular 

parries like septime, are more difficult to deceive than simple 
parries like quarte and tierce. 

It is not possible to judge an adversary's method accurately 
until one has fenced several times with him. His movements 
and style must be carefully watched to discover what are his 
favourite attacks and parries, and what ripostes he has most 
difficulty in meeting. Then one will employ, as much as 
possible, the parries that lead to these ripostes. 

Feints and false attacks should be disregarded as much as 
possible to take them seriously is to play the adversary's game. 

Some fencers follow up their attacks by a redouble or a 
remise without caring to parry the riposte, which they sometimes avoid by stooping. This comes of a bad grounding as 
their position on guard is bad they overtopple themselves, 
and resort to redoublements to keep their balance. 

To meet such adversaries it is well, if there is room, to 
take a long step back, and so to leave them battling with 
empty air, and if they want to resume the offensive, to employ 
a stop-thrust. 

Some fencers draw back the arm before a riposte this 
again comes of having a bad position. iVt the moment when 
they draw back the arm it is well to make a remise, and to fall 
back quickly on guard, so as to avoid being hit, even though 
the hit comes late by the adversary's thrust with the hand low. 

For fencers who attack with a rush the stop-thrust is the 
thing. But if, on this advance, they continually parry to stop 
the stop-thrust, then one must wait for the end of their 
attack, and parry without any retreat, and if need be with an 
advance. Fencers of this kind hope to force the adversary to 
retire if he does not, they probably retire in a confusion 
which should be turned to account. If, however, they do not 
retire, then the adversary should himself step well back and 
attack on the next threat of advance. 

Other fencers continually extend, taking no heed of double 
attacks, and hoping to succeed by sheer audacity and by 
twists and turns of the body and they will even start disputes 
to bewilder the adversary. Tricks of this kind are the merest 
abuse of fencing, show a conscious weakness, and lead to 
nothing but contempt for those who practise them. 

With people of this kind feign attacks, catch their blade on 
the extension, cross the blade firmly with a twist (croise) and 
lunge. They will soon try another method. 

Time-thrusts are ticklish things. They must be tried only 
when the fencer has surprised an elaborate attack designed by 
the adversary a wrongly-judged time-thrust leads to a double 
lunge, which is discreditable a rightly-judged one shows excellent discretion and execution. 

Note, too, that one mistaken time kills several well-judged 
ones for it proves that the successes have been due to 
chance. 

When a fencer keeps on retreating without apparent cause, 
suspect that he is laying a trap. 

In dealing with an unknown adversary, attack as little, as 
simply, and as little with a step forward as possible. 

Come back at once on guard even after a hit. 

No assault should last longer than a quarter of an hour. 

Over-fatigue makes one slip into tricks. 

Do not ask if a hit has told trust to the adversary's fair 
play. 

When you have succeeded in a plan of attack do not boast 
of it. 

Any sign of impatience, even with one's self, is distracting 
and unpleasing. 

With a tricky adversary do not complain turn his tricks to 
good account if possible if he goes tco far, find a decent excuse 
for ending the assault 

As the practice of the science of arms depends as much on 
moral as on physical qualities, it is impossible to devise a 
nomenclature to cover all methods. Let the principles be 
taken as a base. When the learner has arrived at the stage of 
fencing assaults, let him fence with anybody who asks him. 
But if he is lucky enough to be under a master who knows 
the real principles, let him go on taking lessons from him and 
from him alone. It is the only safe and sure method for 
attaining success. 

LEFT-HANDED FENCERS. 

With a left-handed fencer the lines are naturally reversed, 
and so must be the engagements and parries. 

Two left-handed fencers are of course on the same footing 
as two right-handed fencers, but with a right-handed opposed 
to a left-handed fencer, when the first is engaged in quarte, the 
second is engaged in tierce and vice versa. 

If right-handed fencers met left-handed fencers as often as 
the latter do the former, they would be on equal terms but, as 
this is not so, the right-handed fencer is generally at a disadvantage with a left-handed antagonist. 

As a rule, avoid giving a left-handed man a chance of 
parrying quarte. This parry generally comes easy to him and 
his position favours its effect. He often follows a parry of quarte 
or counter-quarte by a riposte in the low line, and the natural 
parry against this riposte is seconde but the surest and quickest 
is tierce on the lunge, with the hand low and the point high. 
The slightest hesitation in his riposte gives an excellent chance 
for a redouble with a cut-over and with opposition to the left. 

The left-handed man cannot easily riposte on the parry of 
tierce because his riposte meets the right-handed man's parry 
of quarte his favourite ripostes are the cut-over and the 

disengagement in tierce therefore it is well to remise and force 
him to a straight riposte. 

If the left-handed man seeks to avoid ripostes on the lowline by lowering his elbow and hand so as to hide his body 
instead of parrying, then riposte high, near the shoulder. 

Timed ripostes and reprises are very useful against lefthanded men. 

Time-thrusts between left- and right-handed men should be 
avoided. An excessive opposition is needed to prevent a collision of hilts, and this gives a wide opening on every line save 
that of the opposition. 

Tio FENCING 

SINGLESTICK. 

Singlestick, probably practised far more widely throughout 
England than fencing, is apt to strike casual observers as a very 
simple matter — a mere question of hard and rude blows and 
parries, which it sometimes is, but not always is. More than 
this, it has happened to one of us to be assured by a certainly 
not unintelligent person, who imagined himself to be in the 
habit of playing at singlestick, that as for treatises on the art 
of singlestick there was no need for them or indeed any room 
for them, as no such art existed. This was going too far. 
Singlestick, as has been said in the Introduction, is a bastard 
game, but it does give scope for very considerable skill, so 
much so that in the brief space left at our disposal it is impossible to do justice to it, or to the much more grand and severe 
work of sabre play. 

In Mr. Egerton Castle's 'Schools and Masters of Fence,' 
often previously referred to, we find it laid down that the 
singlestick or cudgel was, and is, the foil of the back sword.' 
The author tells us also that in England in the sixteenth 
century the waster {sen potius wafter ?) — a dummy sword 
with a blade rendered harmless by being rounded or transversely set — was the foil of the back sword and that in the 
early seventeenth century the name waster was applied to 
cudgels inserted in sword guards. Here .evidently was the 
early form of that substitute for an offensive and defensive 

SINGLESTICK 1 1 1 

edged weapon which has found its latest development in the 
singlestick of the present day, which may be said to correspond in a very rough and haphazard fashion to the modern 
sabre just as the waster/ or in later times the form of smglestick described in the second chapter of Tom Brown's Schooldays,' corresponded to the back sword. The stick used at the 
 veast in the White Horse Vale was a good stout ash stick 
with a large basket handle, heavier and somewhat shorter than 
a common singlestick.' It may be worth passing notice that 
as at the ^veast,' so in the eighteenth century there was no idea 
for protection of head or body in practice bouts with sticks. 
Captain Godfrey, author of the 'Useful Science of Defence,' 
describes how I have purchased my knowledge in the Back 
Sword with many a broken Head and Bruise in every part of 
me.' Nor is the captain's exquisite reason for taking up the 
back sword undeserving of attention. I have followed,' he 
wrote, chiefly the Practice of the Back Sword, because Conceit 
cannot so readily be cured with the File in the Small as with 
the stick in that. For the argiimentum hastinandi is very strong 
and convincing and though a Man may dispute the full Hit 
of a File, yet if he is knocked down with a Stick, he will hardly 
get up again and say it just brushed him,'' From which words 
of wisdom we may learn that fencers chary of acknowledging 
hits were not a greater rarity in 1747 than they are nowadays. 

The back sword play referred to by Godfrey resembled 
modern sabre and singlestick play, and not that specialised 
form of back-swording which is chronicled in Tom Brown's 
Schooldays,' and which is curiously like the German students' 
schlager fight. 

The best and most authoritative book on sabre and 
singlestick, published up to the date of the present writing,^ 

1 Since these words were in print an addition of import to sabre literature 
has been made by the pubhcation of Captain Hutton's Cold Steel (Clowes). 

is 'Lessons in Sabre, Singlestick, etc.,' by J. M. Waite, 
Professor of Fencing, late 2nd Life Guards (London Weldon 
& Co.). The late Mr. Waite, who learnt fencing from no less 
a master than the elder Prevost, was unsurpassable with the 
sabre, and his work is largely devoted to what^ when he introduced it, was a novelty and an important one, in the ordinary 
run of sabre play. To quote his own words I made it,' he 
wrote, part of my work as a teacher and sabre player to improve sabre play by adapting to it many movements used in 
fencing, which have hitherto been entirely overlooked by sabre 
players, and also, by copying the fencer, to make the attacks, 
etc., in a closer, and consequently quicker and more effective, 
manner than they had before been made.' Mr. Waite's manual, 
published some eight or nine years ago, was, as he went on to 
point out, intended chiefly to inculcate advantages up to then 
too much neglected by sabre players— advantages to be gained 
by taking a lesson from the enemy — the enemy in this case 
being the French duelling sword against the sabre, or, to interchange the terms according to Mr. Waite's inference, the foil 
(Captain Godfrey's File ') against the singlestick. 

There is, however, a curious fallacy which must now be 
pointed out. It has been thought not unnaturally that the 
singlestick may be considered the foil of the sabre, just as the 
foil may be considered the small sword of practice, and it 
is very commonly believed that work with the stick enables 
a man to use the sabre but unfortunately the analogy is 
far, very far, from perfect, for, though the fencer who has 
never handled the practice epee may at first find some difficulty when he exchanges the foil for it, this will be nothing 
like the difficulty experienced by the singlestick player who 
first uses a practice sabre, by which, of course, we mean' a 
steel sabre resembling the real weapon, not the light wooden 
substitute. If he is opposed to a good continental tireur de 

SINGLESTICK 113 

sabre he will find, however skilful he may be with the stick, 
that he is a mere child in the hands of his antagonist, and will 
see only too clearly that, were the combat a real instead of a 
mimic one, the other would carve him about as he pleased 
and will even discover, possibly not a little to his annoyance, 
that his hard work with the stick has in one important respect 
unfitted him for using the sword. In singlestick play there 
can be no distinction between blows with the fiat and the edge 
of the blade. In the severer contest it is a mightily diiiferent 
thing. Nothing more excites the derisive condemnation of a 
real French swordsman than blows with the fiat of the blade by 
a combatant too clumsy to give the edge. Je n'aiine du sabre 
que le tranchant^ sang Frenchmen many years ago when the 
ignominious punishment of slapping with the fiat of the sabre 
w^as introduced for a brief space into the French army. In 
real combat such a blow would probably be the most dangerous to the man who dealt it that could be delivered, giving 
the chance of a death-dealing riposte in reply to a stroke which 
could do no real harm. Further, in considering the stick and 
the sword, the much greater weight of the latter must be taken 
into account. In the large movements of sabre play, necessarily far larger than those of fencing, this may, if there is any 
carelessness, throw a man out of line, or even make him lose 
his balance and anything like w^ild play, such as is common 
enough with the hazel-twig, becomes hazardous in the extreme. 
The singlestick player will therefore discover when he takes 
the blunted sword in hand that he has much to learn, and that 
the careful training he has gone through and the work he has 
done must be supplemented by a good deal more and unfortunately he may also discover that it is by no means easy to 
get the practical knowledge he requires. Waite has had no 
successor. Even in France sabre play is not so much practised or cared for as it used to be, and there is but very little 
114 FENCING 

inducement to attain professional skill. In all probability good 
assaults between men who had really mastered the sword would 
not be understood. There would not be the heavy and resounding thumps which the public consider their due so the 
best combatants would be thought tame. This is to be 
regretted. Sabre play does not admit of the same exquisite 
skill as fencing, but it is a noble and manly form of contest, 
closely resembling the real battle. 

We may conclude with a hint to fencers who may oppose 
epee to sabre, or foil to stick. And this hint is very brief. 
Take, if you know it well, the guard recommended by Captain 
Hutton, draw, whenc^ver you think you can parry and riposte, 
your adversary's dropping cut on the forearm and never forget 
that, to extend Captain Godfrey's dictum, it is more easy to make 
sure of a cut than it is of a thrust in the heat of an encounter. 
In other words, beware of failing to credit your adversary with 
this advantage over and above his individual skill. 

\F^or Bibliography^ see Appendix at end of book. 

BY 

E. B. MICHELL 

IFi^ure I.— On guard 

It may be an unpleasant surprise to some of the great admirers 
of Boxing, to hear that the antiquity of the art is incapable of 
being proved, or even seriously maintained. Although fingers 
were made before fists, and nature has given to all of us our 
hands and arms before they would have the strength or skill to 
use a sword or a dagger, still it must be admitted that very few 
people resort naturally or instinctively to the use of the fist as a 
means of attack or self-defence. Test the m.atter as you will, 
by any of the estabhshed theories for ascertaining the age of a 
human institution or practice, and you inevitably arrive at the 
same conclusion. Children, in their earliest struggles with one 
another, before any wicked intruder into the nursery has given 
them a hint as to ways and means, seldom or never resort to 
the doubled fists for disabhng their infant foe. Scratching, 
biting and pinching are the most obvious and common methods 
of attack and the victim almost invariably retaliates either 
with the same tactics, or by adopting some uncouth form of 
wrestling, or by kicking with the feet or knees. 

No doubt a good reason for these impulses is to be found 
in the examples first set to the infant combatant. These come 

in nine cases out of ten from the brute creation. Cats and dogs 
present to the children in every well-regulated household their 
earHest patterns of unholy strife and it is at a far later period 
in their lives, if ever, that their eyes are scandalised by the sight 
of two human beings exchanging fisticuffs. Long before this 
the stable or the stall, or even the home paddock or the neighbouring village green or lane, has familiarised them with the 
spectacle of some four-footed animal making use of its heels or 
hoofs for what the strategists call offensive purposes. The 
deer park, again, or the sheep fold, affords a ready example of 
tactics which may be generahsed under the head of butting. 
But it needs little discrimination on the part of the puerile 
spectator to observe that the occiput of the ram or sheep, as 
well as of the stag, is better arilied for purposes of hostile aggression than that of the human race and thus the boy or girl who 
rushes at an adversary with the head is usually, in every sense 
of the word, more thick-skulled than the generality of his or her 
playmates. 

Even if the hand is used for warlike purposes, it is in 
ninety-nine cases out of every hundred first used with the 
fingers open. In this form it presents to the uninitiated a much 
better prospect of damaging the foe. In the first place, it is 
a broader and bigger weapon. Applied to the side of the 
opponent's face, or even to his ribs or shoulder or elsewhere, 
it covers a larger extent of the hostile territory, and causes a 
more stinging and louder-sounding blow. Secondly, it reaches 
further, just as a long sword reaches further than a small one, 
and has a chance of coming home when the doubled fist would 
be short of the mark. Thirdly, the hand is more quickly ready 
for use in that way than in the other, and requires less preparation, Children do not habitually sit, stand and play with their 
fingers tightly closed and even the bad boys whose temper is 
exhibited l)y clenched fists clench them only by reason of what 

the doctors call an involuntary contraction of the nerves,' or, 
in other words, because they feel a desire to grip the throat of 
the enemy, and inasmuch as neither that nor anything else is 
handy for the occasion, make the best of the business by 
gripping the empty air. 

These, perhaps, are refinements. But the fact, howevei 
explained, remains indisputable, that at the earliest time when 
we can observe the unarmed warfare of our fellow creatures 
they resort to almost any form of attack rather than the pugilistic. 
Even pummelling an adversary, which is not an uncommon 
practice, is almost always reserved for occasions when he is 
down, and when, according to true pugilistic principles, he is 
exempt from such punishment. And note also, that your 
scientific infant in such-like emergencies will prefer to pummelHng the elephantine tactics oi kneeling or treading on the 
fallen foe. 

It is pretty certain that in the eternal order of things the 
mature human being, when he had to fight without any armour 
at all, adopted similar plans for purposes of aggression or 
revenge. The adult man very soon finds out that both slapping 
and scratching are unsatisfactory modes of attack, where the 
opponent has any strength and determination to resist. Accordingly, in all times and countries these tactics have been abandoned to the use of the female sex, whose battles are usually 
interrupted by the interference of some stronger power before 
they can develop into a settled combat. It is impossible to 
go back even in imagination to the time when men lived 
actually unarmed upon the face of the earth. But if such a 
time ever existed, it will be confessed by those who care to 
argue the matter out that they would assuredly not decide their 
differences according to the rules of the P.R., and probably 
would not even strike a single blow with the closed fist. As far 
as the first records of ancient nations are yet known, they 

support entirely this view of the case. Wresthng is constantly 
mentioned at a far earlier period than the sister art. And when 
 smiting is referred to as causing the death of the smitten, it 
is either expressly stated or may most easily be inferred that 
some deadly weapon was used. The most that can be said by 
the advocates of boxing as a primaeval practice is, that it was 
employed in combination with wrestling in a species of contest 
far more closely resembling the 'rough and tumble of Yankee 
renown than the scientific battles of the English Prize Ring. 

The fact is, that before the rough and tumble can be 
superseded by bond fide boxing, three or four things must have 
occurred which are not likely to occur quickly of their own 
accord. It must have become recognised somehoAv or other 
that one ought not to hit a man when he is down and there must 
be present at the fight some third party or parties who are willing 
and able to enforce that artificial rule. Moreover, one at least 
of the combatants must have learnt one of the most difficult 
parts of the pugilistic art — how, by stopping the rushes of an 
adversary, or getting out of the way, to prevent his attempts to 
 close,' or catch hold. Lastly, one of them at least must also have 
found out how to use his fists with so much effect as to be able 
to finish off his man by mere hitting, without resorting to the 
process of strangulation or suffocation. How difficult it is to 
acquire such a proficiency may be conjectured from the fact of 
the ccestus having been invented and used in the manner to be 
explained below. 

Here, by the way, it may be remembered that prize-fighting 
is not, as many people are now inclined to say offhand, an 
example of boxing pure and simple, in the proper sense of the 
word. In the historic battles of Mendoza, Bendigo, and Sayers 
wrestling played an important and sometimes a decisive part 
in the encounter. The published records of those and hundreds 
of other prize fights speak very graphically and forcibly of the 

trenchant blows which occasioned most applause. First blood, 
or, as the more poetic chroniclers have it, the first appearance 
of the claret,' is always noted as an important point in the 
struggle and the first and successive knock-down blows excite 
the eager interest of the historian and most of his readers. 
Much less attention is paid by the latter, and often by the 
former, to such comparatively dull details as the result of a 
tussle for the fall. After a short struggle both men Avent 
down, the Slasher being uppermost.' There is not much in 
this laconic summary to attract particular notice, when compared with the sesquipedalian terms in which it is explained how 
the same Slasher visited the kissing trap,' and disturbed the 
olfactory organ,' or elicited the ruby from the proboscis,' of his 
redoubtable opponent. And yet, if the truth were known, the 
unlucky owner of the features to which these attentions were 
paid may have attributed his defeat, and quite rightly too, much 
less to the knocks inflicted upon his long-suffering visage than 
to the unlucky fall in which his collar-bone was half dislocated, 
and after which his interior arrangements felt as if they had 
been forcibly jumbled up together. Sometimes the veracious 
chronicler gives a broader hint. 'They then closed and after 
a short tussle the Infant threw his man, falling heavily upon 
him.' This is more suggestive but it is nevertheless far from 
truly representing to the imagination of the unlearned reader 
the position of the man in question, who finds some two 
hundredweight of exceedingly robust infant precipitated upon 
him as he lies flat on the ground, while the point of an elbow 
of which the infant Hercules might have been proud is 
forced with the whole impetus of that falling mass into the pit 
of his stomach. 

In the ancient and flourishing time of the Prize Ring wrestling and fighting were much more evenly matched in their 
effect on the result than most people supposed and though 

a man who was decidedly superior in the use of his fists would 
usually come off the winner, when the boxing was at all equal a 
more expert wrestler w^as almost sure to carry the day. Regarded 
from a strictly scientific point of view, this intrusion of the one 
art into the domain of the other was to be regretted. It prevented anybody from saying with any certainty who was at any 
time the best boxer in England. No one can say positively 
that in the days of Tom Cribb or Jem Ward there was not 
some village hero blushing unseen in the consciousness that 
he could beat the champion in fair fisticuffs though he had 
not the gift of keeping his legs when an inferior boxer rushed 
in and seized him round the body. To win the belt,' a man 
must combine in himself the virtues not of Castor and Pollux 
but of Pollux and Milo and, although the combination is perhaps common, it is by no means invariable. At the present 
day many of the best boxers are hopelessly and confessedly 
incompetent in the wrestling arena. 

Emerging from prehistoric speculations and philosophic 
digressions, however pertinent to the matter in hand, into the 
light of civilised literature, we find the earliest dawn of European society reflecting the figure of the boxing man in almost 
his modern aspect. Amidst the clash of arms in the plain 
before Troy a place is cleared for the veritable prize fight. 
Amongst the mighty w^arriors whose names come down to us 
on the grand Homeric roll-call is Polydeuces, good with his 
fists,' mentioned in the same honourable phrase and in the 
same sonorous cadence as Menelaus, good at the war cry ! 
Polydeuces, better known as Pollux, was not indeed amongst 
the assailants of Troy, but he must have perished only a short 
time before, for he was the brother, and apparently the tw^in 
brother, of Helen, who w^as still in the prime of hfe even when 
Troy was sacked. His name is inseparably connected, in the 
traditions both of Greece and Rome, with the art and practice 

Figure II. — Stop with the left 

of boxing, and he was the 'patron saint,' together with his twin 
brother Castor, of all the public games. The appearance of 
these brothers at the Battle of Lake Regillus is immortahsed for 
the benefit of English readers by Macaulay, and was recorded 
at Rome by the building of their temple in the Forum. In 
the mythologic and legendary history of the old world boxing 
finds a large and honourable place. Apollo, besides his skill 
with the bow, was certainly a good god with his fists and 
several of the sons of Zeus by mortal mothers were excellent 
bruisers. Neptune, god of the sea, was the father of one 
Amycus, king of the Bebrycians, and progenitor of a race of 
fighting men. This worthy was accustomed, as it seems, to 
challenge strangers who visited his dominions to put the gloves 
on with him and no one appears to have escaped death at 
his hands until Pollux, landing with the Argonauts, took up the 
customary challenge and paid off the tyrant in his own coin. 
The tale suggests an anecdote of much more recent date, which 
is perhaps more true and certainly more capable of being 
proved than that of the Asiatic monarch. Not very far from 
London is a small estate sloping to the banks of a famous river. 
The fields are verdant, and invite the passing stranger to land 
and repose his weary limbs. The house of the owner is at some 
distance, screened by a belt of tall shrubs and trees. For 
picnic parties hastily improvised it is a spot to be desired of 
the eye and the servitors of the riparian owner see their 
way occasionally to turning an honest half-crown or shilling by 
according to such parties a sort of French leave to pitch their 
camp for an hour. But when the jealous Naboth comes home 
early from his daily labours he is, or at least was, in the habit 
of falling mercilessly upon the intruders. Nor is it enough for 
him to warn them off and repudiate the invitations of his 
servants. He invites the gentlemen of the party, if not in the 
style of Amycus, at least in a sufficiently provoking manner, to 

 have it out with him then and there, and, being a stout fellow 
with a very fair knowledge of the noble art, was doubtless accustomed to drive out the intruders in high-handed style, with 
great honour and gratification to himself. One day, however, 
the party of Argonauts who had landed, after paying black-mail 
(or white-mail) to John Thomas, happened to include one of 
the best amateur boxers of the day, and this individual, 
although of a particularly peaceable disposition, was by dint of 
repeated objurgations levelled at the retreating camp, at last 
aggravated into turning round and facing the lord of the 
domain. A set-to was proposed and immediately accepted, 
and after two very brisk rounds the village Amycus was led off 
bleeding and discomfited by his butler and gardener to receive 
the commiserations and, what was still more to the purpose, 
the sponge and cold water tendered by his sorrowing relatives. 

In the western parts of the world Sicily was for a time the 
headquarters of the noble art of self-defence, and Eryx, one of 
her kings, lorded it over the island in somewhat the same way 
as Amycus over the Bebrycians. His gloves, still stained with 
blood and brains^ were shown in the next generation to a degenerate race which was appalled at their size and formidable 
aspect. But Eryx met his match at last in Hercules, whose 
wanderings led him to the island, when he of course engaged 
in a set-to with the king, and of course came off the victor. 

It was the custom all over the world to celebrate the 
funerals of defunct kings and great men by displays of athletic 
sports. And this fashion survives in full force still in Southeastern Asia. At the cremation of the last second King of 
Siam as well as those of the chief Princes and Ministers — 
which are observed with extraordinary pomp and splendour— 
a field was reserved and surrounded by lines of troops for the 
exhibition of quarter-staff matches and especially of boxing 
matches. So at Thebes, when the sons of King OEdipus had 

perished in single combat, there were grand games over the 
tomb of the elder one. Strangers were admitted freely and 
one of them, Euryalus, who hailed from Argos, beat all the 
native professors and carried off the prize. This man, moreover, 
was the nephew of one of the very warriors who had been 
most active in organising the late attack upon the city so that, 
if it had been in any degree a close competition, it seems likely 
that he would have been refused admittance on the list of 
entries. 

But the first really authentic account of boxing which has 
come down to us is so good, that it is needless to speculate any 
further as to the style or the exploits of the earlier heroes and 
demigods. If it had no other title to quotation, there would be 
ample excuse in the fact that it was produced by the masterly 
hand of Homer. In the catalogue of sports held at the funeral 
of Patroclus, boxing comes second on the list, immediately 
after the horse race, and just before the wrestling competition. 
A number of valuable details may be collected from the short 
but spirited narrative in the Iliad and they present a curiously 
close analogy between the custom of those times and the rules 
of Enghsh pugilism. The belt — the emblem of modern championship in the P.R. — is an indispensable part of the costume, 
and is buckled on to the hero who eventually lost the day by 
no less a person than Diomede. Probably the rule against 
hitting below the belt was already estabhshed, for we read of no 
foul blows either in this or the Virgilian account. And 
there is no other reason easily to be found for the putting on 
of this cincture unless it were to mark the spot below svhich 
it was considered unfair to hit. Nothing more seems to have 
been worn by the men but the ccesfus (as to which presently), 
and this was also fitted on by Diomede to the hands and arms 
of his principal. There was no preliminary shaking of hands, 
of course, and no tossing for corners, but each combatant 

advanced at once into the middle of the ring. Nor were there 
any ropes and stakes, but the ring would be roughly closed in 
by the front row of spectators, which was certainly seated on the 
ground. That important official the referee was also w^inting, 
but it is clear that the rules of fair play were enforced by the 
general voice of the assembled multitude, which had the right 
of refusing the prize to a victor if he had offended against the 
known rules of the contest. 

Having advanced in the ring, the combatants stood facing 
one another, and at the same time (in strictly orthodox phrase) 
 put up their hands.' But it seems that there was very little 
preliminary sparring for an opening.' Possibly the absence 
of such tactics may have been exceptional but at any rate the 
putting up of the hands was immediately followed by an advance 
on both sides to close quarters. The hands became 'mixed no 
together,' and at once there began a crashing of the jaw^-bones 
w^hich caused a shudder amongst the more tender-hearted. 
This interchange of half-arm blow^s, which could only have 
occurred in in-fighting, lasted apparently for a long time, until 
the perspiration poured from every limb of each fighting man. 
There must, however, have been some cessations and some 
retreats to a safer distance. For just afterwards it is clear that 
Euryalus, the second comer, the friend of Diomede, was out 
of distance,' peering about for a chance of making a well-judged 
attack. It was while he was engaged in this operation that 
Epeiis made a rush at him and caught him full on the cheek. 
This 'lead off was a knock-down blow, and it decided the 
combat. The limbs of Euryalus w^ere relaxed, and he fell all of 
a heap. As when by the ripple caused by a sharp northeaster a fish is cast up on the beach, so the blow stretched him 
helpless on the ground.' The victor thereupon magnanimously 
extended his hand and raised his fallen foe, who was led off by 
his comrades through the crowd w^ith clots of blood rushing 

Figure III.— Stop for right-hand lead-off 

from his mouth, and his head wobbhng from side to side, and 
his feet dragging behind him. 

Several other details peep out which show that the philosophy 
of the fighting school was pretty much the same then as now. 
When the Greeks are invited by Achilles, the master of the 
games, to come up to the scratch, the probable winner is spoken 
of in advance, not as the man who can hit the hardest, or guard 
the best, but who can 'endure the longest.' The contest itself 
is announced as aXeyeir?;, causing distress and it is clear that 
the distress referred to is the same as that mentioned in 'Fistiana 
and the 'Records of the Ring,' i.e., that it is not the mere pain 
caused by the hard knocks received, but that exhaustion which 
is the real cause, nine times out of ten, of losing a fight. This 
is shown by the fact that the very same word is used as an 
epithet for the wrestling in which no blows at all are given. 
Then, it was not supposed that a second man would volunteer 
to enter the lists unless a very handsome prize was given to the 
loser as well as the winner. While to the latter an unbroken 
mule was offered, the former was allowed the prospect of 
winning a double cup as a solatium. And many a Greek soldier 
encamped in the plain of Troy beyond the sea would surely 
prefer the more portable and less troublesome of the two articles 
of property. It is noticeable, moreover, that Achilles never 
contemplates even the chance of more than one pair coming 
forward. Two men only are summoned and they are to be 
the two best in the host. From this it is plain enough that, 
whether by frequent displays or common repute, it was well 
known which amongst each division of the army, Athenians, 
Argives, Cretans, &c., was the champion boxer. The first who 
stood up does not appear to have had much of a record.' He 
'was a good man and tall,' and was well skilled in boxing 
but by his own confession he was only a poor fighter in the 
actual battle-field, and excused his default in this respect by 

explaining that no one could be learned in every art at the same 
tmie. He was, moreover, a cousin by the half-blood of Achilles 
himself. His challenge to all comers was boastful enough, and 
in the style affected by the challengers of all ancient times. He 
promised with a strong asseveration that he would break the 
body, and smash the bones,' of anyone who came to dispute 
the prize with him. The second comer is furnished with better 
credentials. He was the same Euryalus already mentioned as 
having gone from Argos to Thebes and vanquished all the 
Cadmeian pugiHsts. 

Almost at the same time, or at least only a few days after 
these funeral sports were held on the plain before Troy, a 
similar display was taking place within the walls in honour of 
Hector. The account of this comes, not from Homer but from 
Virgil, who in speaking of it refers to the fact that Paris was 
the best boxer in all Troy. He resembled in this therefore, as 
well as in his beauty of figure, that other great archer Apollo. 
The only man who ever set-to with him, even in practice, was 
a certain Dares, who at the Hectorian games came out the 
winner, Paris probably not condescending to compete. His 
principal competitor was the giant champion Butex, a descendant of that same Amycus who had fought against Pollux. 

From this stage of pugilistic history it is a short step to the 
Virgilian record, wTitten evidently by a man who thoroughly 
understood what he was writing about. It is too good to be 
lost, and is in every respect more worthy of being included in 
this place than the fantastic prose of the chroniclers of the 
English Prize Ring. The first man to enter the lists, which 
were on this occasion open to all, was the selfsame Dares who 
had beaten all comers in Troy, and might therefore pretty safely 
claim to be the best man in the diminished Trojan force 
encamped in Sicily. His speech, made after waiting a time in 
vain for a challenger, may thus be modernised Beg pardon, 

m' Lord, but if no one haven't the pluck to put 'em on with me, 
what's the use o' me standing 'ere ? I can't stop here for ever, 
ye know. Hand over that there prize.' Upon this there was 
some applause amongst the Asiatics but an unexpected 
challenger soon appeared. This was a very old man, who had 
been the favourite pupil or, to use a truly orthodox term, a 
novice of King Eryx, the Bendigo of Sicily, and had inherited 
his gloves. His mode of challenging was eminently characteristic. He threw both these gloves into the ring. But the size 
and appearance of them appalled the Trojans, and caused a 
determined objection on the part of their champion, who at 
once backed out of the whole business. This matter was 
compromised, on the magnanimous proposal of the Sicilian 
veteran, by the production of two equal pairs of gloves, which 
were fastened on to both men's arms by ^Eneas himself and 
the fight at length commenced. The Sicilian threw off his two 
outer garments (remember he was an old man), exposing to 
view the huge joints of his limbs, his mighty bones and muscles, 
and stood up in all his gigantic size in the middle of the ring. 
Then each man on the alert raises himself on tip-toe (fault), 
and puts his arms up high (fault again) to guard the head. 
Their heads held high are drawn back, and their hands are 
confused together (another mistake) as they spar for an opening. The one is quicker in getting about on his legs, and confident in his youth the other, better built-up and with stronger 
limbs, but retarded by the trembling and tottering of his knees, 
and shaken in his giant form by a distressing shortness of 
breath. Many blows are delivered on both sides without effect 
(short hits), many come home with a hollow sounding effect on 
the ribs and chest (compare the Tiines account of the Sayers- 
Heenan fight, in which a blow from Sayers on the ribs is 
compared in sound to the breaking in of a box), and round 
the ears and temples the fists are ever busy, while the jaws of 

K 

each absolutely clatter with the well-planted blows. Entellus 
stands quite still (this passage is inimitable), accommodating accurately the motions of his body to the warnings of his watchful 
eyes, and eludes with well-judged action the long shots of the 
adversary. The other man, like one who besieges a fort on an 
eminence, tries first one and then another mode of approach, 
and spies about everywhere for an opening, and presses on in 
vain with every species of lead-off.' It is only when the big 
man assumes the offensive that he comes to any harm^ 
Entellus showed that he was coming on with his right (the 
ancients always led off with this hand) by raising it on high. 
The other saw the blow coming from above, and with a quick 
side step got away. Either the Sicilian made a grievous blunder, 
or, which is more likely, the straight hit from the shoulder — the 
pride of the British pugilist — w^as unknown in antiquity, and the 
force of the blow was allowed to depend merely on the weight 
of the loaded glove slung round at arm's length towards the foe. 
However this may have been, Entellus was certainly at fault 
in one of the elementary principles of the art. His feet were 
'all wrong,' and his attitude so bad that in missing his man he 
toppled over bodily, and fell very heavily, amidst tremendous 
shouting on the part of the adverse faction. Every one jumped 
up — long battles were evidently most unusual— and the fallen 
man's second at once ran in to pick him up. Surprise was 
manifested at the fact that the pugilist was neither damaged nor 
 dismayed ! He goes to work w^ith a will thenceforth, and 
drives the smaller man all over the ring,' raining his blows 
both with right and left like hail on the discomfited champion. 
Then there is a summary interference on the part of the master 
of the sports, who charitably attributes the mishap of his fellowcountryman to the influence of some god or goddess. The 
veteran, baulked of his full revenge — for he meant to finish off 
his man in complete style — fells with a blow between the horns 

Figure IV. — Ketreat in good order 

the ox which was to be his prize, and offers it up as a sacrifice 
to Eryx, thus sacrificing as he says a better hfe in Heu of that 
of his intended victim. Why Dares did not 'go down to save 
himself from punishment, it does not appear. Entellus, in true 
sporting style, having won the belt, retires.' 

It remains, before dismissing the boxing of the old world, 
to mention what was its chief characteristic, the use of the 
 caestus,' or glove. In its first origin there can be little doubt 
that this apparatus was used as a protection to the arm or hand. 
In the practice of round-arm and downward hitting, which is 
natural to unskilled pugilists, there is much danger of bruising 
or breaking the bone of the forearm. Even amongst the most 
expert performers, where one of them is much overmatched in 
height and weight, it is often difficult to avoid this result, as w^as 
amply proved in the greatest prize fight of modern times, when 
Tom Sayers giving away about ^n^ inches in height and a proportionate amount of weight, had the bone of his guard arm 
broken very early in the encounter. With a view to avoiding 
this to some extent, it was the practice to bind the knuckles 
and forearm round with strips of leather, which would not only 
serve as a partial protection to the guarding arm, but also 
deaden the blow of the striking arm and fist. Even to this 
day the very same practice prevails in Siam, where strips of 
linen are similarly bound round the hands and arms of the 
fighting men as high as the elbow. In the Homeric account, 
there is no mention of any covering for the hand except 
the 'bands of well-cut leather from a wild bull's hide.' It 
was at a much later time that the caestus began to be armed 
with metal in order to increase instead of diminishing the force 
of the blow and the passages where Virgil has introduced the 
loaded glove are anachronisms, necessary to suit the ideas of 
his unlearned readers. Even in the latest times gloves were 
used, especially in practice, for deadening the blow. They 

were padded on the inside of the hand, and must have been 
dangerous enough, as a hard blow with the clenched fist when 
anything is held within it is almost sure to break the bones of 
the knuckles or at least dislocate a joint. But in the ferocious 
sports of the Roman amphitheatre such things would be quite 
out of place. The impatient and blood-thirsty audience would 
have been bored to death even with a modern prize fight of the 
fiercest kind. The back of the leather caestus was accordingly 
loaded and faced with lead and iron, and sometimes rings of 
metal were passed round the knuckles and hands. There were 
various descriptions of c^stus called by various learned Greek 
names — for the Romans admittedly took their rules from the 
great Greek games — and specimens of these are to be found 
in several ancient monuments. There is also an admirable 
statue in the Louvre of a pugilist on guard. From this it 
would seem that the classical boxers stood and moved in the 
attitude of swordsn:ien, using the right arm very much as if it 
had been a sword or club, and the left very much as if it had 
been a shield. It is said that in the schools the ears, which were 
the chief sufferers in the common practice of round-arm hitting, 
were protected by small caps or covers. The accepted opinion 
was that boxing was originated by Theseus in Attica and that 
there was an ancient Italian school of the art in Etruria. 

From boxing in the classical age we must come down 
almost at one leap to the Hanoverian. There is of course no 
doubt that in the interval the use of the fists was common in 
many countries in almost all parts of the world. While the 
practice of the Savate, in which the feet as well as the hands 
are used, was growing up in France, an exactly similar style of 
boxing was being separately developed in the remote countries 
between India and China. Once recognise the idea of personal 
contest for purposes of sport as opposed to purposes of actual 
 destruction, and the fist becomes a material weapon more really 

suitable for deciding a doubtful claim than any other. Once 
admit that men had better settle their differences by temporarily 
disabling one another than by killing outright, and you find 
contests with the unarmed or protected hand recognised as the 
fairest and readiest tests of rival merit. The mistake is to suppose that boxing was ever anything more than an artificial 
business, regulated by fixed rules, and saved by the interference 
of referees or umpires from degenerating into a mere 'rough 
and tumble.' That England during the middle ages was a 
favourite home of the art in pretty much its present form no 
one will be bold enough to doubt, although the allusions to it 
in Ivanhoe where no less a personage than Richard Coeur de 
Lion is claimed as a professor of it, must be regarded as 
fanciful. Every characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon race was 
such as to make the exercise congenial to their tastes and 
habits and in the old-fashioned fairs held at market towns 
and village greens it is impossible to doubt that, besides the 
wrestlers and quarterstaff players, there was commonly a 
good show of local pugilistic champions. But it is only after 
the age of lance and cudgel had died out with the Plantagenets, 
after the era of bows and arquebuses had been driven out 
with the Yorkists and Lancastrians, when the long sword of the 
Tudors had been supplanted by short swords of the Spanish 
and French schools, and when the latter had gone out with the 
last descendants of the Stuart Kings that prize fights, and 
consequently the elaborate study of pugilism, found their 
established home in the island. In quite the earliest part of 
George I.'s reign a French traveller, in his memoirs of travel in 
England, thus alludes to the universal popularity amongst all 
classes of English of fighting with the fist — 

Anything that looks like fighting is delicious to an Englishman. 
If two little boys quarrel in the street, the passengers stop, make a 
ring round them in a moment, that they may come to fisticuffs. 

Each pulls off his neck-cloth and waistcoat^ and gives them to hold 
to some of the standers-by. Dming the fight the ring of bystanders encourage the combatants with great delight of heart, 
and never part them while they fight according to the rules and 
these by-standers are not only other boys, porters and rabble, but 
all sorts of men of fashion. The fathers and mothers of the boys 
let them fight on as well as the rest, and hearten him that gives 
ground or has the worst. These combats are less frequent among 
grown men than children, but they are not rare. If a coachman 
has a dispute about his fare with a gentleman that has hired him, 
the coachman consents with all his heart the gentleman pulls off 
his sword and lays it in some shop, with his cane, gloves and 
cravat, and boxes in the same manner as I have described above. 
I once saw the late Duke of Grafton at fisticuffs in the open street 
Avith such a fellow, whom he lambed most horribly. In France we 
punish such rascals with our cane, and sometimes with the flat of 
our sword, but in England this is never practised they neither 
use sword or stick against a man that is unarmed. 

Figure V. — Ducking to the right 

The father of actual professional prize fighting, the established 
patriarch of the ring, is Figg, whose portrait we have on the 
canvas of Hogarth, and whose name stands first on the roll 
of recognised champions. His date is 17 19 and he appears 
10 have reigned eleven years, when his name is succeeded 
by the rather enigmatical mention of Pipes and Greeting.' 
How many pitched battles these heroes fought against one 
another is a question that could only be decided by diving into 
the mustiest records of pugilistic literature but it seems that 
Gretting (for that was his real name) won alternately for some 
time, and was rather undecidedly getting the worst of it with 
Pipes, who was the smaller man, when both were very easily 
vanquished by the redoubtable Jack Broughton. From the 
end of their four years' tenure of office in 1734, the list of 
sole champions continues unbroken and complete right down 
to the date of the famous international battle at Farnborough 
in i860 j and an enthusiast may even trace down the title with 
a few gaps and uncertainties to the present day. A running 
commentary on the most prominent names in the roll may be 
found in polite literature without much difficulty, as for more 
than a century the champion of the day was better known 
in fame to the rank and file of Englishmen than the Prime 
Minister, or the Archbishop of Canterbury. Most of them are 
immortalised in very tolerable woodcuts, which display in 

somewhat exaggerated but doubtless truthful detail their special 
points of excellence and their distinguishing personal characteristics. Their portraits, as well as those of their chief antagonists, 
may be seen hanging on the walls of the most famous rooms 
where the noble art is still taught and in many a country 
inn, once owned by a sporting landlord, the traveller may come 
unawares upon a smoke-dried copy of some notable pitched 
battle in w^hich a pair of flat-nosed heroes with monstrously 
developed muscles are seen fronting one another in orthodox 
attitude with more or less dilapidated visages. The rest of 
these worthies' performances, and all that they did with their 
fists, are they not mentioned in the Book of the Chronicles of 
 Boxiana' the oracle of the Ring ? 

From these authentic records it appears that in about a 
century and a half, beginning from 1700, some four thousand 
Englishmen engaged in pugilistic battles, which were reported 
in print, and that at least seven thousand fights took place, 
giving an average of over three fights to each man, whether 
winning or losing. Very few of these were international 
encounters, as until quite recent times prize-fighting was confined almost entirely to England but on one occasion, in 1754, 
a French pugilist challenged the champion of the day, and a 
scene followed which is sufficiently ludicrous to deserve a passing mention. At the first onset the foieigner, who was named 
Pettit, rushed at his antagonist, and, getting him on to the ropes 
or rails, very nearly throttled him before he had had time to 
strike a blow. Slack, the English champion, was black in the 
face when he escaped from this predicament, and continued 
the round, which was a long one. During its progress the 
Frenchman, as the reporter says, frequently carted his man 
off the stage — for in those days the ring consisted usually 
of a boarded platform — and in other rounds he adopted the 
manoeuvre of seizing the Britisher by the hams and throwing 

him easily.' After eighteen minutes' fighting the odds were a 
guinea to a shilHng against the champion, who seemed to be 
quite flabbergasted by the strange tactics of his opponent. 
After this, however, Mr. Slack devised the plan of keeping 
quite close to the Gaul, and so avoiding his rushes and in so 
short a time as seven minutes more the battle ended in favour 
of the islander. After receiving a severe hit in the ribs. 
Monsieur Pettit suddenly bolted off the stage, being, in the 
reporter's opinion, ^full strong,' and able to go on. Thus 
finished one of the most exciting and diverting spectacles ever 
offered to the on-lookers, being, as the chronicler observes, 
'perfectly ridiculous at times, and equally dreadful by turns,' 
by reason of the severe punishment inflicted on the English 
champion in the early rounds. It appears that the Duke of 
Cumberland, who had laid heavy odds on the foreigner, was a 
large loser by the unexpected result of this fight but, finding 
Slack to be a better man than he had supposed, afterwards 
backed him heavily in his match with Stevens, and lost again, 
thus undergoing the penalty which stockbrokers picturesquely 
describe as being hit in both eyes.' A propos of the wagering 
which went on in the last century amongst the patrons of the 
Ring, it may be mentioned that Johnson, in his match with 
Perrins in 1789, w^as believed to have been backed by a Mr. 
Bullock for no less than 20,000/. Perrins was a giant who 
fought at seventeen stone, and he was tremendously mauled 
by Johnson, a far smaller man. 

These records of the Ring provide also a complete answer 
to those sentimentalists who descant upon the danger to life involved in prize fighting. It appears from all the evidence that 
deaths from boxing are infinitesimally rare, and out of all proportion fewer than fatal accidents caused by boating, steeplechasing, and some other bodily exercises. The duration of 
the battles varied greatly, several of them lasting over four 

hours, while others were fairly won and lost in less than twenty 
minutes. Nothing is more notable than the way in which some 
men, after appearing to be on their last legs, managed by 
superior condition to stave off the evil moment, and actually 
turn a losing battle into a win. Chance and luck have played 
but a small part in determining the merit of competitors for 
fistic fame, which is gained by the possession of nerve, skill, 
strength, and, above all, that pluck which is usually the special 
boast of free nations. The average duration of a round was very 
short, but, in a famous match between Sayers and Perry, the 
second round lasted nearly half an hour and the ten of which 
the battle consisted averaged over ten minutes each. 

The first of those who reduced boxing to an accurate science 
and popularised it to Londoners was Jack Broughton, who was 
champion from 1740 to 1750, and who built and opened an 
amphitheatre for pubKc displays of the art behind Oxford Road, 
near Tottenham Court Road, in the second year of his reign. 
The next was Mendoza — household word in the schools of 
arms— who reigned in 1791, and opened the Lyceum in the 
Strand, where he long enjoyed the patronage of the most 
aristocratic admirers and pupils. His immediate successors, Jackson, Jem Belcher, and Pearce (the Game Chicken), were as well 
known in their generation as Wellington or Pitt and a sort of 
apotheosis belongs, in the minds of modern pugihsts, to Gully, 
who achieved champion honours in 1808, and was some years 
after elected a Member of Parliament ! The features of 
Belcher presented a rather striking resemblance to the first 
Napoleon and no doubt some of his rustic admirers considered 
him the greater man of the two. This was the Silver Age 
of the Prize Ring and a long succession of redoubtable heroes 
lived and fought, covering their manly waists with heavy subscription belts, and their names with popular honours, while 
they handsomely lined their pockets with the fees of rich 

pupils, and lived on tlie fat of the land in crowded public-houses 
where the muses joined company every evening with the professors 
and admirers of the noble art.' Lord Byron was not only 
amongst the admirers, but also a proficient in the art, as will 
appear from the following quotations from his diary — 

Nov. 24, 1 81 3. — Just returned from dinner, with Jackson (the 
Emperor of Pugilism), and another of the select, at Crib's, the 
champion's. I drank more than I like, and have brought away 
some three bottles of very fair claret — for I have no headache. We 
had Tom up after dinner — very facetious though somewhat prolix. 
Tom is an old friend of mine I have seen some of his best 
battles in my nonage. He is now a publican, and, I fear, a 
sinner, &c. 

March 17, 18 14. — I have been sparring with Jackson for exercise 
this morning, and mean to continue and renew my acquaintance 
with the muffles. My chest and arms and wind are in very good 
plight, and I am not in flesh. I used to be a hard hitter, and my 
arms are very long for my height (5 ft. 8|^ in.). At any rate exercise 
is good, and this is the severest of all fencing and broadsword 
never fatigued me half so much. 

The lessons were continued for some time afterwards and 
Byron continued throughout his life to have a great regard for 
Jackson, who, indeed, from all other accounts, appears to have 
been a decided credit to his profession. Tom Cribb, Tom Spring, 
Jem Ward and Deaf Burke belong successively to this heroic age, 
and carry the title down to the time of Bendigo, whose pupils still 
live and breathe, and remember the far-famed accomplishments 
of their master. The admiration professed by George IV. and 
his brother for the Prize Ring is as well known as any of their 
characteristics and the presence of those august spectators at 
several of the big battles on Molesey Hurst did a vast deal 
towards spreading throughout fashionable circles as well as 
amongst the common people a liking for honest fighting with 
the fists, instead of the sword or pistol business associated with 
the continental nations, then so heartily detested in England. 

The great victories of Bendigo were gained over Deaf Burke 
and Ben Caunt and he retired unbeaten in 1845, before the 
exalted morality of the Victorian era had decreed irrevocably 
that prizefighting was a degrading and unlawful pastime. Then 
there was a grand battle between Paddock and Perry (the Tipton 
Slasher) in 1850, and the latter, who reigned — with a short 
interval, when he was beaten by Harry Broome — till 1857, 
brings us down to the time of Sayers and to the generation of 
fighting men who are still alive. 

Tom Sayers was one of the smallest men who ever got to 
the top of the tree in prize fighting and the physiologists were 
for a long time puzzled to account for his extraordinary powers. 
A learned discussion on the subject seems to have ended in 
showing that his great strength lay in the lower part of the 
shoulders and the broad muscles of this part of his body had 
been unusually developed by the practice of heaving bricks, 
into lighters, where they were caught by other workmen and 
stowed away for water carriage. Anyone who likes to test this 
theory may do so by standing at the side of a pile of bricks, 
taking them as quickly as he can from the pile, and chucking 
them a good distance to his left over the left knee. It will be 
seen that the attitude of the feet exactly resembles that recommended to boxers, while the action of the left hand and arm is 
almost equally similar to the delivery of a correct blow from 
the shoulder. The hands, both while picking the bricks off 
the heap and heaving them, remain level with the head or 
shoulders and thus a man w^ho spends hours at this sort of 
work becomes habituated to the posture required while in the 
ring. The few contemporaries of Sayers who had sufficient 
knowledge to criticise his style, tell us that in force of hitting 
whether with the left or right he had no equal whatever. The 
blows came as from a catapult, and struck the mark with 
a sound like cricket-balls hitting a wall. Their effect was 

riAure VI. — The side step 

immensely enhanced by the wonderful judgment with which the 
striker timed them, catching his man as he came forward or 
as he shifted his ground, and before he had a chance of drawing back to lessen the shock. On the other hand, that same 
skill in timing his man enabled the champion, when it was 
impossible to escape a blow, to take it in the most modified 
form. Like Entellus, in the Virgilian prize fight, he guarded 
much more with his cool quick eye and with the movement of 
his body, than by shielding himself with the arms, and appeared 
to vanish miraculously just when the enemy, after long manoeuvring, had worked his way in and seemed sure of a telling 
hit. The perfect balance in which his weight was sustained on 
both legs enabled him to attack and retreat with such speed 
and ease as to disconcert a heavier athlete and when, overmatched in reach and strength, he found the other coming to 
close quarters, he would take the blow to all appearance unflinchingly, though by relaxing the right knee at the same time 
he took away all resistance, and drawing back his head fell 
almost with the lightness of a feather under the stroke. In 
reading the account of his historic match with Heenan — and 
the account is well worth a perusal — one should remember particularly this little detail. The knock-down blows which so delighted the American party, and seemed so terribly damaging 
to English prospects, were, in the opinion of those who knew 
the native champion best, a matter of small importance. Very 
different would have been their feelings, if in the earlier rounds 
the Benicia Boy had succeeded in fighting his man into a 
corner, closing with him, throwing him and falling upon him. 
So also the blows of the watchful Britisher did not represent in 
the matter of skill a mere faculty of seeing the openings and getting home with best effect. They are noticeable, in the eyes of 
the connoisseur, not for what they did, but for what they did 
not, that is, for not exposing the striker to a rush and a close 

for a fall. As it often happens in a long encounter, the really 
telling blows were amongst those that made least show and 
excited least applause. And the escape of Tom Sayers from 
absolute undeniable defeat was due very largely to this fact, 
that the hands of his gigantic opponent were so swelled with 
hitting that they w^ere more like boxing gloves than fists. As 
to the real merit of the battle, which was decided by the 
referee to have been a draw, there are still differences of opinion. 
The impartial historian finds it almost as difficult to believe 
that a man with a broken arm could have stood up much 
longer, as that one who was very nearly blind and whose hands 
wxre like puff balls could soon have finished him off. Allowing 
for the fact of the broken arm, and supposing that the accident 
which caused it — for accident it may fairly be called — had not 
occurred, it must be pretty evident to all reasonable critics that 
the Englishman was a long way the better man of the two. 

By the by, the puffed condition of Heenan's hands was 
commonly attributed by the professionals who ought to know 
best about it to his refusal to undergo one of the usual preliminaries to a fight in the Ring. This is the pickling of the 
hands in a strong solution of 'astringents, the effect of which is 
to harden and roughen the skin. The lotion, which is also 
often applied in a modified form to the face also, gives to the 
skin a dark and curious look, which Heenan, who was said to 
be rather a fine gentleman in his business, appeared to dislike. 
Prize fighting is, of course, one of those things in which the 
ornamental should be subordinated entirely to the useful and 
the American champion no doubt saw abundant cause to regret 
his squeamishness if that was the real cause of his useless hands. 

From the moment of this great fight in i860 the fortunes 
of the P. R. very rapidly declined. If Mr. Thomas Sayers had 
emulated the example of Mr. John Gully and become a 
Member of Parliament, and if the big people who assisted at 

the Farnborough battle had stood up manfully in defence of 
the Ring, something perhaps might have been done to arrest 
its decay. But the end of the English champion was premature and unpropitious. A disorderly crowd created some 
scandal even at the semi-public funeral which was given to his 
remains. And as for his great antagonist Heenan, it seems 
only too well ascertained that in a subsequent fight in which he 
was engaged in England he was doctored/ or in other words 
poisoned, and that so effectually that he never recovered the 
injur}^ and died a few years afterwards. Meanwhile for about 
seven years more the old established institution fitfully survived 
amidst quarrels and inconclusive battles, and a series of troublesome interruptions caused by the increased vigilance and determined hostility of the police. Pugilism, like everything else 
which is tabooed and placed under a social ban, became 
rapidly demoralised. The parties which attended prize fights 
included some of the most dangerous ruffians in the world, 
and no man of respectability dared to appear except under the 
protection of some well-known member of the confraternity. 
Sam Hurst (the Staleybridge Infant) and another giant named 
Paddock were the first to contest the title vacated by Tom 
Sayers. But neither of them possessed much science, and the 
best of the two was defeated with much ease by Jem Mace, a comparatively light weight, whose style has by some been considered 
better even than Sayers, and has presented to our generation a 
type which has seldom been equalled and perhaps never excelled 
in any age. The heavy weights Baldwin and Wormald made 
several matches, but with little result, some of them falling 
through, and others, though commenced, ending unsatisfactorily 
in a draw. Their last meeting was in the United States in 
1868 and since that the claims of championship honours which 
have been put in have generally stipulated for a fight in that 
more free-and-easy country. Jem Mace, probably the only 

Englishman who would have found a backer against Sayers, 
retained his title of champion, wnth some interruptions, from 
1861 till 1872, and indeed a great deal later; and for more 
than twenty years was far and away the finest performer to 
be found in the world. The frequent displays which, in company with his old antagonist Joe Goss, he gave in both hemispheres, familiarised a very late generation with the old traditions 
and glories of the ring and there still exist professional boxers, 
few and far between, who have not been demoralised and spoilt 
in style by the vitiating effects of the spurious sport termed 
'glove fighting.' 

Here it should be remarked that the only true and correct 
style of modern boxing is that in which the bare fists are used. 
All the rest are mere imitations — mere travesties of the original. 
To excel in them one has to abandon some of the elementary 
rules of the orthodox art. To judge them, one must be constantly thinking not of what is done by the men as they are, but 
what would be the effect of their blows and parries if the gloves 
were off. This at least is the fairest way of deciding as to the 
merits of a pair of competitors. If, adopting a different system, 
points are given to a man for every blow which comes home to 
the head or body of the adversary, it becomes necessary to count 
those flips with the end of the fingers which in a real fight go 
for nothing at all. On the other hand, if the value of a blow is 
estimated by the simple effect it produces through the gloves^ 
then a false conclusion is formed, because in sparring or glove 
fighting a dull heavy thwack is the most telling stroke, whereas 
in real fighting it is the quick, sharp knocks that do the damage, 
cutting open a cheek or lip, and ornamenting the ribs with 
aching bruises, whereas the slow slogging blows, even if they 
get home, are apt to shatter the striker's knuckles or dislocate 
the muscles of his forearm rather than to do adequate damage 
to a well-trained opponent. 

Figure VII. — Slipping 
H 

Glove fights were adopted, when the Ring proper came to a 
bad end, as the nearest possible approach to the old-fashioned 
prize lights. Some very good rules were drawn up for them by 
the Marquess of Queen sberry, who also instituted the amateur 
contest hereinafter to be described. They differed in several 
important respects from those of the P.R., and chiefly in regulating the length of the rounds by time instead of by the 
capabihty of both men to keep on their legs. The admixture 
of wresthng and 'hugging' with true boxing was also prohibited 
the time between each round (of three minutes) was extended 
to one minute and the time allowed for a fallen man to get up, 
which he must do by his own exertions, was cut down to ten 
seconds. Most of the other rules were similar to those of the 
P.R., and the stakes were of course to be awarded to the man 
who held out the longest. For the reasons already mentioned 
and several others, the glove fight is a poor substitute for the 
real thing which it attempts to reproduce and although there 
have been some important combats conducted under the new 
rules with gloves on, it is needless to say more about this artificial 
and clumsy form of sport. Quite in recent times, moreover, the 
necessity for resorting to such a device for deciding a pugilistic 
affair has been somewhat diminished, as means have been devised for bringing off' real fights in spite of the police and for 
three or four years past a tolerable number of them have been 
fairly fought out in different parts of England. 

This is not the place to introduce an essay on the merits or 
demerits of the P.R. We must proceed to less controversial 
matters. But those who have any interest in the argument one 
way or another may profitably refer to the Saturday Review 
(volume 1885), where an apologist for this ancient sport of the 
British race did not hesitate to stand up seriously for it against 
its hosts of modern detractors. One thing at least seems certain, that the squabbles of the common people have, since the 

fall of the Ring, been settled more commonly in a brutal and 
cowardly way than when the ideal of Gully or Bendigo was 
before the eyes of the quarrelsome man. It was a more honest 
sort of street row — that which the Frenchman Missot described 
as above, or which is referred to in the Ode of Beranger, with 
its amusing plate to bear it company. 

Qa, mesdames, qu'en pensez-vous ? 
Cest a vous de juger les coups. 
Qiioi ! ce spectacle vous atterre ? 
Le sangjaillit battez des mains. 
Dieux ! que les Anglais sont humains ! 
Non, chez nous, point, 
Point de ces coups de poing 
Qui font tant dlionneur a I'Angleterre. 

Modern boxing, or more properly speaking 'sparring,' which 
means only the use of the gloves, has been saved from falling 
into the same disrepute as partly pugilism, by the innate love of 
the healthy-minded Britisher for it and partly by the efforts of 
a few amateur clubs. The first of these to take it up on a 
large scale was the old Amateur Athletic Club, founded by John 
Chambers and others in 1866. During the second year of its 
existence, this club organised annual amateur championship 
competitions for handsome challenge cups presented by Lord 
Queensberry. Special rules were drawn up, and the matches 
took place in a twenty-four foot roped ring on grass, presenting 
a close imitation of the well-knowm scenes in which Sayers, 
Mace, and King had taken part. These competitions were 
kept up ever since, with, on the whole, surprising success and 
there is now in existence a small body of ex- champions, each of 
whom can boast of having beaten all comers in a veritable 
 ring.' Indeed, the list became at one time a sort of double 
one, for in 1881 a novel institution sprang up, which, discarding some of the old rules, set up more elaborate ones of its 

own, and awarded annually a rival title of champion to its own 
heroes. For five years these clubs continued to give separate 
sets of prizes, the same man occasionally winning in both competitions but they have now become merged into one, and 
amateur championships are awarded without dispute for no less 
than five different weights, ranging from 1 1 st. 41b., which is the 
boundary between heavy and middle w^eight,' down to feather 
weight (9 stone), and bantam weight (8 stone). Other gymnastic and athletic clubs have also done a good deal to 
encourage boxing both good and bad and there are now 
probably more amateurs than professionals who dabble in this 
form of art 

MS 

It will have sufficiently appeared from what has already been 
said that the 'Art of Self-Defence is eminently artificial — that 
is to say, that its rules, far from being such as one would devise 
off-hand, are the result of prolonged experience and practice. 
Accordingly, the very best way for one to become a bad boxer is 
to follow the light of nature and learn without a master. The 
untutored combats of boys are absurd parodies and in many 
a remote place the clubs, where so-called boxing takes place, 
produce local champions who are disfigured by almost every 
fault that can make them ridiculous. A bad style is in this 
matter, as in most others, very difficult to get rid of and it is 
very rare to find a boxer of any pretensions who has not learnt 
early in a good school. Something may be done by the study 
of books and within quite the last few years, a new chance 
has been afforded by the publication of a useful hand-book 
by Professor Donnelly. To the attentive study of this treatise 
every beginner may be confidently recommended, especially if 
there is no chance of attending the lectures of a really competent mentor. 

It may seem paradoxical, and provoke a smile, to say that 
the first necessity for using the fists properly is to understand 
the use of the feet. Before the beginner is allowed to touch 
the gloves, or even to make a hit or a guard, he should be taught 

rigure IX. — Left arm guard 

to stand and move about in the most correct way. By the 
mere position of the feet a connoisseur will tell almost at a 
glance whether a novice has learnt in a good school and profited 
by his lessons. The left foot should be flat on the ground, 
pointing always straight towards the face of the adversary. The 
right foot should be directly behind it, with a space of from 
fourteen to twenty inches between heel and toe according to the 
height of the individual and the right heel will be raised an 
inch from the ground, both knees being slightly bent, as by this 
means the joints are much more ready for sudden movement, 
and the little that is lost in height is well made up for by what 
is gained in agility. The right foot must not be at right angles 
to the left, nor yet in a line with it, but placed obliquely at about 
an angle of forty-five. And the weight of the body must be 
distributed between the two feet so that it can be thrown in a 
moment upon one or the other. In the advance the left foot is 
always lifted first, and put forward a few inches if the design is 
merely to approach nearer to a retreating adversary, the heel 
coming to the ground a little before the rest of the foot, and 
without any stamp or noise. The right foot must immediately 
follow, and be set down as gently, occupying a similar position 
at exactly the same distance behind the other as before. Bur 
in leading off, the left foot will be advanced quickly, though 
gently, with a long bold stride, as the right foot is in a lunge in 
fencing. A six-foot man will easily step far enough forward to 
leave thirty inches between his two feet, and even much shorter 
men will cover this distance without spoiling their chance of 
recovery. When in this position the left knee is strongly bent, 
so that it is exactly above the tip of the toes. The right leg is 
almost straight and the heel raised very considerably, so that it 
is at least four or ^Nt inches off the ground. The recovery is 
effected by a vigorous spring from the left leg backwards. In 
ordinary retreating, the right foot must ahvays be lifted first. 

and withdrawn a few inches, the left following it quickly, so that 
the original attitude may be resumed. In retreating after a 
Mead-off' a different manoeuvre is usually adopted. After the 
first spring back has been made from the left leg, and as the 
weight of the body comes back on to the right, the right knee 
is bent and a second spring is made from both legs together, 
carrying the whole body backwards. Alighting from this jump, 
the left foot is found occupying a position in the same place 
where the right had been, or perhaps a little behind it, whilst 
the right comes down at its normal distance behind. In alighting, the front of the left foot touches the ground first, and is 
quickly followed by the heel, after which the right foot comes 
down with the heel slightly raised as before. If it is intended to 
make a double step backwards, which is very often necessary, 
the left foot as it touches the ground is pressed sharply downwards, giving a fresh impulse to the rear, and as the weight 
comes back on to the right foot the double spring with both 
legs is xepeated. Thus in two springs a space of about seven 
feet is covered and as the advance step, properly made, is 
muchdess rapid, the fugitive ought by that time to be very well 
out of reach. Probably the most important thing in all boxing 
is to become perfect in this lesson. Lift the wrong foot first, 
or come down on the wrong foot, or in a false attitude, and it is 
almost all over with the transgressor. His legs get crossed, and 
the right trips up the left. His body is overbalanced, and his 
further retreat is frustrated. An active opponent follows him 
up with powerful strides, and, catching him tripping or tottering, 
delivers a heavy blow which spills him like a top-heavy jar of 
water. A careful mentor will devote several lessons to the mere 
perfecting of his pupil in this art of advancing and retreating 
before he allows him even to put on a glove. 

The body, in the meanwhile, should be kept upright, and the 
very most made of a man's height. The left shoulder is thrown 

forward, and the upper arm lowered, so that it forms a complete 
shield for all the ribs on that side the elbow being close to the 
lowest rib bone. From the elbow to the knuckles the left forearm is held forward in a direct line towards the chest of the 
adversary. In this position the mere projection of the forearm 
in a forward direction operates to thrust the fist out directly in 
the way of the opponent's attack, and it is very difficult for him 
to come on without meeting that obstacle directly with his face 
or body. An idea of the effect may be gathered from a glance at 
Figs. 11. and III. The right forearm will occupy a rather similar 
position, but more in front of the body, for the side ribs on this 
side being drawn back right away from any attack, need little 
or no defence. The right shoulder and elbow are kept well 
down, and the forearm is bent across the lower part of the 
chest, so that the closed fist is about an inch below the point of 
the left breast. In this position the two bones of the forearm 
effectually guard that vulnerable place the pit of the stomach 
above the belt, known to fighting men as the mark.' Both 
arms should be kept continually in motion, the left fist being 
advanced and withdrawn a few inches by an easy movement, 
and the right arm being worked upwards and outwards while 
the knuckles are turned slightly, so that as the forearm is raised 
the lower muscles come more and more forward in front of the 
bones. The object of this movement is not only to prevent 
stiffness in the arm-joints and muscles, but to prevent an 
adversary perceiving when a hit or guard is intended to be 
made. With a similar object, the body will not be kept stockstill in a stiif attitude but the weight will be shifted a little 
from time to time on to one or other leg, and the ground 
shifted occasionally by imperceptibly moving the feet forwards 
or backwards, retaining always, as far as possible, the orthodox 
distance between them. By this means, it becomes excessively 
difficult for an adversary to 'judge his distance in making or 

avoiding an attack. The head is bent a httle to the left, but 
not so much as to fully face the enemy. It will point a foot or 
two to his left, and by the manoeuvre of eyes left,' the visual 
organs are brought to bear on his face. If a blow is to be taken, 
it is better to take it on the left side of the face than full in 
front. The correct position of two men on guard is shown 
in Fig. I. 

Several days should again be devoted to the study of attitude 
before an attempt is made at guarding or hitting or real sparring. 

Almost all beginners, and not a few of those who consider 
themselves quite adepts, will be surprised to hear that there are 
no less than five different methods of defence. They shall be 
mentioned in their order of merit, and before going on to the 
methods of attack for in all ages and countries connoisseurs 
have admitted that boxing is primarily the art of 'self-defence,' 
and only secondarily that of injuring the antagonist. 

(i.) The stop by 'countering.' — A man who is taller than 
his opponent or who has a longer reach, ought, if he is well 
skilled, never to allow that unfortunate to get within striking 
distance. To illustrate this take two dolls with flexible arms. 
Extend the left arm of the bigger one and put it in a boxing 
attitude opposite the other. Do what you will with the arms 
of the latter, you will never touch the face of the former for 
before the blow can get home the face or chest of the smaller 
doll will come in contact with the opposing left fist of the bigger. 
Of course, in order for this style of defence to be effectual, the 
longer-armed man must make the very most of his reach, and he 
must be sure that his blow does not miss its aim. The various 
devices for eluding that aim, and preventing a long reach from 
telling, constitute the A B C of the small man's art. But, supposing an exactly equal degree of skill and pluck, the long man 
should always win by reason of his blows coming home when 
those of the other fall short. The stop by countering is mani- 

Figure X. — Left-hand lead-off 

festly the best of all defences, for it needs less trouble. There 
is no shifting of ground, no raising of the right arm, no violent 
exertion of the body. Only the left arm is just thrown forward 
and the adversary is disconcerted, receiving very likely a nasty 
knock at the same time. When this energetic system of defence 
is adopted the visage of the man who leads off, whether at the 
head, or at the body, as in Figs. II. and III., comes violently 
into contact with the outstretched fist of the intended victim. 
Of course this stop may, and often should, be combined 
with a guard by the right arm. 

(2.) The retreat in good order. — This is a much safer, though 
less telling manoeuvre. It is effected, if the lead-off is short 
and the distance is accurately judged, by throwing the balance 
of the body back on the right leg, and if necessary shifting 
ground more or less to the rear, in manner already mentioned 

(3.) Ducking. — A dangerous but highly effective device, only 
to be used in emergency or against a man inferior in skill. The 
head is suddenly incHned well to the right or the left, and at 
the same time, if necessary, the body may be bent in the same 
direction, and lowered by bending one or both knees. A very 
expert professor engaged with a comparative novice will turn 
the latter into great ridicule by actually nodding his head forward and allowing the slow blow aimed at him to pass harmlessly over. Ducking, in combination with the several kinds 
of cross-counters,' may be used with tremendous effect when 
a safe opportunity offers but when attempted Avith a clever 
man it exposes the defendant to the damaging hit known as an 
 upper cut.' 

Fig. V. shows a combination of the device of ducking with a less orthodox but tremendously telling form of 
attack. The head having been bent well to the right, so that 
the left-hand lead-off passes well over it, a forward movement 

is made, whereby the whole body of the ducking man is projected forwards to that of the assailant. As the latter comes 
on with the attacking impulse, his left ribs are exposed to the 
impact of the advancing shoulder, which may be made more 
pointed by drawing back the left arm. A small man engaged 
in a street row, and attacked by a big fellow who knows something of the art and who leads off with the left, miay employ 
these tactics with great effect and if he happens to have a 
bony shoulder, without much covering of flesh, the coup is not 
unlikely to break in the ribs of the adversary. 

(4.) The side step. — This is either unknown to the unlearned, 
or practised by them in a bungling inartistic fashion. To effect 
it properly, throw the whole weight suddenly on to the ball of the 
left foot. Raise the right foot bodily and step out with it well 
to the right, alighting on the ball of the right foot. The left 
foot following after is put down quietly in front of the right, 
and the man is in proper attitude again but standing a yard or 
so to the opponent's left. If there is any danger of receiving a 
blow from the left during the operation, duck the head and 
lower the body so that the blow passes overhead, or if aimed at 
the body hits the point of the left shoulder. When well done, 
this stratagem leaves the other man pointing at nothing and 
often hitting or advancing against the empty air (see Fig. VI.). 
A side step to the left may be effected somewhat similarly but 
it should never be resorted to except in extreme emergencies, 
to avoid being forced by a heavier man into a corner or on to 
the ropes. Another mode of shifting ground, more properly 
called 'slipping,' is shown in Fig. VI L Here the left ioot is raised 
and set down again at a point to the left of the adversary, the 
right following it and coming down in position behind it. The 
weak part of this movement is that it exposes the left side to a 
very damaging blow. The proper style of breaking ground or 
shifting, or slipping, is by movements to the right, avoiding the 

radical error of working round to the left towards the opponent's 
right hand blows. 

'(5.) The guard with the arm. — Last of all the defences, 
although almost invariably reckoned as first, comes the device 
of shielding with the arm. For this the right, the guard arm,' 
is most commonly employed but both are quite necessary. 
Remember, however, in estimating the relative value of this 
defence, as compared with the others, that Sayers, during the 
greater part of his great fight with the American giant, could 
make no use at all of his guard arm, the bone having been 
broken early in the day, and that Ned Donnelly, the most successful teacher of more modern days, fought in the ring for an 
hour with his right shoulder dislocated, and beat his man. The 
proper uses of the arms in guarding are as follows. For a blow 
with the left at the head, raise the right fist, passing it towards 
the left, till it is opposite the left temple, straighten the elbow, 
till the angle made by it is very obtuse, and at the same time 
turn the palm of the hand out, so that the knuckles are inwards, 
and bear forward on that arm, so that it is not likely to be 
pushed back on to the face, however hard it is hit. The further 
the arm is passed across the body, the more likely the blow is 
to fall near the elbow, on what a fencer would call the j^r/ of the 
arm and not on the foible. Otherwise there is great risk, if the 
other man is taller and stronger, that a downward blow from 
his left will break the outer bone of the forearm. It is to avoid 
this risk, and to give greater resistance to the guard, that the 
arm is turned so that the blow may fall on the muscle instead 
of on the bone. Nevertheless, after boxing with a man who 
hits down, you will be pretty sure to find some black and blue 
marks along the ridge formed by the bone. To test the truth 
of these remarks as to this important guard, stand opposite a 
strong post and press against it with the weight of the body 
leaning on the left forearm. The nearer the point of contact 

is to the elbow, cind the more the knuckles are turned in, the 
easier it will be to support the weight on the point of pressure. 
This guard should not be lowered till the weight of the blow 
is fully expended, and then the arm should return at once to its 
normal place, but be ready for instant use again. Fig. VIII. 
shows a right-hand guard stopping a lead-off with the left but 
it will be observed that the man on guard has not passed his 
arm far enough to the left, but receives the blow on the foible 
near the wrist. 

Figure VIII. —Right Arm Guard. 

To guard a body blow, keep the right arm in its usual 
position. The forearm then crosses the mark,' and the upper 
arm ought to save the ribs from a round-handed attack with the 
left. 

Blows with the opponent's right ought not to need very 
much guarding, but when he is in the habit of cross- countering 
quickly, keep the head back and rather low, so that it is to a 
great extent shielded by the shoulder as it comes out in leading 
off. If this does not suffice the left arm may be raised in a 
similar position to that recommended for the right in stopping 
a left-hand lead-off. The position will then be as represented 
in Fig. IX. and, as in a blow with the right the striker has the 
fleshy part of his arm downwards, the opposing guard generally 

figure XI.— Lead-off at the body 

bruises it a good deal. That result may also be deliberately 
intensified in guarding a round hit. With this object feint 
your man with the left, and, instead of delivering a full blow, 
turn up the elbow sharply, leaning the head and body forward. 
The fleshy part of your assailant's arm will come full on the 
sharp corner of the elbow, and he will have had a lesson not 
easily forgotten. In like manner a cross-counter aimed by 
him at the body, if it looks like getting home, may be stopped 
by sticking out the left elbow, holding the fist low, and the 
pain inflicted on the foe will be very severe. With a man who 
stands left foot foremost and leads off with the right, the same 
tactics may be employed with great effect, or the left arm may 
be passed upwards, as the right is in guarding a left-hand leadoff. In in-fighting or boxing at close quarters, both arms 
may be raised, as occasion occurs, and the elbows seasonably 
presented between the intervals of hitting. And the head may 
be guarded also by the left shoulder, and by putting down the 
face, so that the blows come on the forehead or crown, jarring 
the assailant's hands and arms, and causing him almost, if not 
quite, as much damage as the man he hits. 

When a beginner has become pretty clever at resisting or 
eluding an attack he may at length be allowed to start proceedings as the aggressor. And for a long time he should only be 
allowed to use the left. The lead-off is the essential point to 
which he must devote his whole attention. Every day for ten 
minutes at a time, and as much oftener as he can, he should 
stand opposite a wall, or better still, opposite a big sack full 
of bran hung up in the middle of a room. Beginning at a 
moderate distance he will hit out at this, with an old glove on 
his hand, adopting the position proper for advance, and retreating after each blow, now with a single spring, and sometimes with 
a double step. As he begins to ascertain the real length of his 
reach, and of his stride, he will increase the distance from which 

he leads off and by degrees he will develop his resources so 
much that he finds he can strike from a distance far exceeding 
his early attempts. The reach of a lead-off measured from the 
foot of the wall struck to the right heel of the striker, will be 
about equal to his own height but there are few men who, without 
skilled teaching, could hit an adversary at that distance, and 
much fewer who could do so and recover themselves easily. 
In extending the left arm as the foot comes out, the knuckles 
and elbows will be kept down, and the arm at the moment of 
contact will be extended to its fullest length, perfectly straight. 
The left foot is advanced till about a yard separates it from the 
right, and is put flat on the ground, whereas the right heel is 
raised some inches. The right leg is then nearly straight, but 
the left knee is bent till it is just over the tip of the toes (see 
Fig. X.). And here it is necessary to wait a moment, and estimate 
the full value of a good left-handed hit, well-timed, and well 
delivered. With this view place a man in the position indicated. 
It will be seen that his whole body from the right foot to the 
left fist forms a long low arch, or rather the half of an arch in 
which there is no weak point. Take a heavy weight, a sack or 
a human body, and precipitate it or lean it against the front end 
of this semi-arch. It will be found to have absolutely no effect 
in destroying its strength of resistance. Nay, the very force with 
which you press against it makes its resistance more formidable. 
And the arch itself, consisting as it does of a bow-shaped 
curve, may be made stronger and stronger against any attack by 
lowering the central and strongest part, consisting of the human 
body, so as to straighten out the curve, and drive the upper end 
(the fist) further forward. The aspect of a face driven forward 
against the end of this curve would be a good deal altered 
when it retreated from the ill-judged impact. In a really good 
lead-off, properly timed, and happily executed, the force of the 
blow is the accumulated product of many different agencies, all 

Figure XII.— Double lead-off with the right 

directed with the most telling effect against the unlucky 
recipient. The primary impulse comes, of course, from the 
right foot, pressing the ground. It is transmitted with accumulating force along the calf and thigh of the right leg, augmented 
by the natural weight of the whole body thrown forward, and 
carried on by the arm, which, extended in a rigid line from the 
big muscles of the back and shoulder-blade to the knuckles 
resembles a long bar of bone. Bring this formidable bar into 
contact with a fixed mass of inert material, such as a huge sack 
standing on its end, or a big box, or wall of thin wood, and you 
will soon see what a sharp and damaging impression is produced. 
But to use this hit to perfection extreme skill and judgmentare required. The most usual mistake is made by delivering 
the blow when the arm is not yet straight, and when it loses its 
chief virtue, as a weak point is then interposed between the 
ground and the face of the man hit. Another very common 
error is to draw back the fist before letting it go out. Not only 
is this entirely useless, but it involves a w^aste of time, and 
gives a watchful opponent notice of what is about to happen. 
Finally, the fist, instead of going directly forward as it should 
towards the object aimed at, is often raised aloft and then 
brought down, hammer-like, only to be stopped by the interposed guard, or, if it is not so stopped, to fall downwards and 
leave the left side of the striker open to an ugly and dangerous 
attack. 

To lead off at the body a similar action is made, the aim 
only being somewhat lower, and the body and head correspondingly kept down (see Fig. XL). With a taller man, or one who 
holds his head too far back or his right-hand guard too high, 
this form of attack is the best and it is also exceedingly useful 
when, by a pretended lead-off at the head, the adversary has 
been inveigled into putting up his guard too far. The recovery 
from both these hits is as difficult as the hits themselves. The 

i6o BOXING AND SPARRING 

greatest care must be taken, in practising at a dummy, not to 
lean upon the blow and take an impulse backwards from the 
object struck. It is obvious that if a tendency to do this were 
encouraged the novice who missed his mark would be wholly 
unable to get back, and might even topple over altogether, like 
Entellus in the Virgilian epic. The impulse in recovering 
must come entirely from the left knee and leg and as the 
body is brought back, the left arm must be kept partly extended and ready for use as a shield against a rush and a righthand blow. The practice required for learning how to lead off 
even passably is to be measured by months rather than days 
and it can be brought to such perfection by years of constant 
exercise that a professor will actually tell a novice, Now I am 
going to hit you with the left,' and will do so in spite of his best 
efforts to retreat, or dodge, or guard. 

The double step forward in leading off is used with a man 
who is shy and active but anskilled in the use of his legs. The 
first step may be a feint at the head or body, and the second 
a real hit. The distance covered by a good man — Mace, for 
example — is almost incredible, and seems to take the assailant 
more than half-way across the ring. For the defence take a 
spring back to clear the first hit, and use the right-hand guard 
or left-hand counter for the second. 

Leading off with the right is dangerous and dif^cult. It is 
generally preceded either by a hit or a feint with the left. A 
little practice will enable you to get out the right almost as far 
as the left. But the blow is altogether different, and depends 
for its value on different principles. Although in a lead-off 
the arm will be straight and the hit come from the shoulder, its 
force is derived partly from the twist of the body by which the 
shoulder is brought round to the front. It is a sort of compromise between a half-arm blow and a blow with the straight arm, 
and it requires far more muscular action and less mere utilisa- 

Figure XIII — Right-hand lead-off at the body 

tion of balance and weight than the other. Tn delivering it 
the palm of the hand is downwards, the head kept well to the 
left and the knee bent very much forward. As the right arm 
comes forward, it is likely to meet with the left fist of the 
adversary coming out with a counter and the idea is that it 
will force this fist back and penetrate in spite of it to his face, 
There is, however, much fear of its failing to do this and as 
it does so fail the leader-off has to take the counter in full face, 
meeting it with the weight of his body as his right shoulder 
comes forward. Moreover, if the adversary should take it into 
his head to lead off at the same time with his right, he is almost 
sure to get home and give at least as much as he takes (see Fig. 
XII.). So dangerous a manoeuvre, of which the effect may be so 
damaging, should not be attempted until the beginner has 
ceased to be a beginner. The other right-hand lead off is even 
more risky. It is the same blow aimed about eighteen inches 
lower, at the body. And the reason why it is more hazardous is 
that in this case there is no reasonable likelihood of encountering the other man's left hand. On the contrary, a free scope 
is left for this hand to come home with unchecked force against 
he advancing face of the leader-off. Far better, therefore, to 
reserve both these hits for use as cross-counters, that is to 
say, for the riposte delivered when the other man's left hand 
has already come out in a lead-off on his side. If instead of 
countering it is proposed to stop the lead-off with an arm guard, 
nothing is more easy. All that need be done is to keep the 
left arm well back close to the ribs, as shown in Fig. XIII. 

In in-fighting the hits are all half-arm but they need not 
therefore be 'round.' The body should be thrown well forward, 
and the face kept down. As each arm is used in hitting, the 
shoulder belonging to it should be thrown forward with a twist 
of the body, and every endeavour should be made to keep 
the forearms inside those of the opponent so that the blows 

which come home may be upper cuts,' and his must necessarily be only round-arm hits. The knees may be much more 
bent than in out-fighting, as height is of less advantage, and 
every effort should be made to drive the enemy backwards, so 
that his blows lack force and his body is more exposed to 
heavy half-arm hits with the right. In prize competitions infighting does not count for much but it is otherwise in a bona 
fide set-to or a street row and even in glove contests the man 
who keeps his eyes open and delivers a good rib pohsher 
when there is a fair chance, derives some benefit from it in the 
shortness of breath and stiffness of the whole body which result 
to the adversary. Slogging and hard hitting with the mere 
object of doing damage with the gloved hand earn no credit in 
the eyes of a good judge but it is impossible to prevent the 
effect of a hard hit upon the subsequent proceedings from 
having its influence on the verdict. 

It remains now to mention the combinations of attack and 
defjnce which are so essentially necessary to every boxer. 
They are of course very numerous, almost every one of the 
four principal hits above described being combined with 
several of the many methods of stopping or avoiding a blow. 
But it may be left to the ingenuity of the learner and to the 
care of his instructor to discover the less important of these 
manoeuvres. Two sets of combinations require particular comment— that in which the arm guard is accompanied with a hit, 
and that in which the hit is used with a duck of the head. In 
the left-hand lead-off the beginner should at first protect his 
face, while delivering the blow, by putting up his right-hand 
guard. By this means he will avoid the left-hand counter at 
the head, which would otherwise assuredly come home. After 
he is pretty well an fait at this, and can appreciate the merits 
of that line of defence, his teacher must show him its demerits 
when too freely used. With this object, as the right hand goes 

Figure XIV. — Right-hand cross-counter 

up and the hit is dehvered the professor will gently counter his 
man on the body. The latter thus learns that in leading off he 
exposes two vital parts, the head and the 'mark.' And for 
some time he will find it quite impossible to guard both. By 
degrees only he will acquire that quickness of eye and nerve 
that enables him to guess whether the opponent means to 
counter high or to counter low. If the latter, he has only to 
keep the right arm in its normal place. If the former, he must 
put up his guard. Or, if he feels sure that the counter is coming at the head, he may dodge the blow by ducking to the 
right. In exactly similar style he will, standing on the defence, 
acquire a facility of guarding with the right, and at the same 
time, or immediately afterwards, before the assailant has got 
back, delivering the left as a counter. Remember always this 
difference between a 4ead off' and a 'counter' in a lead off 
the left foot must be advanced in a counter it need not 
but advantage may be taken of the step-in of the enemy to bring 
him within distance. In common parlance, it is usual to speak 
of the men countering one another but this is really a misnomer. When both men step in it is a double lead-off in 
which each gets home. If both men only attempted to counter 
they would be out of distance, unless indeed they were such 
novices as to be both standing on guard within hitting distance. 
Another device deserves some mention, on account of its telling effect, although it involves an unorthodox guard, and can 
only be employed against an unskilled man, who stands with 
his left foot crooked or hits in a weak or hammerhke fashion. 
Suppose a blow to be coming at your head, of which you are 
fully aware. Raise the left arm from its proper position in 
exactly the same way as if it were the right coming up to the 
guard, but as soon as the muscle of the forearm comes in contact with the bone of the opponent's arm give it a turn outwards 
and press forwards, leaning heavily against it. The whole upper 

part of your adversary's body will thus be screwed round 
his right hand will be utterly powerless for all purposes of 
attack, as well as the left against which you continue to press 
and his left ribs wnll be presented fairly to you— an inviting 
mark upon w^hich you may deliver with perfect safety and 
tremendous effect the full force of your right-hand blow. 
Untaught men stand naturally with their left foot turned 
inwards, quite out of the proper line. They little think, as 
they spar wnth a professor who with good-natured smile lets 
them knock him about a bit, that with one back-handed turn 
of his wrist as they come blundering on he could send them 
spinning, and, as their broadside comes opposite him, could 
lay them flat on the ground wdth a broken rib as easily as they 
could crumple up a band-box. 

Apropos of which there is a little true story told of the 
famous Nat Langham, whose boxing rooms in Castle Street were 
for so many years the head-quarters of the best professional 
boxers of the West End. It was at a race meeting, where 
the crowd was densely packed and locomotion was difficult. A 
gigantic member of one of the great London Rowing Clubs who 
prided himself upon his strength and a good practical know^ledge of the fistic art, was working his way through the crowd 
without much sparing the feehngs of the lesser mortals. To 
him, as he elbowed his way along, enters a little sallow-faced 
middle-aged man, wdth a rather dogged though good-humoured 
face. Don't you make too free with your elbows this way, 
young man,' was the remark of the pigmy to the giant. 'You 
might feel sorry for it' Goliath was dumb-foundered the bystanders chuckled in a very aggravating manner. Did the little 
fellow really mean to insult him ? Did the little laughing circle 
around him really want to see an example made of their friend? 
Evidently that was the idea. Every feature in every face 
seemed to say as plainly as spoken words Go for him. Don't 

put up with his chaff.' And he went accordingly, putting up his 
hands in the most correct style, and leading off with a left hand 
that had felled many a redoubtable athlete. The next thing 
that he remembers is picking himself up with some difficulty 
from the ground, with a severe twitching and aching pain all 
round the left side of the body. His immediate impulse was to 
rush on again to the attack, for he was not one to show the 
white feather. But the oldest^ palest and seediest-looking of the 
little knot of loafers laid his hand very gently on the big man's 
arm. Are you mad ? he asked, with ineffable scorn. Why, 
that's Nat Langham ! The amateur had just enough sense left 
to turn on his heel, and walk off with the best grace he could. 
Nat thought no more of the trifling episode than if he had 
brushed a fly off his weather-beaten face. 

The other counters are most properly called cross-counters. 
They are four in number, and are considered, as far as actual 
fighting is concerned, the most damaging of all blows. Commonest and most dreaded of all is the right-handed cross -counter 
at the head, which is thus delivered — Watch for your man's 
lead-off with the left, and as it comes out duck to the left, throwing the weight of your body on to the left knee. At the same 
time pass your right arm forward, outside his left, and bring it 
home with all your strength 00 to the left side of his face or 
head. The result of this manoeuvre is that the lead-off arm 
passes over the right shoulder of the intended victim, entirely 
missing his head and the head of the leader-off, coming forward with his blow, is projected in an utterly defenceless condition on to the countering fist (Fig, XIV.). So severe is the 
shock that the brain is shaken, and the neck almost dislocated, 
while the hand and arm of the striker are apt to be badly 
jarred, even through the glove. If the mouth of the leader-off 
is at all open and the blow comes home on the lower side of 
the face, a dislocation of the jaw, more or less severe, is almost 

sure to follow, and for some days afterwards it will be matter of 
pain and grief to the sufferer even to eat his food. The answer 
to this cross-counter is to deliver the right at the face of the 
counterer and to guard against this turning of the tables it is 
well, while cross-countering, to keep the left arm ready to parry 
the return blow. 

Instead of thus countering on the head the blow may be 
aimed at the ribs and in the case of a tall, bulky man this will 
often be still more effective. In such case not only the head 
should be ducked, but the body lowered by bending both knees, 
allowing the lead-off to pass clean overhead (Fig. XV.). This 
cross-counter is more dangerous than the other^ exposing the 
man who attempts it to an upper cut from the opponent's right 
hand but remember always, that that opponent is usually far 
too much disabled by the cross-counter he has received to 
think about any riposte. Of all the men who have been killed 
with a blow from the fist (and there was one such case at 
Christ Church, Oxford, within the memory of man), by far the 
majority have owed their misfortune to right-handed crosscounters coming home on an untrained body, containing perhaps a disordered liver or a diseased heart. The other two 
cross-counters are less dangerous both to giver and taker. The 
head is ducked to the rights so that the lead-oif passes harmlessly over the left shoulder, and the left fist is brought round 
on to the face, as in Fig. XVL, or the body, as in Fig. XL In 
the latter case, if the mark happens to be hit, the blow is 
often decisive of a round it takes the wind out of the 
recipient so effectually that for a few seconds he cannot breathe 
at all. 

Only a few more particular points seem to call for notice in 
a description of this elaborate art, which must be learnt by long 
practice, after the elements of style have been fully mastered. 
And firs t of feinting and drawing. An experienced professor can 

Figure XV. — Cross-cotdnter bodt-blow 

always make a fool of his pupil by these devices. A beginner 
should resort to them only very sparingly. Nothing is more 
absurd and unwise than to be always dodging about, fidgeting 
with the feet and fussing with the arms, in the hope of perplexing 
the enemy. Such tactics tire the performer, and, unless he is 
very careful, expose him to be caught on the hop as he is 
shifting ground or changing his attitude. In 'free play' with 
his teacher he must, it is true, feint him and draw him, or he will 
n^ver get a blow in. But while doing so he must be extra 
watchful, and ever prepared for a speedy retreat or a quick 
parry. In a set-to with another beginner he should rely much 
more upon the quickness of his lead-off, the accuracy of his 
counters, and the speed of his step-in and recovery. The best 
feint is a pretended lead-off at the head, combined with a real 
hit at the body. To Mraw' a man some part of the head or body 
is wilfully left open, or a mistake is made on purpose, in the hope 
that the enemy, expecting it to be made again, may venture on a 
rash attack, when, instead of finding the error repeated, he is 
parried or dodged, and at the same time cross-countered. Retreating precipitately whenever an adversary appears to be about to 
deliver a blow is a very favourite draw and then, when the 
man has been encouraged to make rushes or over-step himself, 
a firm stand is made and he is effectively stopped with a heavy 
counter. 

The very essence of the accomplished boxer is to be found 
in his power of judging distance and of timing his man. It 
will be a very long time before the novice knows with any sort 
of certainty when he is within hitting distance or n»t. And it 
will be still longer before he can see exactly when he is likely to 
catch a man coming on or to waste his effort on a retreating 
foe. Allusion has already been made to the extraordinary 
powers of judging and timing possessed by Tom Sayers. But it is 
impossible to explain the innumerable signs and small indications 

i68 BOXII^G AND SPARRING 

whereby a professor foresees the intended movements of his 
pupils or rivals. The value of timing may be roughly summed 
up by saying that one blow planted as the recipient comes on 
is worth half-a-dozen inflicted while he is standing quite still, and 
a dozen w^hen he is in full retreat. 

For the benefit of those who have short memories and small 
opportunities for taking lessons, a few warnings and maxims 
may perhaps be added, notwithstanding the trite adage as to a 
little knowledge.' On the negative side may be placed the 
following — 

Never open the hands, or the mouth. 

Never shut the eyes. 

Never cross the legs, or get them close together. 

Never lose your temper or your courage. 

Never enter or leave the ring in a set-to with a stranger 
without shaking hands with him. 

Never, if you can avoid it, work round to your left. 

Never, if you can help it, let your opponent stand between 
you and a strong light. 

Never let your right foot be in front of the left. 

Never turn your back or run away. 

Do not rush after a man who is retreating in good order. 

Amongst affirmative precepts the following are worth 
remembering — 

Hit with the big knuckles of the hand, and not with the 
thumb or small knuckles. 

Having led-off, whether you hit or miss, get away again out 
of distance. 

If you are the shorter man, do not stand still to be shot 
at/ but do most of the leading-off. Unless you can show that 
you are distinctly the quicker and cleverer man, length of reach 
will tell, and you will pay the penalty of your inches. 

If you are much the lighter man, do not make your lead-off 

Figure XVI. — Left-hand cross-counter 

heavy, but draw your man, and at every opportunity counter 
him with your whole strength and weight. 

Having got home a hit, do not at once attempt to repeat it, 
for you may very hkely be countered next time. 

If you are getting the best of a round be very careful, and 
keep out of distance. Let well alone, and 'spar for time.' 
You need not do better, and you may do worse. 

Always retain your 'form,' even if the other man displays 
gross faults of style and attitude. By imitating his style you 
abandon one of your chief advantages. 

A word should be said here as to the duties and powers of 
judges and referees. There is this unquestionable defect in 
boxing with gloves, as compared either with pugilism or with 
racing and games of most kinds, that it depends upon the 
judgment of the bystanders, or some of them, to decide which 
is the better man. Something has already been said about 
the leading principles which should guide a judge in giving his 
verdict. For the rest, he must be trusted to know more about 
the matter than those who attend at matches which they know 
he is to determine. And the judges chosen should invariably 
be men who have either actually fought in the ring or won the 
best prizes of their day. Amateurs are more often chosen than 
pro essionals and rightly so, for they are less likely to be prejudiced or influenced by any party feeling. But their task is 
difficult and unenviable in the extreme and there are generally 
not wanting a set of ignorant but bumptious critics who pretend 
to be the best arbiters, and discharge volleys of abuse at the 
persons who may have been chosen as most competent for the 
office. The leading clubs have been very fortunate in, for the 
most part, finding judges who utterly despised these attempts to 
bully them, and continued to award the title of champion to 
men who exhibited most science, excluding the badly taught 
men who relied upon brute force to gain them the victory. It is 

much to be hoped that such men will always be found to continue the best traditions of amateur boxing for if once this 
latter is allowed to degenerate into glove-fighting, in accordance 
with the wish of a certain clique, there will no longer be a 
chance of getting respectable persons to compete or even to 
look on. Hitherto the record of amateur champions reads 
well enough and it is encouraging in a marked degree to the 
aspirant to fistic honours in the future. For on the roll appear 
men of all sizes, shapes, and builds. The tall, the short, the 
stout, the thin, the light and the heavy, have all had their fair 
share of victories in all these competitions. The heavy-weight 
championship has been won by a ten-stone man, and the lightweight championship by one nearly six feet high. As a rule, 
the giants have not done well and in the whole list of winners 
to this day there are not above two or three at the most who 
can be described as really big men. Neither special strength, 
nor peculiar activity, nor any natural aptitude for boxing seems 
to be indispensable. One amateur who had begun to learn 
very late in life, and whose style by no means betokened particular aptitude for the science, began by carrying off the 
middle-weight championship, went on with taking the heavyweight, and, some time afterwards completed the work by 
winning the light-weight the victory in each case being over 
formidable competitors. The extended existence of these and 
other amateur competitions, and of the assaults of arms and 
other displays given by the gymnastic and athletic clubs, 
has kept alive amongst professionals the study and practice of 
an art which would otherwise have almost died out. The 
name of Ned Donnelly has been already mentioned as an accomplished teacher, and it is only fair to mention some of the 
other professors, such as Abe Daltrey, Bat Mullins, Mr. Blake, 
Trooper Otterway, and Mr. A. J. White (now retired). At the 
elder University there was for a long time an excellent school 

conducted by Blake, who had been preceded there in olden 
times by the renowned Tom Evans, a light-weight of Birmingham. Numerous local clubs exist, but it cannot be said that 
as yet the style there inculcated is first-rate, or the representatives very likely to tarnish the laurels of the London boxers. 

BY 

W. ARMSTRONG 

The Hank 

One is confronted, at the very outset of an inquiry into the art 
of wrestling, with some difficulty as to an exact definition of the 
term. Several of the best modern writers on the subject, though 
such writers are few indeed, describe it as the art of forcing 
the antagonist to the ground.' But inasmuch as the antagonist 
has already one or two feet on the ground, it becomes at once 
necessary to go on and explain how much of him besides his feet 
must come lo the ground before he is considered to be down.' 
Is it sufficient for a hand or an arm to touch the floor ? Or 
must a knee also touch it ? Or is even this not enough ? One 
is landed at once amongst a host of different rules and authorities, some of which say that both the shoulders must come 
flat down before the bout is allowed to be won, while others 
recognise much easier modes of fi^nishing the struggle. Then, 
again, there is, or at least was, a whole school of wrestlers which 
maintains that it is not even enough for a man to be stretched at full 
length on his back. Even when he is in this rather hopeless 
position he may, if he can, throw off his opponent, and continue 
the struggle until one of the pair is forced to cry Hold enough.' 
Accordingly, a proper treatise on wrestling cannot be confined 
to one or two systems of attack and defence, but must at any 

rate explain, if it does not accurately describe, the manoeuvres 
employed in various countries and places. Even in England it 
will be seen that there are four or more well-established schools 
of wrestling, each of which recognises rules and tactics prohibited by the others. 

The golden age of this exercise, as well as of the sister art of 
boxing, belongs to the ancient world, and to the Greeks. In 
those days the competitors thought it well worth their while to 
train for ten months before entering the lists and the victor 
not only became a hero amongst his fellow athletes and the 
common people, but was feted by the governments and municipalities of his native state, upon which he was supposed to have 
conferred a very real honour and glory. He returned in a sort of 
triumphal procession to his own city privileges and immunities 
were decreed to him and in some states his statue was 
allowed to be placed in the most important temples. Especial 
favour was shown in the great national games to this species of 
competition, which was introduced in them earlier than boxing, 
and was believed to show off the strength, activity, and grace 
of the competitor to more advantage than any other. The 
statues which have come down to us from the classical age, 
are familiar to almost everyone who has ever visited a museum 
of sculpture, and they give a fair idea of the opportunities 
offered by such a contest for the display of the muscles. None 
of the victors in this department of athletics was, or is, so 
famous as Milo of Croton, who six times carried off the prize for 
wrestling both at the Olympic and the Isthmian games. A curious 
story is related of the manner in which he encouraged the 
growth of the muscles most necessary for a wrestler. Taking 
a young calf, he began by carrying it a certain distance every 
day, and as the animal by almost imperceptible degrees grew 
heavier with its advancing age, the burden became by slow 
and easy stages more and more grievous but the athlete was 

nevertheless able to continue his task until the calf had grown 
into a heifer and the heifer into a full-sized cow. 

Some of the earliest records of the Jewish and other 
nations speak of wrestling as a common practice long before 
the historic period properly so called. Gods and angels, demigods and heroes, prided themselves on excelling in it. In such 
times it would be combined naturally with boxing, and regulated by no rules at all. The grand fight between Hercules and 
the river god Acheloiis was (Oh, great shade of Sophocles, forgive !) a rough-and-tumble.' The combination was revived 
in the Pancratium, and continued in the great gymnastic displays in Greece and Italy but that was long afterwards, when 
the laws of each had been reduced to an elaborate code. A 
complete and no doubt very trustworthy picture of the contest, 
as practised in early Greece, is presented in the matchless words 
of Homer, who devotes thirty-nine of his rolling hexameters to 
the match between Ajax and Ulysses. The prizes for the first 
and second men were here less equal than in the boxing, for the 
winner was to have a cooking utensil estimated to be worth as 
much as twelve oxen, whereas the lady who was to be presented to the loser was only valued at the price of four oxen. 
Then Ajax, the representative of bodily size and brute force, 
came forward, and immediately after him Ulysses, the type of 
artfulness and trickery. Both of them put on belts expressly for 
the occasion but it does not appear that they made use of 
these for obtaining a hold. Nor was there any difficulty in 
catching hold of one another. The arms were passed right 
round the body, and the legs and bodies were inclined slantingly 
 like the rafters of a well-built roof.' It was not at all unlawful to take a grip of the skin and as the struggle went on 
the pressure of the hard fingers raised big blood-coloured weals 
on the ribs and shoulders of both the heroes. No progress, 
however, was made towards ending the round, for the son of 

N 

Laertes was just strong enough to withstand the forcible efforts 
of the big man, and not quite able to overthrow him by main 
strength or upset him by any stratagem. So long did the well 
matched struggle continue that the spectators were beginning to 
be bored, when Ajax made a new suggestion, Either do you 
lift me up bodily, or I will lift you ! And at the same time he 
made an attempt to hoist his adversary into the air. Now was 
the time for the other to display his craft. As he was borne 
from the earth he threw his weight forwards, and then, striking 
with his heel on the back part of the other man's knee, overthrew 
him and fell upon him. In modern phraseology he hammed 
his adversary before the latter had time to swing him over or 
trip him up. 

The second bout between these redoubtable antagonists was 
evidently a victory for Ajax, though the account is not so clear. 
When Ulysses, giving the hug, attempted to lift up the giant, he 
could only just succeed in raising him a little off the ground. 
And in doing so, by a great exertion of the back and knees, 
one of his knees gave way and bent forward, letting down both 
men together. Then as they got up and prepared to renew the 
conflict, the master of the sports interposed. Do not compete 
any more or wear yourselves out with your sufferings. Both 
have shown themselves worthy of victory, and each shall have an 
equal prize.' They appear to have been nothing loath to accept 
the offer and both, wiping off the dust with which they were 
covered, put on their shirts, and walked off to make room for 
other contests. 

In the Roman amphitheatre two sorts of wrestling were particularly distinguished, the upright and the recumbent. The 
latter had only been allowed in Greece in the pancratium 
where boxing and wrestling were combined but it appeals 
clearly frcm the Homeric passage that in the early times, even 
in Greece, a man who was once down was not allowed to be 

further attacked. And it is unnecessary to say more about this 
rough sport of struggling on the ground, than that it was ended 
either by the death of the loser, who was occasionally strangled 
outright, or by his lifting up a finger in token of defeat. As for 
the upright wrestling, it seems that either no garments at all were 
worn, as in the great games of Greece, or only a sort of girdle. 
The hold was obtained either by the pressure of the arms or by 
seizing the skin with the fingers, and apparently each system had 
its own admirers and its own period. The application of oil to 
the bodies could hardly have been for any other purpose than 
to avoid the chance of being pinched in this painful way but 
in after times the anointing with oil was followed by a sprinkling 
with sand, which neutralised to a large extent the effects of the 
oil, and made the hold with the fingers still more painful to the 
skin than if nothing at all had been applied to it. In commencing a bout the athletes devoted their first attention to 
obtaining a favourable hold and their style must therefore 
have resembled our English loose wrestling rather than the 
Cumberland and Westmoreland type. A victor had in early 
times to win the best of three falls/ as in our country but 
in later times it seems that he must win the best of five. 

In England it is very remarkable how entirely different a 
system was developed in different parts of the island. A sufficient reason may perhaps be found in the fact that for hundreds 
of years locomotion was so difficult that the local champions 
seldom travelled out of their own neighbourhood. Four widely 
separate schools of wrestling have been known from time immemorial and each had its own persistent votaries, who maintained the superiority of their rules with as much zeal as the 
players of different football games. Of these the Devonshire 
and Cornwall styles are often reckoned in one category but 
very improperly so, as it will be seen that they differ in a most 
important particular. Then comes the Cumberland and West- 

i8o WRESTLING 

moreland method, which achieved a wider renown, partly 
because the North-country men addicted themselves with more 
enthusiasm to its practice, but also because a good sprinkling 
of the northerners established in London started in the metropolis a society for the encouragement of their favourite sport, 
and held an annual prize meeting on Good Friday. 

Thirdly there is the mode of wrestling called Moose,' and 
also designated sometimes by local names, which may probably 
be regarded as the commonest of all the English styles. It is also 
nearest to that which was practised in the prize ring, and was 
thus more familiar to the rank and file of sporting men than any 
other during all the last century. There are a good many allusions 
in the literature of England to this common form of the art, which 
has the great advantage of being fettered by few rules and yet 
free from any reproach of brutality. From the most ancient 
representations of English wrestling that we possess it seems that 
in Saxon times the hold was got with the open hand grasping 
either the body or the tunic of the adversary, or else a sort of 
scarf, apparently put on for the occasion. A cock was evidently in those times a common prize for the victor but 
before the time of Chaucer it had become the regular practice 
to offer a ram for this sort of competition, as may be seen from 
the character of the miller in his Canterbury Tales and from the 
description of Sir Thopas, of whom the poet says that 

Of wrastling there was none his pere, 
Where any ram shulde stonde. 

On special occasions the prizes were more dignified and more 
valuable, as at a grand gathering of all the west countrey 
described in A Mery Geste of Robyn Hode.' 

A full fayre game there was set up 

A white bull, up ypryght 
A great courser with saddle and brydle 

With gold burnished full bright 

A payre of gloves, a red gold ringe, 

A pipe of wine, good faye 
What man beareth him best, ywis, 

The prise shall bear away, 

meaning probably that either one or two prizes w^ere offered for 
divers competitions limited to men of certain weights or heights, 
or coming from different counties of England. 

In London there were certainly in the time of the Plantagenets annual wrestling competitions on different feast days, and 
notably on St. James' Day and St. Bartholomew's. In 1222 the 
Londoners were challenged by the Westminster men and the 
match took place in St. Giles' Fields, a ram being, as usual, the 
prize of the victor. The London men won easily and a return 
match was proposed and held at Westminster on the Lammas 
Day following. But before it could be concluded the bailiff of 
Westminster wnth other persons interrupted the proceedings, 
and a pitched battle ensued, some of the Londoners being 
badly wounded in making their escape to the city. In a somewhat later period Clerkenwell was the usual trysting place for the 
London wrestlers, and the time w^as August about the feast of 
St. Bartholomew and following days. A picturesque account 
of the proceedings is given in Hentzner's Itinerary When 
the Mayor goes out of the precincts of the city, a sceptre (probably the mace), a sword and a cap are borne before him, and 
he is followed by the principal aldermen in scarlet gowns, with 
golden chains, himself and they on horseback. Upon their 
arrival at a place appointed for that purpose, where a tent is 
pitched for their reception, the mob begin to wrestle before 
them, two at a time.' The growth of archery and other warlike pastimes drove wrestling somewhat out of vogue, at least 
in London and in the fifteenth century Stow complains 
that the three days in August formerly consecrated to the contests at Clerkenwell had dwindled down to a single afternoon, 

and the assemblage was less select. He seems to regret the 
absence on such occasions of the officers of the city, namely 
the sheriff, sergeant, and yeomen, the porters of the King's 
weigh-house (now no such men), and others of the city,' who 
formerly attended and Svere challengers of all men in the 
suburbs to wrestle for games appointed.' At one of the matches 
at Clerkenwell as late as in 1453 another tumult was excited 
against the Lord Mayor, who seems on this occasion at least 
to have been present, as in the old times. In France the 
practice of wrestling was apparently kept up with a good deal 
of zest from the earliest times. Shakspeare has given us a 
tolerably graphic account of the continental style, which was 
perhaps rougher than ours. The Duke's wrestler, in 'As You 
Like It,' may have been an exceptionally skilful performer, as 
well as a man of gigantic weight and strength but he talks of 
laming or disabling any average performer as if the infliction 
of such injuries were a matter of common occurrence. And 
in the contest which ensues the tables are turned upon him so 
effectually, that Orlando, who resembled his prototypes Apollo 
and Theseus rather than Hercules, at the first throw damaged 
him so severely as to endanger his life. In relation to the 
Shakspearean account of this contest, a story is told of a public 
performance in which a champion wrestler had already killed 
the two sons of an old man, when their youngest brother, despite 
all the entreaties of the father, entered the lists and in a similar 
w^ay avenged the death of his brethren. The account of 
this shows that in all early matches in Western Europe the 
antagonists took off their shoes and entered the ring with 
stockings on. The bout between Henry VIII. and Francis L 
at their famous meeting in France is described so differently 
by different writers as to suggest the suspicion that it is only a 
myth. 

In comparatively modern times roguery and rowdyism, which 

have been fatal to so many good English sports, and which from 
the accounts already referred to seem to have always attended the 
wrestling ring, drove the exercise itself out of fashion and it 
was relegated, as far as the metropolis and the larger towns were 
concerned, to bear-gardens and low taverns. It still held its 
ground, nevertheless, with some honour at the wakes and fairs in 
country places, especially in the northern and western counties. 
In an old Spectator is an allusion to a parish where every 
year a wrestling-ring was formed and a beaver hat was offered 
by the squire as a recompense to him who gives the most falls.' 
The company was allured not only by the prospect of seeing the 
sport but by the less classical attraction of a hogshead of ale, 
broached for their delectation during the ceremony. In most 
of the western and midland counties a man was not accounted 
down until one of his shoulders and the heel of the leg on the 
other side had touched the ground. Carew declares that in 
Cornwall about three hundred years ago, Silver prizes for this 
and other activities were wont to be carried about by certain circumferanci, or set up at brideales but time or their abuse hath 
now (1602) worn them out of use.' Nevertheless there are 
plenty of people now living who can remember the platforms at 
rural fairs where local champions wrestled for a fall, though 
silver prizes were not much given except in the form of coins of 
the realm. At a fair in France only a few years ago one of the 
professional athletes, wrestling with an amateur who fancied 
himself,' was unlucky enough, or perhaps ill-tempered enough, 
to give the intruder a fatal fall. 

A considerable revival of the art has taken place during 
the present century, the improved means of communication 
between town and town and county and county having made 
it easier for the local champions to try their skill against one 
another. Some of the first real championship matches took 
place in Cornwall, where the pride of the leading wrestlers 

was unable to brook the taunts of rivals in the neighbouring 
county. The antagonism between Devonshire and Cornwall 
is perhaps stronger than between any two adjoining divisions 
of England and as each enjoyed a special reputation for 
proficiency in wrestling a grand match had long been in contemplation. There was, however, much difficulty in arranging 
its details, by reason of the very different rules allowed on each 
side of the border. The Devonians had at some time or other 
grafted on to the antique practice of competing in thick stockings a habit of wearing shoes and by the abuse of this latitude 
of rules (for it cannot be otherwise regarded than as an abuse) 
the shoes had been allowed to develop into hideous weapons 
armed with a thick sharp-edged sole. The Cornish men, who 
had never permitted such eccentricities, although they allowed 
the use of the foot in striking,' stood out for a long time for 
the exclusion of thick soles and the use only of soft slippers. 
Eventually, in order that the match might not fall through, the 
Cornish champion yielded the point, and the meeting took 
place under rules prescribed by the other party. A graphic 
though rather inartistic account of the meeting was printed at 
the time. It describes both men as fine specimens of their 
class, and well prepared for the struggle. The Cornish man 
had, however, not so far mastered the kicking tactics as to be 
able to escape severe punishment. His pluck in enduring the 
frightful blows aimed at his shins excited the admiration of 
all the impartial critics but no one can read without some 
disgust the description of the sufferings which he had to endure 
before he could get to close quarters and engage in the art of 
wrestling, properly so called. When he succeeded in this his 
superiority seems to have been apparent, and the damage done 
to his understandings did not so incapacitate him as to prevent 
him from discomfiting his adversary. 

It will be gathered from what has been said that the West- 

country style is to a large extent made up of out-fighting.' The 
men stand, like Ulysses and Ajax, wide apart, forming with 
their two bodies a sort of right angle like the beams of a w^ellshaped roof.' But w^hile in this position they not only struggle 
to overbalance their opponent and twist or swing him over, but 
freely use their legs in the attack. The Cornish man strikes 
with his heel or instep, using it somewhat as the French athletes 
in the savate^ endeavouring to cut away the other man's legs 
from under him and thus render him an easier victim while 
the Devonian not only does this, but aims vicious blows with 
his toes at the shinbone of the enemy, in the hope of inducing 
him through pain or faintnessto yield the day. Another notable 
peculiarity of the West-country style is that the hold is altogether 
artificial. Each man wears a short strong jacket made of untearable material, and of this his adversary gets a hold as best 
he can, endeavouring usually to seize with one hand the back 
of the jacket behind the shoulder and with the other the sleeve 
or arm of it. School-boys in these two counties used to find 
the ordinary cloth school jacket well fitted for purposes of 
wrestling the tailors of Exeter and Plymouth had little chance 
of using 'shoddy' for their juvenile customers without being 
speedily discovered. The Cumberland and Westmoreland 
style is so fully treated later on that details need not be given 
here. 

 Loose wrestling,' sometimes called the Catch as catch 
can style, requires no elaborate placing of the men in position, 
and no special formality in catching hold. Kicking and even 
striking with the foot, though no shoes are worn, are usually 
prohibited and it is not allowed to catch hold of the hair or 
the clothes, or to take a grip of the skin or flesh, or to tv/ist the 
arms or fingers. In many places a man is not considered down 
until both shoulders are forced on to the ground but a more 
simple rule has been introduced in other clubs and places, of 

ending the round when any part of the body except the feet, 
knees, or hands touches the ground. Modern spectators do not 
much care about the recumbent style of wresthng, in which a 
man who is really down and underneath struggles, with very 
small chances of success, but with laborious and tedious efforts 
to keep at least one shoulder off the ground. 

Before the hold is taken the men stand facing one another 
in a peculiar and rather laughable attitude. The legs are 
straddled apart, and the knees very much bent. The whole body 
is also bowed forward from the hip joints and the arms hang 
downwards just in front of the knees, the open hands feeling 
about, as it were, in the air, in readiness to be put out when 
a chance offers of getting a good grip. The heads meanwhile are held up, and the opponents eye one another keenly, 
making slow and almost imperceptible advances and retreats in 
a cautious, and to the bystanders a rather ludicrous, fashion* 
Now and then a hand is extended towards the back of the 
adversary's neck, or towards one of his wrists as they hang in front 
of him. Then, again, it is withdrawn with the same wary groping 
action. At length a hold is taken, one arm of each man usually 
resting on the nape of the other's neck, while the other grasps 
his wrist. The hold may be got and lost or abandoned many 
times in one round and there is little or no restriction as to how 
it may be taken, whether round the neck or over or under the 
shoulders, or on any part of the arms or legs. 

The variation of falls, and of manoeuvres leading up to them, 
are even more endless than in the Cumberland and Westmoreland style. And the falls are often more severe. Thus the 
 cross-buttock,' when applied in this encounter with skill and 
force, causes the losing man to turn a complete somersault in 
the air, descending flat on his back. The cross-buttock may 
also be employed when the hold is round the body and not 
round the neck and the discomfiture of the man so thrown is 

increased by the action of the other hand grasping his wrist. 
In this form of wrestHng it is possible to obtain that most fatal of 
all holds, the head in chancery.' Occasionally a man is thrown 
without being grasped either round the body or round the neck. 
His arm is seized with both hands, one at the wrist and one near 
the shoulder, this arm is then drawn over the other man's shoulder, 
and the victim is hoisted off the ground. For tripping up the 
enemy many of the devices used by North-country wrestlers are 
available in the manner already described and a man who is 
an adept at this latter style will of course endeavour to rush in 
and get as close a hold as he can of his man. This species of 
encounter, admitting as it does of much more variety than the 
other, and displaying the tactics of each man more clearly 
because they stand further apart, is much the more amusing 
and intelligible to spectators, who are often immensely diverted 
by the quaint antics of the men in manoeuvring for a hold. 

In the German style of wrestling the question is not so much 
what you can do as what you may do. Almost all the refinements of the art are lost, as it is not allowed to trip up the 
adversary or entrap him by any ingenious movement of the feet 
or legs. Neither hamming nor back-heeling nor chips of 
the sort so much admired in other countries are, consequently, 
permissible and even the buttock and cross-buttock are 
barred by the rule that you must not turn round so as tc 
present the back towards him. Strength and endurance are the 
main qualifications for victory, and the science that is acquired 
is chiefly connected with obtaining or preventing a good hold. 
The main object is to obtain full hold by getting both arms 
round the opponent's body below the arm-pits, instead of only 
 half-hold when one arm is below and the other over the 
shoulder. The hands are not obliged to remain locked, as in 
the Cumberland style, but may be shifted about so as to 
improve the hold, but it is altogether forbidden to catch hold 

of the legs or touch below the waist. As a fall is not counted 
until both shoulders touch the ground, a long struggle is apt to 
follow on the ground after one man is down. 

A form of wrestling sometimes seen in Switzerland and called 
 swinging requires a special costume, consisting of a strong 
belt and stout drawers and shirt. The drawers are turned up 
above the knees, so that their lower edge forms a roll something 
like a broad gaiter, and the shirt is similarly rolled up above 
the elbows. A hold may be taken either of the belt or the 
rolled shirt or trousers, and these are used as a means of swinging or twisting the man round. 

The Japanese have long been particularly fond of wrestling, 
which is displayed on public occasions and in the booths and 
shows attended by the common people. Here, as in most 
places, it is the stout thick-set men rather than the tall and 
slender who have the most success. But in Japan the professional wrestlers encourage to the utmost any predisposition 
which they may have for stoutness and their most celebrated 
performers are usually what we should call enormously fat men. 
It seems that in the classic age a similar idea prevailed to some 
extent, and athletes who were in training for the heavy contests of boxing and wrestling were fed upon liberal allowances 
of pork, cheese, and other fattening aliments. 

The neglect into which wrestling has fallen in most parts of 
England, especially amongst amateurs, is not to be accounted 
for by any good reason. The chief enemies of the art are 
often those who should be most in its favour, i.e. the schoolmasters and the instructors at gymnasiums. Both these have an 
exaggerated dread of broken bones amongst their charges, and 
do their best to prohibit or discredit a sport which they think 
may cause any unpleasantness between them and the parents or 
guardians of their pupils. As a matter of fact, if a proper padded 
or sanded place were provided for wrestling there would be ex- 

ceedingly little danger of such casualties and the spirit of antagonism which is ever strong amongst schoolboys and gymnasts 
might be given free play in an encounter which is less provoking 
to the temper than most others. The medical men of the 
ancient world, who had the best opportunities of judging, pronounced the exercise especially beneficial to boys, and it is 
certainly calculated to remove as quickly as anything that stiffness of joints and awkwardness of body which is so common 
amongst youths in these days. Besides this, nothing is perhaps 
better as a test of endurance than a well matched bout in the 
wrestling arena. It is a pity that the Universities and great 
schools and athletic clubs do not make efforts, by the offer of 
prizes, to revive a sport which has been honourably regarded in 
all former ages, and in which the English are probably still 
quite capable of excelling. 

 I90 WRESTLING 

Why some sports and pastimes become universally popular 
within a very short time of their introduction, while others, 
which seem to possess all the elements of popularity, never 
extend beyond certain districts, it is impossible to explain. 
Wherever a dozen Englishmen are collected together wickets 
are sure to be pitched, and there are few parts of the globe in 
which How 's that, umpire ? has not been heard. K quarter 
of a century ago amateur running was almost unknown, yet at 
the present day the country bristles with athletic clubs, many 
of which contain men whose performances would, a few years 
since, have been accepted as remarkable. Again, there are 
games and sports which become thoroughly localised. Wrestling, which has been the recreation in Cumberland and Westmoreland for centuries, has seldom found favour in any of the 
Southern counties, with the exception of Cornwall and Devonshire. Such a healthy relic of the good old times deserves the 
heartiest recognition, and being always reckoned a kind of twin 
sister of the 'noble art,' it has a strong claim on all advocates 
of bodily exercises, in which strength and skill are the principal 
requirements. 

In the last century the winner of a belt in Cumberland and 
Westmoreland wore it during the day it had been won, and on 
the Sunday following attended his village church begirt with it. 
On the succeeding one he visited some neighbouring place of 

worship in the same manner, and claimed precedence amongst 
other young fellows, which was always granted. From this 
practice of attending church it is easy to find a reason why the 
parson of that period took so great an interest in the sport. 
One incumbent was wont to boast that he was never thrown in 
a ring and only once out of it. The Rev. Abraham Brown, of 
Egremont, too, who was the first of whom we have any authentic 
records of excellency as a ^buttocker,' was the admitted 
champion of his district, and the Rev. Osborne Littledale, for 
many years curate of Buttermere, on one occasion attended the 
Crab Tree sports at Egremont in company with his clerk, the 
parson taking the first prize for wrestling and the clerk that 
for running. There is little wonder, then, that the sport of 
wrestling flourished when it was supported by the clergy as well 
as by so many among the classes and the masses in the 
two northern counties. 

Down to the present day even, when two champions of the 
North make a match, thousands attend. Those who happened 
to be present will never forget the excitement created by the 
match at Ulverstone between Atkinson, the Sleagill giant, and 
Jackson, of Kennieside, and later at Kendal when Tom Longmire vanquished Hawksworth of Shap. A wrestler is still a hero 
in the North and Dick Wright, of Longtown, a village adjacent 
to the Knight of Netherby's domain, was as great a favourite in 
the district as Sir James himself. Had the Northern counties 
been polled, Dick Wright in his heyday would have come out 
at the head as the most popular man therein. 

James Hogg, the justly celebrated Ettrick shepherd (who 
was in the habit of grassing his foes on the Braes of Yarrow 
in top boots, a fashion that has not been followed by our 
modern champions, notwithstanding the example of some 
ancient heroes and Mr. William Litt) has occasionally introduced wresthng in his tales and the description of the bouts 

between Polmood and Carmichael is one of the best illustrations 
of a North-country wrestling competition to be found. No 
apology need be made for giving an extract — 

Sixteen then stripped themselves to try their skill in wrestling, 
and it having been enacted as a law that he who won in any one 
contest was obliged to begin the next, Polmood was of course one 
of the number. They all engaged at once by two and two, and 
eight of them having been consequently overthrown, the other 
eight next engaged by two and two, and four of these being cast, 
two couples only remained. 

Some of the nobles engaged were so expert at the exercise, 
and opposed to others so equal in strength and agility, that the 
contests were exceedingly equal and amusing. Some of them 
could not be cast until completely out of breath. It had always 
been observed, however, that Polmood and Carmichael threw their 
opponents with so much ease, that it appeared doubtful whether 
these opponents were serious in their exertions, or only making a 
show wrestle but when it turned out that they two stood the last, 
all were convinced that they were superior to the rest, either in 
strength or skill. This was the last prize on the field, and on the 
last throw for that prize the victory of the day depended, which 
each of the two champions was alike vehemently bent to reave 
from the other. .They eyed each with looks askance, and with 
visible tokens of jealousy, rested for a minute or two, wiped their 
brows, and then closed. Carmichael was extremely hard to please 
of his hold, and caused his antagonist to lose his grip three or four 
times and change his position. Polmood was, however, highly 
complaisant, although it appeared to every one beside that Carmichael meant to take him at a disadvantage. At length they fell 
quiet, set their joints steadily, and began to move in a circular 
direction, watching each other's motions with great care. Carmichael 
ventured the first trip, and struck Polmood on the left heel with 
considerable dexterity. It never moved him, but in returning it he 
forced in CarmichaeFs back with such a squeeze that the bystanders 
affirmed they heard his ribs crash, whipped him lightly up in his 
arms, and threw him upon the ground with great violence, but 
seemingly with as much ease as if he had been a boy. The ladies 
screamed, and even the rest of the nobles doubted if the knight 

would rise again. He, however, jumped lightly up, and pretended 
to smile, but the words he uttered were scarcely articulate his 
feelings at that moment may be better conceived than expressed. 
A squire who waited the King's commands then proclaimed 
Norman Hunter, of Polmood, the victor of the day, and consequently entitled, in all sporting parties, to take his place next to 
the King, until by other competitors deprived of that prerogative. 

This account is doubtless the creation of the Shepherd's 
teeming brain, yet Hogg was evidently conscious that the 
practice of wrestling was not uncommon among the Scottish 
nobility at that period. In those days the great landed proprietors spent much of their time on their own estates. Directly 
that ceased to be the case, degeneracy and effeminacy crept in. 
Those exercises in which it had been the pride of their 
ancestors to excel were abandoned, and afterwards few above 
the rank of yeoman chose to exhibit in a ring either for their 
own pleasure or that of others. 

For the better information of readers who are not conversant 
with the practice or theory of Cumberland and Westmoreland wrestling,' it may be well to devote a few words in explanation of the terms usually applied to the methods of 
assailing an opponent so as to bring about his downfall, generally termed 'throwing,' but by some hardy and unrefined 
practisers of the exercise pithily called felling him. 

Within the last dozen years Cumberland and Westmoreland 
wrestling, as a science, has made such rapid strides that many 
of the old chips are now obsolete. Being so well known and 
easily stopped, few good wrestlers use them in the ring. The 
old champions were no doubt mighty wrestlers, but a race of 
professors has recently sprung up which considers itself, and 
perhaps with reason, far superior to the heroes of any former 
period. In the ring at Carlisle some particularly clever moves 
have recently been witnessed, undreamt of a quarter of a century 

o 

ago, wlien Jameson and Wright held the pride of place. Few 
of the past generation of wrestlers can be compared to the 
present champions, Steadman and Lowden, who are each close 
on 20 St. weight. The former is believed by some to be the 
most powerful wrestler ever known, and Lowden, who is scarcely 
inferior to his brother giant, possesses the most magnificent figure 
that has graced a wrestling arena within living memory. AVhen 
Jameson and Wright wrestled the Frenchmen at the Agricultural 
Hall in 1870, they acquitted themselves with credit, though 
these wrestling matches with the Frenchmen were not very satisfactory performances. Frequenters of wrestling rings will have 
observed that there is not so much buttocking now as formerly. 
The old head hold, by which William Blair, of Solport Mill, 
Cumberland, was in the habit of throwing his men over his 
head, is almost useless as a ^chip,' and regarded as an error by 
the talent. It is necessary to warn the uninitiated against these 
fancy buttocks and to record that they mostly come into 
play when a liggin doon journey is contemplated. Whenever much gurnin' and haudin' are observable in a contest, 
the spectator may be pretty certain he is witnessing a fair 'go.' 
Jim Scott, of Carlisle, frequently buttocked his men high in the 
air, but then Scott was the most commercial performer of his 
time, and had little trouble with his men in consequence, h. 
good wrestler who can throw an adversary, who is an expert, 
over his head, is very rarely found. Scott, however, was continually doing this, although .Ben Cooper, of Carlisle, and James 
Pattison, of Weardale, men of his own build and weight, could 
throw him in a genuine contest. Pattison was not a showy 
wrestler, but he was a grand dagger to the grun,' wanted a 
lot of 'skifting,'and frequently grassed Dick Wright, the Border 
champion, when the pair met. William Rickerby, again, one 
of the best men of his time, disliked showy wrestling, was 
always satisfied w^hen he threw his opponent, and considered 

Catch hold style 

the back-heel the safest and best chip. Laal Tommy 
Kennedy, the most accompHshed AVTCstler of the present day, 
holds the same views. No one ever saw Steadman or Lowden 
perform any of these fancy moves the two champions have 
always been safe and steady goers, never throwing a chance 
away, and at the time of writing both still continue to pursue 
the same careful tactics. Dick Wright was perhaps the most 
attractive wrestler of modern times and the agility he sometimes displayed was marvellous. He frequently threw a somersault over his fallen foe, but then Wright was a very unsafe 
wrestler, and often went down before men considerably his 
inferiors. 

The Cumberland and Westmoreland style of wrestling is 
now known throughout the length and breadth of the land; yet 
a brief summary of the rules and regulations laid down for the 
guidance of competitors may not be out of place here. On 
taking hold, the wrestlers stand up, chest to chest, each placing 
his chin on his opponent's right shoulder, and grasping him 
round the body, each having his left arm above the right of his 
antagonist. When both men have got hold and are fairly on 
their guard, the play begins and with the exception of kicking 
they are allowed to use every legitimate means to throw each 
other; but if either 'breaks his hold' — that is, leaves loose — 
he is accounted the loser, and if either man touches the ground 
with one knee only orany part of his body, though he may still retain his hold, he is not allowed to recover himself, but is counted 
as beaten. If the men fall side by side, or otherwise, so that the 
umpires cannot decide which was first on the ground, it is what is 
technically called a 'dog fall,' and has to be wrestled over again 
but if the umpires can see who is first down or falls under, that 
in is the loser. Two umpires and a referee decide all Cumrland and Westmoreland competitions— a practice that might 
be imitated with advantage by all wrestHng communities. 

The Druid,' who was himself a native of CarHsle, devotes 
a chapter of his Saddle and Siiloin to a description of the 
skill, strength, and prowess of the wrestling champions whose 
names are held in high honour among the people of Cumberland 
and Westmoreland, and gives us a definition of the principal 
 chips in vogue with the Jacksons, Armstrongs, Longinires, 
Wrights, Jamesons, and other proficients in the wrestling arenas 
of Carlisle, Penrith, Kendal, and many other little towns in the 
two Lake counties. The Druid,' however, w4io was not a 
practical wrestler, is brief in his definitions, while Mr. William 
Titt's treatise on the same subject, written sixty-five years 
ago, is diftuse in the extreme. The late Ben Cooper's attempt 
to elucidate the mysteries of the art has simply added more 
intricacies and complications. Let us endeavour to strike the 
happy medium and explain the ins and outs of the science 
in the briefest possible manner. 

'chips/ 

TPIE BACK-HEEL. 

The back-heel is the most natural of all wrestling chips, as it 
comes readiest to the hand, or, more properly speaking, the 
foot of the youthful aspirant, who has merely to place his left 
foot behind his opponent's right heel and bend him over it. 
It is both an offensive and defensive move. One w^ay to elude 
it is to slacken the hold and turn round for the cross-buttock 
another very effective mode of turning the tables upon an opponent is to keep his back-heel in, and by falling apparently 
backwards, you make a hank of it, as your right foot will then 
be twisted, or rather crooked round his left leg, which should 
be as near the ground as possible. Consequently, if a very 
tight hold is kept the leverage will bring your man underneath. 
The hipe can also be used when an opponent plies the backheel. Directly your adversary comes with the back heel, lean 
to the left with your head low down, and throw your right leg 
as high up as you possibly can, in order that he may be unable 
to reach the ground with either foot. This makes a particularly clean fall, especially as your adversary usually thinks he 
is safe with the back-heel properly fixed — it is an unexpected 
one in his case. As a general rule the back-heel should never 
be taken out when once inserted such a mistaken move is in 
most cases fatal, as the wrestler then mends his hold and you 
are at his mercy. Any one who has seen much wrestling when 

genuine struggles have been insisted upon must have observed 
that the back-heel is about the safest chip in the whole catalogue, and more frequently used than any other. When the 
left back-heel has failed to floor an opponent, an expert at 
the game has sometimes been known to back-heel his man 
-with both legs, but such cases are rare. Hamming is an 
old-fashioned kind of back-heel, now completely out of date 
any modern wrestler who endeavoured to throw his man by 
catching him behind his knee with his heel would very quickly 
find himself on his back. For hamming or back-heeling to 
be effective the stroke must be plied as near the ground as 
possible, and resolutely persevered in. 

THE HANK. 

This is a barbarous and unscientific chip, its principal requirement being Aveight and strength on the part of the wrestler 
who merely turns his left or right side to his antagonist, clicks 
his leg in the inside below the calf, and by pulKng his man backwards is enabled, on account of the leverage thus obtained, to 
fall on him with unpleasant solidity. This is one of the most 
dangerous and most uncomfortable throws imaginable the 
men often^come to the ground glued together with a most unpleasant thud. If the man who is uppermost is sometimes 
thoroughly shaken, how, it may be asked, does the poor fellow 
underneath fare ? The hank has settled many a North-country 
 fratch,' and should any of our present boxers be induced to 
practise the move, it would be a powerful weapon in his hands. 
Whenever an opponent plies the hank, lean forward and endeavour to get a better hold. If the wrestler allows himself to 
be pulled backward he is almost certain to lose the fall. The 
chip was used by James Elliot, of Cumrew, near Carlisle, in 
1835, but the old school would not take to it, and said it was 
^aboot nowt,' in fact a beaten man's chip. 

Buttock 

THE BUTTOCK. 

This requires great strength and rapidity of execution. It 
is accomphshed by slackening the hold, turning quickly round, 
getting your back under your opponent's stomach and throwing 
him bodily over your head. The manoeuvre is more suitable 
to the North-country style of wrestling than any other, as the 
fact of the hands being clasped secures the assailant's grip and 
prevents his being pushed on to his face, as in loose holds. It 
is a chip, however, always fraught with peril, as the slack hold of 
the buttocker, if he misses his aim, enables his opponent to 
gain a firmer grip, which he is certain to make the best use of 
in the commanding position in which he finds himself Few 
good wrestlers attempt to buttock one another, and the move 
can only be successful with a mediocre performer. 

THE CROSS-BUTTOCK, 

though not such a showy chip as the buttock, is a very useful 
one, and frequently comes into play when the wrestler has got 
into difficulties by allowing his opponent to get behind him 
during the struggle. Should the stroke fail, there is no help 
for the unfortunate cross-buttocker. Down he goes, as a rule, 
as his opponent has obtained the same kind of grasping hold 
which the man who misses the buttock affords his opponent. 
Euttocking and cross-buttocking differ in this wise in the 
former the wrestler adopts a loose hold, in order to get his 
body underneath his opponent, so as to throw him over his 
back without tripping him. A much tighter hold is required 
for the purpose of cross-buttocking your man, and it is not 
necessary to get so far underneath him, but the effort must 
be seconded by the arms and upper part of the body, as otherwise the act of throwing the leg across both those of your anta- 

20D WRESTLING 

gonist would end in disaster. In short, the modes of assault 
and defence in buttocking and cross-buttocking are so diversified that a volume might be filled in illustrating this part of the 
subject only. The act of buttocking, slipping from the side or 
breast, and, in fact, of everything that constitutes the science 
of wrestling, depends much upon the different situations which 
may occur in a contest. Generally speaking, quickness in 
assault and promptitude in judiciously avaihng himself of any 
circumstance that arises in a struggle may be called the distinguishing characteristics of a good and scientific wrestler. 

THE OUTSIDE STROKE. 

The safest method of playing this stroke is to half lift your 
antagonist and strike him along his right leg and foot with your 
left, taking care to twist him round the while. Another way is 
to cause your man to walk round, and as he is lifting his receding foot, to strike it very smartly, which, if properly executed, 
will land him on his knee. The left outside stroke is the best, 
because if you fail you are still able to keep a good hold, but 
a miss with the right outside stroke is fraught with danger. 
Jonathan Whitehead, of Workington, used the right foot with 
daring shrewdness, and Walter Palmer, of Bewcastle, in 
Cumberland, was generally successful with it, but as a prominent chip it is now thoroughly extinct. An old-fashioned 
method, also entirely abolished, was for the assailant to thrust 
his knee outside of his opponent's, and the foot inside the 
ankle or small of the leg, thus placing a kind of lock upon the 
knee and leg. Sixty years ago this was a very common practice, when strength alone often set science at defiance. To 
attempt such a move in the present day with even a moderate 
wrestler would simply insure the downfall of the assailant. 
George Steadman, the Cumbrian champion, throws most of his 

Inside Loce or Clice:, Cornwall and Devo] 

 CHIPS 20I 

men with the left outside stroke, in conjunction with a particularly vigorous twistj which latter is frequently enough for the 
majoriiy of his opponents. 

THE INSIDE CLICK. 

requires to be dexterously performed. To click an opponent's 
left leg with your right on the inside, or his right with your left, 
seems easy on paper, but is very difficult in practice. If 
properly carried out, however, by an expert wrestler it is a 
clincher and gives the adversary scarcely any chance whatever, 
as he usually falls on the back of his head. Thomas Roper, of 
Lamonby (the famous leaper who beat the Scotch champion 
Dees at Edinburgh in 1849), was the first to introduce this chip, 
and since his day it has been brought to greater perfection by 
John Graham, of Carlisle, John Robinson, of Cockermouth, 
and Tom Kennedy, of Egremont. 

THE CROSS CLICK. 

This is a near relation to the inside one, with this difference, 
that you click your antagonist's right leg with your right and 
his left with your left. However, it is not nearly so effective as 
the other. 

THE OUTSIDE CLICK. 

Generally speaking, this click is a saving measure resorted 
to in order to keep the wrestler on his legs when in danger of 
being thrown or lifted, and frequently it results in the downfall 
of his opponent. For instance, should a man feel himself in 
jeopardy of being lifted, swung, or hiped, the best thing he can 
do is to click his foe on the same principle as the back-heel 
and as near the ground as possible. This click, by the way, is 

a kind of back-heel, but as it is considered a defensive move, 
it claims a distinct appellation. 

To a light-weight the outside click is invaluable, and more 
heavy men have been compelled to bite the dust through its 
agency than by any other means. 

THE CHEST STROKE 

is the far-famed chip of the renowned Dick Wright, of Longtown, who used it with greater dexterity than any other wrestler 
of his day. It can only be described as a peculiar and effective jerk off the breast, which no one previously, save Mossop, 
of Egremont, was ever known to practise. None but those 
whose chest and shoulders are well developed can succeed in 
the manoeuvre, and the wrestler must be possessed of superior 
strength and weight, or the experiment is certain to have an 
unfortunate result. Mossop threw Tom Longmire twice out of 
three times with it, Dick Chapman, of Patterdale, twice and 
William Jackson, of Kennieside, one of the best wrestlers 
Cumberland ever produced, was once thrown by Mossop by the 
same manoeuvre. Many years subsequently Dick Wright 
floored Jameson in the same way, and they all said afterwards 
they did not know how to meet it. 

THE HirE 

is one of the choicest chips that belong to the science of 
wrestling, and makes one of the easiest and by far the most 
graceful fall, especially when successfully performed. The 
right leg hipe is the best, because your right arm is under your 
opponent's left, whereas by using the left leg hipe — your left 
arm being above his right — you cannot lift him so high from 
the ground. If you hipe with the left leg and miss, and do 
not throw your man, you are liable to get into a slack hold, 

The Hipe 

 chips: 203 

while he will improve his grip and then you are in his power. 
In using the right leg hipe make your man go quickly round to 
the left, and lift him, at the same time hoist up his left leg with 
your right, so high that both feet must be off the turf; consequently, if he cannot reach the ground with his right foot he 
must naturally fall on his back. Although the left leg hipe 
has its disadvantages it has one strong point Should your 
antagonist fail to go down while you are trying to bring him 
over with the hipe you have him in a grand position for the 
buttock, as he will probably land on his left foot all you have 
to do is to cross his left foot wath your left as rapidly as possible to insure a victory otherwise your defeat is inevitable, as 
your opponent will merely ^gather his hold and you are helpless. Hipeing was very little known till the beginning of the 
present century, and then only in certain parts of the country. 
When it w^as introduced to the champions of the Border 
counties, a little over half a century ago, it completely revolutionised the science of wrestling. Among all the hipers of a 
past generation of wrestlers William Jackson, of Kennieside, 
and Tom Pooley, of Longlands, were pre-eminent. The former 
swung his man round with the rapidity of lightning and seldom 
fell with his opponent when doing so, although it rarely happens 
that any wrestler, no matter how expert he may be, can throw 
his man without falHng on him. Jackson and Pooley were 
both very tall men, and to this circumstance their prowess in 
hiping must, in a material degree, be attributed. As a rule it 
is accounted the utmost folly for a short man to try to hipe an 
opponent much taller than himself. William Rickerby, one of 
the best wTCstlers that ever lived, found this out to his cost when 
he attempted to hipe Ralph Pooley in their match at Liverpool 
in 1872. Pooley with his long reach stepped over Rickerby 's 
leg and back-heeled him three times in succession. 

THE SWINGING HIPE. 

Swing your opponent first and hipe him while he is off the 
ground. 

THE HITCH OVER 

is a very unsafe chip, but it makes a clean fall when it comes 
off. Turn your left side to your adversary, and your left leg 
round his right on the inside, holding it up as high as you can, 
and w^hile your man is standing on his left leg quit his right 
with your left and cross his left after the manner of the crossbuttock, and a good fall will be the result. 

THE HOLD. 

Finally, the circumstance of taking hold, w^hile it is the most 
frequent cause of dissension among wrestlers, is at the same 
time the most difficult for an impartial spectator or umpire to 
form a correct and decisive judgment upon. The biassed and 
interested spectator and the w^ell-wishers of either party are 
often determined not to be convinced that the fault originates 
with their favourite. This being the case, those w^ho give the 
prize ought always promptly to enforce the judgment of the 
umpire whom they have chosen. The rule for deciding the 
hold, notwithstanding the difficulty of the subject, is, we hope, 
sufficiently intelligible to any man wiio is competent to fill the 
arduous position of umpire. 

In taking hold you stand chest to chest, and, as you place 
your right arm under your opponent's left, it is evident the 
further you get your shoulder underneath, the more power you 
must possess. At the same time do not forget to keep your 
left arm well down in order to prevent the right shoulder of 
your antagonist from getting too far through. A great deal 
depends on the hold you begin with, for if you have a good 

The Hold 

 chips: 205 

grip you may safely make play at once with a man of your own 
weight, but if you have a bad hold it is better to wait and try 
to improve it in the struggle and always keep this in mind 
never quit your hold till you are on the ground, as many 
a fall is snatched out of the fire when the wrestler is within 
an ace of the turf. There are many other chips created by 
the emergency of a struggle which the scientific wrestler can 
adopt more easily than they can be described on paper. These 
remarks are not intended to instruct the skilful wrestler, who 
knows by practice more than precept can teach him they 
may, however, be useful to those not conversant with the art, 
to whom an elaborate disquisition on the subject would be a 
puzzle rather than a guide. 

2o6 WRESTLING 

CHAPTER HI. 

Those who have never competed in a wresthng ring will probably be unable to understand the feelings of two friends when 
they happen to be pitted together in the magic circle, especially if the friends should meet in the first round before the 
chill is off their nerves. Anyone who imagines either man can 
do his best under the circumstances had better try the experiment, and he will be immediately undeceived. With a stranger 
the case is quite altered. There is far less hesitation in lugging 
him about and getting the very best obtainable hold indeed, 
many a contest is lost by a careless and indifferent grip to 
begin with, and through being too cock-sure.' 

That it requires a certain amount of pluck to wrestle successfully in a public ring surrounded by thousands of spectators 
is an obvious fact, and dyke-back 'uns who could fell owt 
at heame,' have, on most occasions, been eager to ^patronise 
the purchase system when confronted by an antagonist in 
the arena. Frequently a first-class ahint a dyker has been 
known to fall before the clutch of a third-class man in a competition when fair felling w^as the order of the day. If the 
stomach, as a certain clever writer has asserted, is the seat of 
funk,' it is somew^hat astonishing that Cumberland and Westmoreland wrestlers, who are amongst the foremost trenchermen 
in the known world, should suffer from this fearful malady. 

Without doubt wrestling is the most popular athletic 
exercise in the classic Borderland, and the great annual meetings at Carlisle and Grasmere are productive of the most 
unparalleled excitement in the Northern counties. Among all 
the numerous gatherings of a similar kind during the season 
those two rings are looked upon as the spots where immortality 
is achieved, and w^here the best men in the country assemble once a year animated with the burning and overwhelming 
desire of stamping their names on an undying page of 
history. The man who has not a hobby of some kind must 
be a poor creature indeed, and as the old farmer remarked 
when his better half w^as ^heckling' him for attending a 
 main in company wnth Professor Wilson, Howt, lass, baud 
the gob. Ivvery yen hes his hobby, and cock-feichtin's mine.' 
The grand old Professor was passionately fond of this same 
cock-fighting, but then he was equally enthusiastic in regard to 
wrestling, boxing, and other athletic sports, and in the December 
number of' Blackwood' (18^3) thus delivers himself on the 
subject of wresthng :— 

It IS impossible to conceive the intense interest taken by the 
whole northern population in this most rural and muscular amusement. For weeks before the Carlisle great annual contest nothing 
else is talked of on road, field, flood, foot, or horseback we fear it 
is thought of even in church, which we regret and condemn and 
in every little comfortable public within thirty miles diameter 
the home-brewed quivers in the glasses on the oaken tables to 
knuckles smiting the board in corroboration of a Graham, a Cass, 
a Laughlen, Solid yaik,^ a Wilson, or a Weightman [names well, 
known in the wrestling world at that period]. A political friend of 
ours, a staunch fellow, in passing through the Lakes last autumn 
heard of nothing but the contest for the county, which he understood would lie between Lord Lowther (the sitting member) and 
Lord Brougham. But to his sore perplexity he heard the names of 
new candidates, to him hitherto unknown, and on meeting us at the 

2o8 WRESTLING 

best of inns, the White Lion, Bowness, he told us, with a downcast and serious countenance, that Lord Lowther would bs ousted, 
for that the struggle, as far as he could learn, would ultimately be 
between Thomas Ford, of Egremont, and William Richardson, of 
Caldbeck (two celebrated wrestlers), men of no landed property 
and probably Radicals. It is not easy, even for the most poetical 
and picturesque imagination, to create for itself a more beautifal 
sight than the ring at Carlisle. Fifteen thousand people perhaps are 
there, all gazing anxiously on the candidates for the county. Down 
goes Cass, Weightman is the standing member, and the agitation 
of a thousand passions, a suppressed shudder and an undergrowl 
move the mighty multitude like an earthquake — no savage anger, 
no boiling rage of ruined blacklegs, no learing of mercenary swells, 
but the visible and audible movements of calm, strong, temperate 
English hearts, free from all fear and ferocity, and swayed for a few 
moments of sublime pathos by the power of nature working in 
victory or defeat. 

Professor Wilson gave it as his opinion that the greatest 
number of powerful men he ever saw was in the wrestling ring 
at Carlisle and in the General Assembly of the Church of 
Scotland a.d. 1823. Some years prior to the above date Wilson, 
who was promoting the sport at Ambleside, wrote a very 
amusing account of the wrestling held there. The genial 
professor goes on to say — 

On Thursday I went to Ambleside with Williams and George 
Fleming to see the wrestling. It was very good, a man from 
Cumberland with a white hat and brown shirt threatened to fling 
everybody and foight them afterwards. The foighting I put 
a stop to. He stood till the last, but was thrown by a schoolmaster of the name of Robinson, cousin of the imp who used to 
be at Ellary, who won the belt with a handsome inscription, From 
Professor Wilson.' We had then a number of single matches, the 
best of three throws, and Collinson of Bowness threw Robinson 
easily, he himself having been previously thrown by the Cumbrian 
for the belt. One Dunkey, who had also been thrown for the belt, 
then threw Collinson, and a tailor called Holmes threw Cumber- 

land a little fellow about the size of Blair [the Professor's son] 
threw a man of six feet high and fell upon him with all his weight. 
Holmes the tailor then threw Rowland Long. The wrestling on 
the whole gave the family great delight. 

Ritson, a Cumberland worthy, who had been a famous 
wrestler in his youth, tells how he once wrestled with Kit 
North and threw him twice out of three falls, but he owned 
the Professor was a verra bad 'un to lick.' Wilson beat him at 
jumping he could jump twelve yards in three jumps with a great 
stone in each hand; Ritson could only manage eleven and threequarters. T' furst time 'at Professor Wilson cam' to Wastd'le 
Held,' said Ritson, 'he hed a tent set up in a field, an' he gat 
it weel stock't wi' bread an' beef an' cheese an' rum an' ale, an' sic 
loike. Then he giddert up my granfadder, an' Thomas Tyson, 
an' Isaac Fletcher, an' Jwosep Stable, an' add Robert Grieve 
an' some mair. Then thur was rustlin' for buckskin breeks, 
gurnin' for bacco thro' a horse-collar, and nowt wad sarra but 
t' Professor wad rustle t' champion at t' conclusion o' t' spworts 
there was a gay deed amang them you may be shure. It was 
a' life an' mirth amang us as long as Professor Wilson was at 
Wastd'le Heid.' 

The late Mr. Richard Margetson, who was many years 
Chairman and Secretary of the Cumberland and Westmoreland 
Wrestling Society in London, had the pleasure of shaking 
hands with Christopher North after one of his successes at 
Windermere, the Professor declaring Margetson to be the best 
wrestler in England. Mr. Margetson had the distinguished 
honour of winning thirty belts in Westmoreland before attaining 
his majority. 

Charles Dickens, too, found a subject when he visited the 
Ferry sports at Windermere over a quarter of a century ago, and 
saw Bonnie Longmire and Bonnie' Robson meet to contest 
the final falls, when the latter was compelled to knock under. 

2[o WRESTLING 

The great humourist tells us that the champion here, who 
was so good as to show us how to take hold the other day 
in his garden, has left his mark indelibly in our back, besides 
having compressed our ribs so that we cannot breathe right 
yet/ 

In the pages of Household Words Dickens described 
the wrestling arena at Windermere and its beautiful surround- 

in 

gs 

There is not, we believe, a more charming spot in all England 
than that afforded from the Ferry ring at Windermere. As we sit on 
its rude wooden stand, and look straight out to northward, six miles 
of the blue lake lie immediately beneath us, gemmed with innumerable wooded islets, and sprinkled with countless sails — afar the 
grandeur of the mountain world, and near the beauty of the lake. 
What more would we of nature ? As for man — in this small ring before 
us, the foreground of the picture — there will be seen as splendid 
specimens of strength and form as Britain boasts of; the vigour of 
sinew, the shifts of suppleness, can be no further exercised than we 
shall see them used to-day. The men shake hands before commencing in token of amity, nor indeed in the thick of the struggle, 
while the face of one is over the shoulder of the other, and every 
muscle is exerted to the uttermost, do these fine fellows exhibit any 
trace of savageness or personal animosity. It is very possible that 
amongst these men the bubble reputation may be held in less 
repute than a ten-pound note, and that various little arrangements 
may be made beforehand to the advantages of their privy purses 
and to the prejudice of honest and fair felling, but their case is 
quite exceptional. Certainly two men coming from the same place 
will generally refuse to wrestle at all, and he who is considered the 
better man stands fresh and ready for more alien opponents. 

Such a recommendation, coming from the pen of one of the 
keenest observers of human nature the world has known, must 
convince the most obdurate unbeliever in Cumberland and 
W^estmoreland wrestling that the sport is of a manly and noble 
character. Dickens proceeds to say that 

Good wrestlers rarely hurt one another. This quiet-looking 
giant by our side [Tom Longmire], who has been champion often 
and often and will be so again to-day, although he is nearly forty 
— and more than twelve years past the wrestler's prime — has never 
in his twenty years' experience once been hurt. He won his first 
man's belt when a lad of sixteen years old, and in his house across 
the lake yonder, a clean neat little inn set in a wilderness of flowers, 
has no less than one hundred and seventy-four of these wrestling 
zones. Of all colours they are, and of all descriptions, from the broad 
plain, Manchester-looking belt, won at that matter-of-fact and unornamental town, to the splendid award of Newcastle embossed 
with the silver towers. It has come to the last round, and our 
giant friend has got but one foe to deal with, a true son of Anak, as 
tall if not so big as himself. He has got his work cut out for him, 
say the old hands, but success tas made him scmewhat overbold. 
How quietly he suffers those mighty arms to be placed around him, 
and those strong fingers to feel like one in the dark for a certain 
hold. Now they have gripped at an advantage and the foe is only 
w^aiting for him to have hold likewise ! He has holt ! he has holt ! 
see how they grapple and strain. Bonny Robson, Bonny Longmire,' so interested this time in the individuals as to call them by 
their names instead of by the localities from which they come. 

Three to two on Langmire, two to one five to Langmire's 

down, Robson's felled him, and indeed it was so, very quiet but 
very grim our giant looked. It is the best of three for the last round 
quoth he, as he took up earth in his hands to prevent them slipping, 
reminding us of the preparatory horn practice which the bull indulges himself in on the turf before he charges. This time it is 
two to one on Robson, who is indeed a very good man, but is felled 
nevertheless, and the third time he is likewise felled. So our giant 
friend has won his one hundred and seventy-fifth girdle after all. 

Among a certain class of persons a foolish notion exists 
that wrestling is so injurious to the frame that it destroys the 
constitution, and brings on so many aches and pains that a 
wrestler when advancing in years must necessarily be a cripple. 
On the contrary, there is no more healthful and invigorating 
exercise. It is just forty-four years since Longmire wrestled 

second to the celebrated William Jackson of Kennieside, in the 
ring at Carlisle, and a more vigorous man for his age it would 
be difficult to find in the three kingdoms. Tom, like a true 
sportsman, still relishes the crack of the whip,' and may be 
seen once at least every summer in the ring at Grasmere sports, 
where he has acted as umpire for many years. Another 
celebrated champion, Dick Chapman of Patterdale, who took 
the first prize at Carlisle in 1838, fifty years since, is still hale 
and hearty. Since Chapman's retirement he also has frequently performed the duties of an umpire in the ring, and 
those who frequented the Bride Kirk coursing meetings some 
years ago, the Druid informs us, will remember his directing 
the beaters of the 380-acre Tarnites,' as head gamekeeper to 
Major Green Thompson, and always sweet on Beckford and 
Sunbeam. 

Many years ago, when James Scott of Carlisle (the prince 
of light weights, 'Bonny Jim,' as he was called), Ben Cooper 
and Harry Ivison of Carlisle, Thomas Davidson of Castleside, 
Jonathan Whitehead of Workington, and others were in their 
prime, they were invited to the ancient stronghold of the 
Howards, for the purpose of giving an illustration of Cumberland and Westmoreland wrestling to the assembled guests, who 
were highly delighted at the display. The Howards have 
always been patrons of the wrestling arena. As far back as 
1809 the then Duke of Norfolk frequently offered prizes at 
Greystoke Castle for wrestling. Those trophies usually consisted of buckskin breeches, and fair felling was always insisted 
upon by the noble promoter of sport. Wrestling at that period 
was becoming very popular in the Northern counties, and we read 
that in October 181 1 twenty guineas were given to be wrestled 
for on the Swifts at Carlisle during the race-meeting, and that 
among the spectators were the Marquis of Queensberry, the 
Earl of Lonsdale, Lord Lowther, Sir James Graham (of 

Netherby), Sir James Graham (of Kirkstone), together with a 
great concourse of other gentlemen. 

Let us now take a leap into the ring at Carlisle, a.d. 1809, 
when the first recorded wrestling gathering took place in that 
now celebrated spot. The first prize, a purse with five gold 
guineas in it, was contended for at Carlisle Races, in September 
1809, and was won by Thomas Nicholson of Threlkeld. ^Two 
purses of gold were given the next year, and for three years in 
succession Nicholson was the champion. The buttock and the 
cross-buttock were the favourite chips, and it is said many of 
the men w^ere struck from the ground upwards of five feet.' 
In 1 81 1 Nicholson was induced to fight a seaman of the name 
of Ridley {alias the Glutton ') and a severe half-hour's battle 
took place, in which Tom acquitted himself to the satisfaction 
of his numerous admirers. He was the fresher man when the 
combatants separated, and the hard falls Ridley received during 
the contest were rapidly placing him at the mercy of the 
accomphshed wrestler. Nicholson was within a hair's breadth 
of 6 feet and weighed about 12 stone 8 lbs. He w^as not only 
the finest wrestler of his day, but he claims some extra attention on the score that he was in height, appearance, shape, 
make, and even so far as tone as voice, the exact counterpart 
of Jem Belcher, whose portraits again bore a curious resemblance to 'the great Napoleon.' 

AVilliam Richardson of Coldbeck, who, it is said, had won 
240 belts, was another famous wrestler who figured at that 
period, and w^hose cognomen of 'Belted Will' was probably 
better earned than that of old Howard of Castle Dacre himself From this time up to the year 1821 several champions of 
somewhat unequal ability figured in the arena, the best of the 
collection being James Scott of Canonbie, in Dumfriesshire, 
Robert Rowntree of Newcastle, and William Cass of Lowes- 

water. Cass was a burly, thick-set man, 6 feet i inch, and 17 
stone weight, but John Weightman of Hayton, who came to 
the front in 1822, overtopped him by an inch in height and 
weighed a stone more. Weightman was a splendid-looking 
athlete and won his falls by immense power and length of arm, 
but the celebrated Belted Will grassed him in first-rate style 
when the pair met sixty odd years ago. Geordie Irving of 
Bolton Gate, who was 5 feet 10 inches and 14 stone, seemed 
quite a bairn in the arms of such a Lifeguardsman as Weightman, but Geordie was a hero of dauntless pluck and feared 
no man. His science was magnificent. He liked a tight 
hold of his man, and as a right leg striker and cross-buttocker 
with the left leg he was unsurpassed. 

Irving threw the giant McLauchlin, who was 6 feet 5 inches 
and 20 stone weight, in 1828, amid the wildest excitement. 
Richard Chapman of Patterdale, who won the belt at Carlisle 
four years in succession, was only nineteen come Martinmas 
when he first appeared on the Swifts in 1833 and carried off 
the honours of the day. On that occasion Chapman floored 
 Geordie Irving of Bolton Gate, and the old champion 
clapped the lad on the back and said to him, Man, thee sel' 
lad. Nivver a man threw me in Carlisle ring but he won.' 
William Jackson of Kennieside followed close on the heels of 
Chapman and won at Carlisle in 1841-44. Jackson was not 
long in the ring, but his record is almost unsurpassed. He 
was undoubtedly the champion of his day, although he was 
thrown in the latter part of his career (185 1) by Robert Atkinson, the Sleagill giant, in their great match for 300/. at Ulverstone. Jackson stood 6 feet i inch and weighed 14 stone. 
He possessed a magnificent figure, was a grand 'takker hod,' 
and gave the umpires no trouble. Tom Longmire, who 
followed him as champion, had no chance with Jackson, and 
was thrown by him in a match with great ease yet Long- 

mire was a splendid wrestler and held the championship 
many years. William Jameson of Penrith and Dick Wright 
of Longtown may be said to have succeeded Longmire 
but although Wright was a particularly scientific wrestler, 
he was really never in it with Jameson, who, on account of his 
superior weight and height, could worry the lesser man at all 
points. Noble Ewbank of Bampton, a member of a famous 
wrestling family, was always Wright's superior, and would have 
run Jameson very close had he persevered. Ewbank, however, 
lacked perseverance and fell out of the ranks almost in the 
zenith of his fame. He was one of the finest built men of his 
time, and divided the honours with Dick Wright as the two 
best-looking wrestlers of their day. Dick, with his black crisp 
hair curling over his forehead, his face glowing with the hues of 
health, and his brawny arms folded over his muscular chest, was 
the very type of a hero of the arena. Ewbank and Wright are, however, completely thrown in the shade by the present champions, 
Steadman and Lowden, who have thoroughly eclipsed them. 

Among light-weights of the old school the palm must 
be given to John Palmer of Bewcastle, who won the heavy and 
light prizes at Carlisle in the same year (1851) — a feat unparalleled in wrestling history. Like Lord Byron, Palmer had 
a gib foot, but he used to say it was terrible good at the 
click.' Another clever wrestler was George Donaldson of 
Patterdale, who once threw the celebrated William Jackson. 
Like Harry Ivison of Carlisle, he was a verra slippery takker 
hod,' and gave the umpires a heap of trouble, unlike Jonathan 
Whitehead, Donaldson's rival, who always stepped up to his 
man and took hold on the instant. As a hipper, buttocker, 
and right leg Strieker, Jonathan was supreme. Jim Scott — 
 Bonny Jim,' who was in his time the 'prince of light-weights 
(or, more properly speaking, middle weights), was one of the 
most finished buttockers of modern times— he has already been 

mentioned, but must not be omitted here. At Whitehaven he 
won the ii stone prize nine years in succession, and stood 
second to Jameson in the Carhsle ring in 1864-65. Without 
doubt Scott was a grand wrestler, but he was much inferior to 
Ralph Pooley of Longlands, who defeated the accompUshed 
WiUiam Rickerby in a match at Liverpool in 1872. Rickerby 
was one of the best men that ever stripped, and fully up to 
Scott's standard, yet Pooley threw him three times in succession. 
Ben Cooper of Carlisle, who was Pooley's build all over, a lang 
lean rickle o' banes,' would have been a good match for the 
Longlands champion, but Ben belonged to an earlier generation. As regards science and a thorough knowledge of the art 
of wrestling, Tom Kennedy of Egremont has no superior but 
he wants that which he can never have, namely an inch more 
arm-reach and two inches more length to his legs in order to 
enable him to take rank with Pooley as a champion middleweight wrestler. 

In this brief summary it is impossible to mention one tithe 
of the celebrated light-weight wrestlers who have figured with 
credit in the wresthng arena but such names as the following 
will recur to every lover of the exercise, viz. Walter Palmer, 
Jonathan Whitehead, Jim Scott, Ben Cooper, James Patteson, 
Joseph Allison, William Lawson, John Tifiin, George Sanderson, 
William Rickerby, Harry Ivison, John Graham of Carlisle, Ralph 
Pooley, John Wannop (now a heavy-weight), Tom Kennedy, 
Albert Canadus, John Simpson, John Robinson, &c., &c. By 
the way, the five last named are at the time of writing holding 
their own against all comers. 

Having mentioned the most prominent country champions 
of the present century, the metropolitan exponents of the art 
of wrestling now claim attention. It is much to be deplored that there are now fewer resident wrestlers in London 
than at any former period within the memory of the oldest 

 native of the North yet no further back than 1865, when the 
rules relating to athletic clubs were not so stringent as they are 
now, there were wrestlers in London fit to cope with any 
rivals. A quarter of a century ago, when the Wrestling 
Society stood almost alone, and before the amateur and professional definition existed, the old regulations were sufficient 
but in the present day, when the society is only one among a 
host of clubs all bidding for public favour, some attempt should 
surely be made to keep abreast with the times. The exclusion 
of wrestling from the programmes of athletic clubs has for years 
been gradually sounding the death-knell of this sport as a 
popular exercise among London men. Yet if a few of our 
leading athletes would take up the subject, or the Oxford and 
Cambridge Athletic Club would import a skilled Cumberland 
wrestler into their midst, wrestling might become as popular in 
the South as it is in the present day in the Northern counties. 

The origin of the Cumberland and Westmoreland Wresthng 
Society in London and the exact date of its establishment are 
somewhat uncertain. It is, however, generally believed to 
have existed a little over a century, the earliest mention of its 
annual gatherings being that the natives of Cumberland and 
Westmoreland were in the habit of meeting on Kennington 
Common on Good Friday to celebrate their favourite sports of 
leaping and wrestling. The prizes competed for in those days 
were insignificant in value and few in number, a belt being 
awarded to the champion of the wrestling arena, and a pair of 
l:)uckskin gloves to the best leaper, in imitation of the prizes at 
that time given for competition in many parts of Cumberland 
and Westmoreland. 

In the year 1824 we find the first record of a code of rules 
and a staff of officers appointed to carry out the sports and 
conduct the business of the society. Since 1824 the annual 
meetings have been held at the following places, viz. — Kenning- 

ton Common, Chelsea, St. John's Wood, Hornsey Wood House, 
Chalk Farm, Highbury Barn, Copenhagen House, Hackney 
Wick, the Welsh Harp, Agricultural Hall, and during the last 
fourteen years at Lillie Bridge, West Brompton. From the 
first the wrestling was very popular and well patronised, 
especially by the northern residents in the metropolis, two 
hundred competitors frequently entering the ring at that early 
period. 

The first noticeable incident in connection with the sports 
took place in 1827, when the first prize was won by Mr. William 
Graham, a gentleman who subsequently became a partner m 
Nicholson's gin distillery, and who was for a number of years 
closely identified with the turf As a racing man few owners 
had more success than Mr. Graham, as, with the exception of 
the Derby, nearly all the coveted prizes fell to his share. 
On looking over the list of wrestlers who have played an important and honourable part in the London ring, we may 
mention Richard Margetson, also Jos Wills, known as Major 
Wills, for a long time vice-chairman of the Wrestling Society, 
the chair, as previously mentioned, being occupied by Margetson the two were great rivals about the years 1838- 
3Q. Another good man was Jemmy Haig of Scuggerhouses, 
who was not particular whether he fought or wrestled. 
Jemmy used to fell his men with the swinging hipe, and 
floored the Major, who stood considerably over six feet, 
with proportionate girth, by that identical chip in 1839. In 
1840 George Brunskill, a Lifeguardsman, who was a very good 
man, also went down before Jemmy's irresistible hipe. We 
find the same Brunskill winning the first prize in 1856, which 
either says a good deal for him or else very little for those 
who opposed him. To add lustre to the character of the 
sport it should be mentioned that the late George Moore, 
merchant, millionaire, and philanthropist, won a fall or two at 

the London gathering during his first year in the metropoHs, 
and one 'Jack Foster' in the year 1856 distinguished himself 
by grassing a Lifeguardsman nearly double his own size. At 
that time, and for a number of years previously, the wrestlers 
had drifted into a mischievous habit of using assumed names. 
'Jack Foster,' it has been ascertained, was none other than 
Mr. George Tinniswood, a gentleman well known both in 
London and Cumberland. The name of George Moore cannot be found among the wrestling records of the period, but it 
is only reasonable to assume that when the future merchant 
prince 'peeled off' in the ring, his modesty prompted him to 
assume a disguise. There was a John Dixon of King's 
Meaburn who figured prominently about the years 1849 till 
1852, but when he met William Donald of Dearham in a 
match at Highbury Barn in 1850 he was easily defeated by the 
countryman. Another John Dixon won the London prize in 

By this time the late George Sanderson had made his 
appearance among the metropolitan wrestlers. Sanderson 
won his first prize at Carlisle in 1858; and ten years later, when 
he confronted the invincible John Tiffin of Dearham at the 
Agricultural Hall, he lifted the little demon off his legs and 
hiped him twice in succession. Tiffin wanted the Agricultural 
Hall Cup badly to take home with him to Cumberland, but 
Sanderson told him there was only one way of getting it and 
that was by proving his superiority. Thou'll hev to fell me if 
thou gets t' cup,' quoth Sanderson. Whae weighed in for 
thee ? then asks Tiffin. Whae dista think but mesel', lad ? 
replies Sanderson. After Tiffin had lost the first fall, Jock 
Ward of Wigton exclaimed, 'Hes that thing gittin' a fa' ? referring to Sanderson. 'Aye, lad,' retorted Jim Scott, 'that thing, 
as thou ca's hun, could get a fa' oot o' thee or the best man at 
9L stone that ever stripped !' About the year 1864 the stal- 

wart Richard Coulthard appeared on the scene and wrestled 
well for a time. Then came to the front a better wrestler 
perhaps than either Sanderson or Coulthard in the person of 
the popular John Graham of Carlisle. Graham was an exceptionally good performer, and his feat of winning the 1 1 stone 
and 9^^ stone prizes in 1866 has never been surpassed in the 
London ring. From 1861 up to the present .time, with the 
exception of 1874-5-6, the country champions have taken 
part in the Easter sports, and have, as a matter of course, 
secured the greater portion of the prizes on each occasion 
indeed in recent years but for the country wrestlers the London 
professors of the art would make but a poor show. Since John 
Graham's time John Wannop has been the most distinguished 
performer, and is certainly well worthy of being ranked 
amongst the best wrestlers resident in the metropolis during 
the last quarter of a century, such as George Sanderson, John 
Graham, Isaac Stamper, John Simpson, Thomas Atkinson, 
Richard Coulthard, John Irving, &c., &c. 

Half a century ago a fierce rivalry existed between the two 
counties of Devon and Cornwall, and ever since that period 
meetings have frequently occurred between picked men, notably 
about the time when Abraham Cann was the pride of the 
Devonshire folks, and kicking w^ith heavy boots w^as the 
favourite mode of grassing an opponent. Fortunately, the 
practice of the rival counties has since been assimilated, and 
we hive no involved challenges now like that from Cann, of 
whom the Cornishman sang that he 

Was not the man 
To wrestle with Polkinhorne. 

There is none of the ^toe' business now which at one 
period made the Cornwall and Devon wrestling meetings such 
brutal exhibitions. During Abraham Cann's time, however^ 
the boot w^as the chief weapon of warfare, and when he met the 
Cornish champion Polkinhorne there is said to have been a big 
wrangle about the shoeing of the champions, Polkinhorne in 
the end waiving the point and allowing his opponent full liberty. 
Another authority states that it was Cann who offered advantageous terms to his adversary in the following words 
 Polkinhorne, I will take off my stockings and play bare-legged 
with you, and you may have two of the hardest and heaviest 
shoes that can be made of leather in the county of Cornwall, 

and you shall be allowed to stuff yourself as high as the armpits 
to any extent not exceeding the size of a Cornish peck of wool, 
and I will further engage not to kick you if you don't kick me.' 
We are also told that in the actual contest, two falls out of 
three, Polkinhorne (who weighed 3 st. 4 lbs. more than his opponent) cased his shins with leather, and rehed on the hug as 
opposed to the kick, while the Devonshire man was furnished 
with kicking shoes of a most appalling pattern. The match 
took place at Morris Town near Plymouth in 1826 in the 
presence of a large gathering — it is said that close on 10,000 
people paid for admission to the ring, and quite that number 
looked on from the hills outside — and resulted in a draw owing 
to the complicated nature of the West-country definition of a 
fall. Polkinhorne's shins had been fearfully mangled, while the 
hide of Cann was red and raw from the dreadful hug of the 
Cornishman. The two champions did not meet again in the 
ring, though Cann issued a challenge. But apart from all this 
it is the purest imaginable nonsense to consider Cann — who 
was only a light-weight and double jointed — a Champion. 
He was undoubtedly floated into notoriety by certain absurd 
rules framed in such a way that one man might show himself a 
superior wrestler all through a contest, and yet be prevented 
from winning, while his opponent, although repeatedly thrown 
until almost shaken to a jelly, by artfully landing on his 
stomach when unable to keep his foothold on the ground, 
might eventually save the money of his supporters and make 
a draw of a contest in which he had been clearly overmatched. 
No amount of argument can bolster up a set of regulations 
under which a man may be thrown no end of times by a better 
wTestler than himself, and yet, because he does not fall on 
the requisite number of 'points,' may resume the struggle, 
weary the spectators, and finally, by means of a quibble, leave 
the result undecided, and all because he has the gift of falling 

upon his paunch instead of on his back. It would be well if 
the promoters of wrestling throughout the kingdom would 
compare the English systems in a fair and impartial spirit, in 
order that one standard method might be decided upon in 
which the experts from all wrestling districts could meet and 
compete on equal terms. This would abolish all that cavilling 
nonsense as to which system is the best, who are the best men 
in each, and who is the champion of the lot, and of England. 
Tom Sayers's title of Champion of England stood out in noble 
contrast to the miserable striving after such distinctions as 
champion of Devon, Cornwall, Lancashire, or Cumberland and 
Westmoreland. 

On beginning operations in the ring the Cornwall and 
Devon men — who, by the way, wear strong linen jackets — 
assume a stooping position and are supposed to catch hold 
above the waist, but they feint and dodge about in a wearisome 
manner sometimes for hours before any climax is arrived at. 
Kicking is now forbidden and the men compete in their 
stocking feet. In order to be fairly thrown two shoulders and 
one hip must be on the ground or two hips and one shoulder, 
it matters not which, and a man must be thrown flat on his 
back before any other portion of his body touches the earth 
ere a decision can be given against him. Hauling and mauling 
on the ground, as in Lancashire and French wrestling, are useless expedients and a competitor who pitches on his nether 
extremity is allowed to rear himself up on his legs, and renew 
the struggle as if he had never been down at all. Directly a 
competitor feels himself in danger of being thrown he gets to 
grass on the flat of his paunch if possible, in order that he shall 
not be thrown on his back. 

Judging this style of wrestling is by no means easy, as a 
slippery player may be thrown flatly enough for all practical 
purposes, yet by an adroit movement may raise either a hip 

or shoulder and so create the impression that he has not really 
been put down, and a clever player when hardly bringing his 
man down on all the required points might, and frequently 
does, give him a slight jerk. This move is usually practised 
when a man is over or under thrown of course if the fall is 
under, i.e. not thrown enough, the jerk would be forward, and 
if overthrown then the jerk would be backward. An expert 
can easily discern this, but outsiders often clamour loudly over 
these falls, and a weak judge is liable to be influenced. With 
regard to collaring, a man must not take the two collars of 
his opponent's jacket in one hand, nor can he do so at any 
time during the play. Some men have a trick of slipping their 
hand under the jacket up behind their opponent's back, 
bringing the hand over his shoulder and then grasping hold of 
the opposite jacket collar, the tightened jacket enabling the 
wrestler to hold on like grim death. In Devonshire this is 
disallowed, but in Cornwall it is up to the present sometimes 
permitted. No competitor is allowed to take hold of his 
opponent's drawers, belt, or handkerchief, but he may grasp 
the bottom corners of his jacket. Three minutes are allowed 
between each bout, and usually fifteen minutes between each 
 back,' or fair fall. 

The great amount of unsatisfactory judging, and the haggling 
and fratching inseparable from West-country wrestling 
meetings in London, have been the means of wiping out nearly 
all traces of Cornwall and Devon wrestlers, as a body, from the 
metropolis, a circumstance much to be regretted, as a little 
more unity among the patrons of the sport, a revision of their 
rules, especially relative to their definition of a fall-, and a complete revolution of the wrestling uniform of the competitors, 
would have insured the popularity of the exercise. As an 
illustration of the absurdity of the old fossilised regulations in 
question, one case will suffice. At a wrestling gathering in 

The HeavE; Cornwall and Devon 

London some years ago, John Graham, the celebrated Cumberland wrestler, threw an opponent no fewer than sixteen times, 
but on each occasion the verdict was no fall.' Now, under 
Northern laws, or any other laws which merely state that one 
man shall be fairly and squarely thrown, Graham's opponent 
would have been defeated at the very first trial, whereas 
the men ultimately tossed up and the Cumbrian lost, his 
opponent securing the verdict. Yet, in spite of all these fatal 
objections to their rules, Cornish and Devonshire wrestlers 
maintain that their system is the best of all known methods 
throughout the world. Surely the majority of athletes, and 
especially those interested in this ancient sport, will agree 
that a moment of resolute and scientific exertion on the 'first 
down to lose principle is worth a week's barn-door fowl 
sparring in canvas jackets, and dog-fighting on the ground, and 
must create more enthusiasm and excitement than any amount 
of such wearisome and unscientific toil. 

In the limited space at command it will be impossible to 
enter into the details of attack and defence peculiar to this 
fashion of wrestling. At the same time it may be well to 
correct an erroneous impression that exists in many minds 
to the effect that the Devon and Cornwall styles of wrestling 
are two different systems indeed, the difference between the 
two is really now so slight that the better and more comprehensive term to apply to both would be, West-country wrestling.* 
True, there is a decided variation in the mode of play practised 
by wrestlers hailing from the respective counties, but this 
scarcely affects the practical result. The Devon style was 
formerly principally characterised by kicking and tripping, 
while the Cornishmen were, and are still, noted for hugging and 
heaving. These distinguishing features, however, are not now 
confined to the two counties in any separate degree, as the 
Devon players are fairly well up in the Cornish peculiarities. 

Q 

Again, Cornishmen have not been at all averse to a bout at 
kicking, while at the same time their tripping accomplishments 
have always been quite equal to anything their rivals have displayed in that line. Probably the chief difference in the two 
styles— now that kicking has, except on rare occasions, been 
discontinued in De/onshire — is to be traced to the vexed 
question of, What constitutes a fair back fall ? The fair 
back fall argument has always been the bone of contention 
between the two counties, and between both wTCstlers and 
judges, and is still one of the most serious drawbacks this ancient 
pastime has to contend against. Undoubtedly, the numerous 
unsatisfactory decisions given from time to time in consequence 
of the multitude of loopholes always gaping wide open for a 
wrangle in West-country wrestling conditions have been the 
principal cause of the decline and fall of the sport in the metropolis. It is w^ell known, too, that in local matches decided in 
Cornwall the strictness which is the rule in Devonshire is 
not observed. In the first-named county, a wrestler might 
be pitched on his side or shoulder and, if kept moving, be 
rolled over on his back, and thus have a fall decided against 
him whereas in Devonshire matches, a man to be thrown a 
fair back fall must be pitched flatly on his back, as previously 
stated. In a three-point match two shoulders and one hip 
or two hips and one shoulder must touch the ground at one 
time. In four-point matches both shoulders and hips must 
reach the ground simultaneously, and this before hand, arm, 
knee, or any portion of either throivn or thrower reaches the 
earth. 

Not much fault can be found with the Cornwall and Devon 
style of going to work, but the frantic and hair-splitting efforts 
of some of the promoters of wrestling in both counties to 
draw a line of demarcation betwixt the two systems, which for 
all practical purposes are one, are simply incomprehensible y 

and why the three and four points definition of a fall cannot 
be abolished in favour of 'first down to lose/ has for years 
puzzled all wellwishers and admirers of the sport who are unconnected with the counties. Judging this style of wrestling as 
it now exists is one of the most difficult and unsatisfactory tasks 
anyone can possibly face, as a tricky performer after being 
thrown has only to move a hip or shoulder in an expert manner 
in order to secure another trial and frequently an inferior 
wrestler can carry on this game till darkness sets in, or until 
the time for adjournment arrives, in order to make a draw of a 
contest in which he stood no earthly chance had the conditions 
been reasonable. A firm referee can often prevent this kind of 
manoeuvre, but a timid one is more frequently influenced and 
alarmed by outside clamour, and as a rule refuses to interfere 
just at the point when decisive measures are most imperative. 

Perhaps a retrospective glance at some of the heroes of 
the past may be interesting to many readers. Undoubtedly 
the greatest West-country contest of the century was that which 
took place between Cann and Polkinhorne (already referred ^.o). 
Abraham Cann is next heard of at the Golden Eagle, a 
tavern in the Mile End Road, where he met and defeated 
Gaffney, a gigantic Irishman, in the best of five back falls, Cann 
staking 60/. to his opponent's 50/. Subsequently, at the same 
place, in an open competition, Cann took first prize, and his 
brother James gained second honours. Among those who 
competed were Chappell, Copp Thorne, Finney, Parish, 
Jordan (the Devonshire giant), Middleton, Clargoe, Pyle, and 
Saunders. 

Again, at Leeds, in 1828, there was a large gathering of 
wrestlers, including Abraham Cann, James Stone ('the httle 
elephant '), Wrexford, Bolt, and Jordan. Cann and the little 
elephant took first and second honours respectively. In June 
1828 one Oliver, a Cornishman, defeated James Cann for a 

purse of 20/. at the Eagle Tavern, City Road and in the same 
month George Saunders, a Cornishman, met the huge Irishman Gaffney at the Wellington Grounds, Chelsea, the best of 
five back falls (without boots), when the latter won. Shortly 
afterwards the parties met at Tom Cribb's, but failed to ratify a 
further match. Another wrestling meeting was held at the 
Wellington Grounds in June of the same year. The company 
numbered upwards of i,ooo, one hundred of whom were 
noblemen and gentlemen of high position, including Earls Grey 
and Talbot Lords Falmouth, Clanwilliam, Elliott, and Wallscourt; Hon. Mr. Fortescue; Sir John Shelley, Bart.; Sir Charles 
Lemon, Bart. Sir J. Bamfyld, &c. &c. Twenty-eight wrestlers 
entered the ring — thirteen Devon men, the same number from 
Cornwall, one Cumberland man, and one Irishman. The last 
named was placed with the Cornishmen; the Cumbrian (Henry 
Mossop, who wrestled at the Cumberland and Westmoreland 
Sports in 1830-32, held at the Eyre Arms, St. John's Wood) 
being told off on the side of the Devonians. The double 
play resulted as follows — Standing, Devon J. Cann, Thorne, 
Batstone, Steers, Kerslake, Pyle, Copp, Avery, Perry, and 
Mossop. Standing, Cornwall Oliver, Trewick, Johnson, and 
Cocks. The men were then matched in the following order 
for triple play — Oliver threw James Cann, Thorne threw Johnson, Cocks threw Batstone, Trewick threw Kerslake, Steers 
threw Perry, Pyle threw Avery, and Copp threw Mossop. For 
the final seven men were left in, viz. Devon— Steers, Copp, 
Pyle, and Thorne Cornwall — Oliver, Cocks, and Trewick, 
Pyle odd man. Oliver threw Thorne easily, Trewick threw Copp, 
and Steer threw Cocks Trewick threw Pyle, and Oliver threw 
Steers. Trewick then resigned in favour of Oliver, who took 
the first prize, 12/. 

Poor Abraham Cann in his latter days fell into difficulties 
but after the fight between Sayers and Heenan in i860 a suf- 

ficient amount was collected to secure him an annuity of 20/. 
a year. This he did not live long to enjoy, as he died from 
the effects of an accident shortly afterwards. The famous old 
wrestler was buried at Colebrook, where an unpretending stone 
marks his last resting-place. 

After Cann's time there w^as a lack of wrestlers in both 
counties for several years. Chappell was for a brief period 
considered the Devon champion, but ultimately he gave way to 
Tom Cooper, who for years carried all before him in his own 
county. W. Pollard, a Cornishman of herculean build, and possessing some science, then appeared on the scene but he could 
not withstand the fearful kicking Cooper administered to him. 
Cooper attended all the big meetings held at Plymouth, and was 
looked upon as the undoubted champion, until Sam Rundle, a 
light-weight, lowered his colours some twenty-one years ago — 
the same Sam Rundle who recently wrestled with Carkeck the 
American. In his prime Rundle was one of the best wrestlers 
Cornwall ever produced, but his struggle (considering his age 
and weight) with the young giant Carkeck must have been a 
veritable farce. The American is a splendid wrestler, and subsequently threw the Cornishman Jack Smith at the Royal 
Aquarium, AVestminster, with absurd ease. 

Among Devonians who have distinguished themselves in 
the wrestHng arena may be mentioned S. Oliver, J. Slade, J. 
Burley, George Bickle, H. Ash, D. Tapper, T. Belworthy, H. 
Belworthy, Chudley, Marshall, &c. A little later came another 
fine batch of men, which included R. Baker, J. Milton, T. Baker, 
F. Hutchings, W. James, R. Pike, C. Leyman, Drew, S. 
Battishill, H. Holman, W. Ford, George Stone, G. Bickle, Hill, 
Chaniberlain, Greenslade, S. Howard, &c. 

Cornwall numbers among its champions Joe Menlar, 
W. Pucky, M. Grose, A. Ellis, J. Wakeham, T. Stone, H. Stone, 
T. Bragg, Lucking, Williams, Pearse, Marks, Phil, Hancock, 

the Kittos (one of whom faced George Lowden, the Cumbrian 
champion, at LilHe Bridge a few years ago, but was easily 
thrown by the giant), A. James, Foster, Major Ham, Bassett, 
P. Carlyon, E. Williams, J. Carkeck, W. Hendra, J. H. Tressada, 
Jack Smith, W. Tressada, (S:c. A great many names have of 
course been omitted. The principal Cornish and Devon chips 
are the Cross-buttock, the Fore-lock, the Back-lock, the Backheave, the Belly-heave, the Heaving-toe, the Flying Mare, and 
the Back-heel. The Hipe and Double Nelson are unknown 
among West-country wrestlers. Formerly, when kicking was 
fashionable in Devonshire, it was considered a sign of cowardice 
for a wrestler to take his shoes off, the soles of which sometimes contained a steel plate artfully inserted between the plies 
of leather. When this was the case the boots of the competitors 
have been known to run over with blood. 

With regard to Lancashire wrestling there can be no question that it is the most barbarous of the English systems, 
and more nearly approaches the French dog-fighting and 
tumbling than any other — a fair stand-up fight with the naked 
fists is the merest skim-milk, in fact a perfect drawing-room 
entertainment, in comparison. Open competitions such as 
take place in Cumberland and Westmoreland and in Cornwall and Devon are almost unknown in Lancashire, contests 
there being mostly confined to matches under the gaffer 
system. A local writer delivers himself to the following effect 
 A Lancashire wrestling-match is an ugly sight the fierce 
animal passions of the men which mark the struggles of 
maddened bulls, or wild beasts, the savage yelling of their 
partisans, the wrangling, and finally the clog business which 
settles all disputes and knotty points, are simply appalling.' 
In all matches the wrestlers compete in stockings or barefooted, 
a pair of bathing-drawers usually completing their attire. The 
men are allowed to catch hold practically just as they please, 

Half Nelson, Lancashire 

but the rules state they must not scratch, throttle, pull each 
other's ears, or commit any unfair act. Rubbing the body or 
limbs with grease, resin, or any pernicious drug is also forbidden. In the thick of the fray, should the wrestlers get entangled with the boundary of the ring, they must draw off and 
renew the contest with the same hold as they left off with. 
Should any match not be concluded on the day appointed, 
both men must meet, weigh, and begin wrestHng at the same 
time and place day by day (Sunday excepted) until finished 
the decision of the referee in any match to be final, and the 
stakes to be given up accordingly. Should the referee not be 
chosen in the articles, and the wrestlers or backers be unable 
to agree about appointing one in fifteen minutes from the time 
of entering the ring, the manager or his deputy shall make 
selection. The men are allowed fifteen minutes between each 
fall. If a wrestler gain a fall and neglect or refuse to continue 
the contest, his opponent shall claim the stakes or in the 
event of a wrestler gaining a throw he can claim the stakes 
in the absence of any arrangement to conclude the match. 
Any dispute arising, not provided for in the articles, to be 
settled by the referee, whose decision is final and as he is 
supposed to be a competent person, he is invested with full 
power to act in any emergency. On the other hand, should 
that functionary act on the testimony of others when he has 
missed seeing a fall, a circumstance not unusual, the parties 
interested can, and must, depose him, and select another, 
especially when the fall is a disputed one. In an open 
competition the management can disqualify a referee for incompetence or inattention, but when a fall is not disputed 
the referee can continue to act. In the event of a new referee 
being selected during the progress of a match the wrestlers 
must begin afresh as if no fall had been contested. The 
position of referee, however, is always a much easier one, and 

more satisfactory to all parties concerned, when he is assisted 
by two umpires. Wrestling men are impulsive beings, and 
w^hile a competition is proceeding the judges have anything 
but a rosy time of it. Generally speaking, when a close fall 
takes place, the two competitors crowd round the umpires and 
clamour for a verdict. This course of action is the greatest 
imaginable folly, as it prevents the necessary consideration and 
consultation, and often hurries the decision whereas if the 
judges were afforded the opportunity of exchanging opinions 
in private, the order to wrestle over again would be of more 
frequent occurrence, as that is generally a better decision 
when a contest has resulted in what, to all intents and 
purposes, should be recorded a dog fall.' Throttling is a 
mighty factor in Lancashire wrestling although forbidden 
in the rules it is often resorted to with impunity. As the two 
shoulders must be held on the ground for the space of several 
seconds in order to constitute a fall in this style of wrestling, 
the practice of throttling, when the Lancastrian blood is up, is 
difficult to prevent. At the same time the rules laid down for 
the guidance of the competitors distinctly state that it is 
unfair to try to injure an opponent in any tender part of the 
body, or to throttle him.' Again, a man on his hands and 
knees must not be choked by being pulled upwards by his 
opponent, but either party may break fingers, or arms either, 
so long as the referee is satisfied that such a circumstance has 
arisen solely in the struggle for the mastery, and not through 
any desire to act unfairly. The referee has power to disqualify 
any competitor who may act unfairly in regard to throttling, 
maiming, <&:c. Generally speaking, a man on his hands and 
knees will get on his feet before his neck is dislocated from 
behind but a wrestler cannot be prevented from putting his 
arm round his opponent's neck, which is quite distinct from 
throttling. 

Probably the most dangerous move in Lancashire and 
Cornwall and Devon wrestling, in fact in the catch -hold system 
all round, is what is called the 'Double Nelson.' It is very 
difficult to play, however, and seldom comes into operation. 
To get behind an opponent, place both arms under his, and 
clasp your hands round the back of his neck and thus bend 
his head forw^ard till his breastbone almost gives way because 
his neck refuses to be dislocated, is the most dangerous and 
brutal of all the many methods that belong to the science of 
wrestling. It is almost impossible to bring the Double Nelson into operation with a stout bull-necked man, because his 
bulk prevents the hands from meeting behind his head. The 
same difficulty, however, is not experienced when a man of 
slender build has to be performed upon. Then it becomes 
the most formidable manoeuvre a wrestler can employ, and, 
owing to the frightful consequences that are likely to ensue, 
it ought without doubt to be barred on all occasions. To 
convey some notion of what a Lancashire wrestling-match 
is like, probably a better illustration cannot be supplied than 
the following graphic description of a contest that took place 
in New York a few years ago between Acton and Bibby for 
1,000 dols. The articles stipulated that the contestants could 
take any hold they pleased two shoulders on the ground to 
constitute a fall, and t^n minutes allowed for rest between 
each fall. 

From the first the little demon/ as Acton was called^ went in 
to win and handled his heavier opponent like a rubber ball. Such a 
bewildering gyration of heads, legs, and arms was never seen out of 
Donnybrook Fair. Acton belied the adage of Sir Boyle Roach, that 
no man can be in two places at one time unless he's a bird. He 
was part and parcel of Bibby's anatomy. Their legs were interlaced, 
their arms were locked, and their heads bobbed together but, contrary to popular expectation, Bibby was the under dog in the 
struggle all through. Except for a brief period now and then, Bibby 

insisted upon keeping on all-fours, excepting when he was standing on 
his head or sprawling flat on the carpet. Bibby tried the 7'6le of the 
bull in the china-shop, and made an effort to demolish the little 
Lancashire man but, like a flash, the latter made a double backaction spring and passed Bibby's bumped form and the platform. 
Bibby next assumed the attitude of a quadruped, and after that was 
hardly allowed to stand erect like a man. That first kick was his 
last.^ There was no kick in Bibby. Acton literally mopped the floor 
with him. Three successive times was Bibby placed upon his head, 
and it was only by the exercise of his wonderful acrobatic powers that 
he saved himself from a fall. The audience were fearfully excited. 
The men had assumed the elasticity of eels, and the sinuosity of their 
movements was surprising even to veteran wrestlers. Acton was a 
veritable old man of the sea, and clagged to Bibby like wax, 
making him bite the dust first, last, and all the time and after forty 
minutes of almost ceaseless toil Bibby was planted squarely on his 
back. After this Bibby was floored in six minutes and properly sat 
upon, and Acton declared the victor. 

Fortunate it is for the human race in general that Lancashire 
wTCStlers are mostly small men, Acton and Bibby, the two 
fiercest exponents of this uncivihsed fashion of wrestling, being 
only 5 ft. 5 in. in height and lo^ stone weight and 5 ft. 4 in. 
and I T stone weight respectively. Snape, the Lancashire blacksmith, who was to the fore in 1872, and could at that time 
have throw^n the whole human race at catch-holds, was a striking 
contrast to Acton and Bibby, as he stood 6 feet and weighed 
close on 20 stone. This same Snape wrestled a match with 
Sam Hurst, the Staley bridge Infant, who was thrown wath absurd 
ease by the herculean blacksmith. Before this took place 
Snape had been defeated at Bolton by Dick Wright, the Border 
champion, in the Cumberland and Westmoreland style. Quite 
recently a match took place in Her Majesty's Opera House, 
Melbourne, between Tom Cannon, a Lancashire man, and one 
Miller. A brief reference to the struggle will serve as another 
illustration of the ferocity of these contests. Before the first fall 

was recorded in Cannon's favour hardly six minutes had elapsed, 
and it was then discovered that one of Miller's ribs had been 
dragged from its position, and the cartilage torn away. With 
dogged Lancashire instincts Miller obstinately refused to give 
in, and actually wrestled for six minutes longer, being then 
thrown a second time. 

Among all the different styles of wrestHng, the French 
system for downright absurdity bears off the palm — as the 
following rules will amply testify — 

1. The wrestlers are only allowed to take hold from the 
head, and not lower than the waist. 

2. Taking hold of legs and tripping are strictly forbidden. 

3. The wrestling is with open hands, and the wrestlers are 
not allowed to scratch, strike, or to clasp hands. Clasping hands 
means that the wrestlers shall not clasp one of their hands 
within the other, nor interlace their fingers, but they are 
allowed to grasp their own wrist to tighten their hold round 
their opponent's body or otherwise. 

4. The wrestlers must have their hair cut short, also their 
finger-nails, and they must wrestle either barefooted or with 
socks. 

5. If one of the wrestlers fall on his knee, shoulder, or 
side, they have to start again. 

6. If the wrestlers roll over each other, the one whose 
shoulders shall touch the carpet is deemed conquered. 

7. To be conquered, it is necessary that both shoulders of 
the fallen shall touch the ground at the same time, so as to be 
fairly seen by the public. 

When Jameson and Wright competed against Le Boeuf and 
Dubois, the French champions, in the Agricultural Hall in 
1870, the English wrestlers were entirely ignorant of the 
French mode of wrestling until a few days before the actual 
contest. On the other hand, the Frenchmen had been tutored 

in the Cumberland style for several weeks beforehand by two 
expert Cumberland wrestlers. 

It will be remembered that the Englishmen were victorious 
in their own style, and the Frenchmen in theirs, and that the 
latter won the toss for choice of style for the odd fall, and consequently the match. Luck undoubtedly played the best 
chip in the contest, for had the Border champions won the toss 
their opponents would not have had a leg to stand on. As an 
exposition of the system of wrestling peculiar to the two countries 
the competition may be said to have fulfilled the most sanguine 
expectations, but as a test of the merits of the men it was a 
downright failure. The provisions of the French code of rules 
are directly antagonistic to the very elements of a struggle, 
while the English rules allow unlimited action so long as the 
hold remains unbroken. Take away the chips for knocking 
your man down and the clicks for keeping yourself up, there is 
nothing left but weight and strength to battle with. Wright 
and Jameson were cramped at all points, being utterly ignorant 
of those ground manoeuvres which seemed to be the backbone 
of their opponents' system. With our notions of fair play, 
a struggle on the ground has certainly a savage look about 
it. The Cornish style with its jacket- grasping and its Hhree 
points down is child's-play in comparison with the French 
fashion of going to work indeed it is only approached in 
savage brutality by the system of wrestling which finds favour 
in Lancashire. 

In concluding this chapter on Wrestling it may be well to 
recapitulate what constitutes a fall in some of the styles of 
wrestling. First man down, any point, is the loser in the 
Cumberland and Westmoreland style two shoulders on the 
ground in the French or Graeco -Roman style any point down 
in the Catch-hold style two shoulders down in Lancashire 
style two hips and one shoulder, or two shoulders and one 

hip, excepting when the arrangement is for four points/ in the 

Cornwall and Devon style. 

A great many of the other so-called systems are governed 

by such ridiculous rules that they are best left alone. When the 
 catch-hold first down to lose' style becomes universal, if ever it 
does, wrestlers will then have an opportunity of competing on 
their merits, inasmuch as each would have the advantage of 
adopting what was best in his own style, as well as what he 
could acquire from others. In this way the real purposes of the 
exercise, whether for pastime or defence, would be best promoted, as the victory would consist in throwing your opponent 
only, instead of rolling him on the ground in the French mode, 
or struggling for three points like the men of Cornwall and 
Devon. 

BY 

E. CASTLE 

A COMPLETE and critical bibliography is not only the most 
efficient help that can be afforded to the pursuit of original 
inquiry on any particular subject, but, as all know who have 
had to hunt for small details and cross-references among old 
books and MSS., often proves of value to investigators of 
other and not even necessarily cognate matter. On this plea 
it can be urged that everyone who has had occasion to write 
on out-of-the-way studies does useful work in leaving a record, 
not only of his own surmises or conclusions, which may or 
may not be worth having, but of all the utilisable materials he 
has discovered. 

The panegyric of bibliography,' however, is not needed in 
these times. It has become a recognised and useful bypath 
in the field of literary pursuits and so, although devoted to a 
very restricted subject, the present small contribution to booklore may prove of interest to many besides devotees of the 
 noble art.' 

Soon after the publication of Schools and Masters of 
Fence — from which work the bulk of bibliographical notes 
on writings anterior to the present century are taken in this 
volume — the writer was urged to complete the bibliography up 
to date, and to publish it in a separate form since then it was 
thought that such a work might form an interesting appendix to 

the fencing volume in the Badminton Library. The compilation purports to give a concise bibliographical account of 
all works relating to fencing, whether by masters, dilettanti 
or simple collectors of books, from that undiscoverable treatise 
of Francisco Roman, reported to have been printed at Seville 
in 1474, down to the latest publications of May 1889. 

As it is logically impossible so to restrict the meaning of 
the word fencing as to apply it only to the more handy 
weapons, rapier, small-sword, or sabre, especially when keeping historical considerations in view, it is here accepted in its 
broadest etymological sense— namely, the art of fighting with 
weapons retained in hand. This meaning is equally as applicable 
to the German Fechtkunst, the Italian Scherma^ the French 
Escrime^ and the Spanish Destreza as to the English Art of 
Fence (or defence). 

Such a catholic view, unfortunately, entails an obligation 
to include a great number of manuals of mere military exercises. 
Tiresome and prolific as much of this literature is — that devoted 
to bayonet practice for instance — it could not well be left out 
of account when we had to admit the more ancient and 
curious treatises on the cognate art of wielding halbert, pike, 
flail, or two-hand sword, together with the rare works on that 
scientific tossing of banners which, in the seventeenth 
century especially, was considered as akin to fencing proper. 

The cataloguing rules here employed are those of the 
Library Association of the United Kingdom, with the exception, however, that the alphabetical order is replaced by a 
strictly chronological arrangement, not only of the authors 
themselves, but of their different works and editions. There 
are many reasons for this departure from the more usual plan of 
collecting all the works of an author under one heading, which 
will, no doubt, be appreciated should this Bibliography 
be used for reference. The chief interest of old works on 

fencing lies in their value to the antiquarian much more than to 
the strictly practical fencer. It was, therefore, thought more 
advantageous to allow every work to be found by reference to 
the marginal dates, so that anyone wishing for information concerning a particular period in any country might find out at a 
glance whatever fencing literature was available for his purpose. 
This is obviously simpler than hunting alphabetically through 
a mass of names all probably unfamiliar. 

A large number of the older treatises are profusely and 
splendidly illustrated, and the costumes, arms, details of ornamentation, architectural designs, even landscapes, can be of 
use to artists, while the armorial plates which often accompany 
the old-fashioned elaborate dedications are of interest to the 
heraldic and genealogical student; even the copious ^padding,' 
sometimes gravely philosophic, or merely of poetic, anecdotic, 
and contemporary interest, which so often swells the volumes 
of ancient masters of the sword, may on occasions prove of 
value. 

The important task of verification has been gone through 
whenever possible — a very necessary precaution, considering 
the want of accuracy, or even of tolerable care, shown by writers 
on this topic, ancients especially, in their spelling of names 
and their statements as to date and size. 

It may be of interest to mention here the few authors who 
have attempted an investigation of what had been written before 
them on the art of fence. In the sixteenth century the great 
Carranza, the father of the science of arms in Spain, in the 
seventeenth the Marcelli of Rome and the Sicilian Morsicato 
Pallavicini, left more or less copious lists of fencing books, which 
remain to this day our only authority for the dates and existence 
of the works of Francisco Roman, Pedro de la Torre, Jayme 
Pona of Perpignan, and Pietro Moncio, none of which seem yet 
to have been discovered. Many of the more important authors 

in their national or personal vindications afford of course useful cross-references, but in the eighteenth century our only 
copious and reliable authority is that ornament of the Universities of Goettingen and Helmstadt/ Friedrich A. Kahn. 

Among the more modern masters, the first apparently to 
have felt an historical, not merely controversial, interest in his 
art is Jean Posselier, fencing-master to the Mousquetaires Gris 
of the Garde Royale, and better known under the assumed 
name of Gomard. He collected data, often imperfect, on 
some fifty works, and used those that he could read — namely, 
the French and some Italian — as materials for very superficial 
and one-sided history of the fencing art. 

Gomard's short sketch, notwithstanding its want of accuracy, 
was freely drawn upon two years later by Marchionni (the 
reputed inventor of the giuoco misto, now much practised in 
Italy), who, after pruning the French work of some obnoxious 
 chauvinistic'' theories, completed the analysis of certain national 
authors, and used it as the bibhographical introduction to his 
 Trattato di Scherma/ 

The Dictionnaire Raisonne d'Escrime of J. A. Embry, and 
Terwangue's 'Reflexions Techniques et Historiques' on the 
same, offering as they do little to satisfy the expectations raised 
by their 'elastic' titles, need only be adverted to here pour 
memoire. All these first attempts at critical bibliography were 
followed, with much better success, in 1882 by the well-known 
w^ork of M. Vigeant, whilom professor in the select fencing-rooms 
of the Cercle de TUnion Artistique and of the Hotel du Figaro. 
This celebrated teacher possesses the most complete collection 
known of books on swordsmanship, and on what the Italians 
call Scienza cavalleresca, generally. Moreover, as he considers 
no clothing that the most cunning and artistic Parisian bookbinder can devise too magnificent for the books he loves with 
the complicated love of a master, a bibliomaniac and a writer, 

BIBLIOTHECA ARTIS DIAIICATORIJE: 245 

it must be owned that his collection is quite unique of its kind. 
In 1882 M. Vigeant published his first work, La Bibliographie 
de TEscrime Ancienne et Moderne/ and undoubtedly succeeded 
in attaching to that neat little volume much of the keen interest 
book-collectors feel for their treasures. Unfortunately, this 
attractive production, valuable as it is, owing to the notes of 
such an expert swordsman, is not only very incomplete, but 
also full of errors concerning foreign books. Suffice it to say 
that M. Vigeant only mentions some two hundred works, 
many of them, indeed, merely from hearsay, so to speak, 
under very free translations of their titles into French 
whereas there were upward of six hundred works published 
before 1882. 

What had been done by M. Vigeant for the French portion 
of the Bibliography of Fencing (the part which alone is nearly 
complete in his work) was attempted soon after for the Italian by 
Signor Masaniello Parise, but with less elaborateness, in the 
preface to his 'Trattato Teorica-Pratico di Scherma.' This, 
however, is rather a carelessly drawn catalogue, which gives no 
detail as to size, printer's name, or engravings, and is on the 
whole unworthy of the sohd and otherwise excellent treatise it 
introduces. 

Fencing-masters are, as a rule, too entirely practical to care 
much for book-lore the few names hitherto mentioned may 
be said to include all those who have taken more than a superficial notice of the literature of their art. 

Among amateurs, on the other hand, and bibliophiles, the 
subject has attracted more attention, but only those to whom 
this work is directly indebted for materials can be noticed 
here. Some little-known works were discovered in the copious 
lists of 'Books on Swordplay given by Mr. W. F. Foster in 
 Notes and Queries,' Series iv. vol. v., and not a few in Almirante's Bibliografia Militar,'in Mariano d'Ayala's Bibliografia 

Italiana Militare/ and in the article Fechtkunst of Meyer's 
Cyclopaedia. 

Of more recent authorities, the best thanks are due to Dr. 
K. Wassmannsdorff of Heidelberg, the author of erudite essays 
contributed to German periodicals on ancient guilds of swordsmen and masters, more especially the Marxbriider,' as well as 
several pamphlets on subjects connected with swordsmanship. 
Dr. Wassmannsdorff is also the fortunate owner of a most 
valuable collection of ancient books relating to every kind of 
sport — to Lieut.-Colonel Max Jahns, of the Grand General Staff, 
in Berlin, who in the course of his researches on the universal 
history of the art of war has come across numerous old German 
MSS. relating to fencing and fencers to the Cavaliere Fambri 
of Venice, one of the best authorities on the sword in Italy 
to Don Manuel 7?rco del Valle, librarian of the King's Palace 
in Madrid and^ lastly, to Dr. Thomas Windsor, of Manchester, 
a learned and enthusiastic book-collector, who rarely allows a 
catalogue, in whatever language it be, to escape his critical 
notice. 

At an early stage of the author's attempt to complete and 
bring up to date the bibliography which prefaced Schools and 
Masters of Fence,' the want was strongly felt of a competent 
assistant to collect and classify works from all countries. This 
help he had the good fortune to find in Mr. Carl Thimm, son 
of the author of the well-known Bibliographia Shakespeariana,' 
and himself a devoted student of bibliography and book-lore. 

Notwithstanding all this valuable help, it can hardly be 
assumed that the present volume is exhaustive all that can 
be said is that it contains the matter of all existing bibliographical accounts on the subject of fencing, and a very 
great deal more, discovered either by mere good luck or by 
curious searches in public and private libraries and in old bookstalls and catalogues. 

BIBLIQTHECA ARTIS DIMICATORI^ 247 

As, however, interesting but forgotten works often come to 
light in the most unHkely quarters — a curious find of this sort 
was lately made by the writer in the library of the Inner Temple 
— should any reader of the Bibliotheca Artis Dimicatorias 
happen to know of any treatise or disquisition on the Noble 
Science unnoticed therein, he would confer a favour by sending an account of the same to the compiler. 

41 c Hill Street, Berkeley Square, W. 
October 1889. 

BIBLIOTPIECA ARTIS DIMICATORI^, 

DUTCH. 

1607 Gheyn (J. de). — Wapenhandelinghe van Roers Musquetten ende 
Spiessen. 117 plates. Folio. Amsterdam. 

1650 Thibauld. — Ars digladiatoria. Folio. Amsterdam. 

1671 Bruchius (Johannes-Georgius) [Scherm- ofte Vecht-Meester der 
wyd-vermaerde Academic]. — Grondige Beschryvinge van de Edele ende Ridderlycke Scherm- ofte Wapen-Konste, &c. Oblong 4to. Leyden. 

[Portrait of the author by Van Somer, and 143 copperplates,] 

1674 Fetter. — Worstelkunst m. prachte Radier von Romeyadi Hodghe. 
4to. Amst. 

1866 Regoor (M.) — De Schermkunst voor het volksonderwijs geschikt 
gemaakt. 8vo. 's Gravenhage. 

1887 Hesse (G. ) [Schermmeester in de G. Vg. Lycurgus-Achilles en 
Olympia, &c., &c.]— Handboek ten gebruike bij het schermonderwijs op den 
degen en de sabel, ten dienste van liefhebbers, meesttrs en onderwijzers. 
Opgedragen aan den weledelen zeergeleerden Heer Dr. Johan Georg Mezger. 
8vo. Apeldoorn Laurens Hansma. [42 figures in the text.] 

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN. 

1489 The fayt of amies and chyvalrye, whiche translaycyon was fynysshed 
the viij day of juyll the said yere (1489) was emprynted the xiiij day of juyll the 
next folowing. In fol. goth. 

[This work was translated and printed by Caxton from the French of 
Christine de Pisan.] 

1594 Grassi (Giacomodi). — Giacomo di Grassi, his true Arte of Defence, 
plainlie teaching by infallable demonstrations, apt Figures, and perfect Rules the 
manner and forme how a man, without other Teacher or master may safelie 
handle all sortes of weapons as well offensive as defensive.. With a treatise of 
Disceit or Falsinge and with a waie or meane by private Industrie to obtaine 
Strength, Judgment, and Activitie. First written in Italian by the foresaid 
Author, and Englished by J. G[eronimo ?] gentleman. 4to. London. 

1595 Saviolo (Vincentio). — His practise, in two bookes the first intreating of the use of the Rapier and Dagger, the second of honour and honourable 
quarrels. 4to. London. Printed by John Wolfe. 

[6 woodcuts in the text. Dedicated to the Earl of Essex.] 
[This work is generally believed, and with good reason, to be alluded 
to by Shakespeare in As you like it.' It is very illustrative of allusions 
both in Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. Some copies contain eleven leaves 
less than the above, marked with a kind of flower. The first leaf of 
sheet I was cancelled, and twelve additional leaves inserted in its place, 
forming the complete book as in this copy. I'he second leaf of sheet I 

is erroneously marked H 2. In some copies, both the cancelled leaf and 

the additional sheet occur, but the former is certainly out of place, being 

repeated. There are, therefore, three different kinds of copies, all virtually 

perfect. Between Gg and Hh are also two leaves, the first marked 

forming a chapter of the Duello or Combat.' Quaritch Catalogue of 

1599 Silver (George). — Paradoxe of Defence, wherein is proved the true 

ground of fight to be in the short ancient weapons, and that the Short Sword 

hath the advantage of the long sword or long rapier, and the weaknesse and 

imperfection of the rapier fight displayed. Together with an admonition to the 

noble, ancient, victorious, valiant, and most brave nation of Englishmen, to 

beware of false teachers of defence, and how they forsake their own naturall 

tights with a brief commendation of the noble science or exercising of arms. 

8vo. London. [Woodcuts in the text.] 

1608 Gheyn (J. de).— [Enghsh translation of his work from the Dutch.] 
Folio. Amsterdam. See Dutch,' 1607. 

161 1 Mars His Feild or The Exercise of Armes, wherein in lively figures is 
shewn the Right use and perfect manner of Handling the Buckler, Sword, and 
Pike. With the wordes of Command and Brefe instructions correspondent to 
every Posture. i2mo. London. 

[16 copperplates with explanatory legends. No text.] 
1617 Sv\^ETNAM (Joseph). — The Schoole of the Noble and Worthy Science 
of Defence. Being the first of any Englishmans invention, which professed 
the sayd Science So plainly described that any man may quickly come to the 
true knowledge of their weapons with small paines and little practise. Then 
reade it advisedly, and use the benefit thereof when occasion shall serve, so shalt 
thou be a good Common-wealth man, live happy to thy selfe and comfortable 
to thy friend. Also many other good and profitable Precepts for the managing 
of Quarrels and ordering thy selfe in many other matters. 4to. London: 
Printed by Nicholas Okes. 

[Dedicated to Charles, Prince of Wales. 7 woodcuts.] 

1639 Turner (Sir James). — Pallas armata the gentleman's armorie, 
wherein the right and genuine use of the rapier and the sword is displaied. 
i2mo. London. 

1640 (?) Hales. — The Private School of defence. 

[This work is mentioned in Walton's The compleat Angler,' ist 

1683 Turner ^Sir James). — Pallas armata A 2nd edit. 

1687 H[ope] (W[illiam]). — Scots Fencing Master, or Compleat smallswordman, in which is fully Described the whole Guards, Parades, and 
Lessons belonging to the Small-Sword, &c. By W. H. 8vo. Edinburgh: John 
Reid. [12 copperplates, out of the text.] 

1691 H[ope] (W[illiam]). — The Sword-Man's Vade-Mecum, or a preservative against the surprize of a sudden attaque with Sharps. Being a Reduction 
of the most essential, necessary, and practical part of Fencing, into a few 
special Rules. With their Reasons: which all Sword-Men should have in their 
memories when they are to Engadge but more especially if it be with Sharps. 
With some other Remarques and Observations, not unfit to be known. By 
W. H. i2mo. Edinburgh John Reid. 

1692 Hope (Sir W., Kt. ) — The fencing-master's advice to his scholar: 
or, a few directions for the more regular assaulting in schools. Published by 
way of dialogue for the benefit of all who shall be so far advanced in the art, as 
to be fit for assaulting. Small 8vo. Edinburgh John Reid. 

1692 Hope (Sir W., Kt.)— The compleat Fencing-Master in which is 
fully Described the whole Guards, Parades, and Lessons, belonging to the 
Small-Sword, as also the best Rules for Playing against either Artists or others, 

with Blunts or Sharps. Together with Directions how to behave in a single 
Combat on Horse-back illustrated with figures Engraven on Copper-plates, 
representing the most necessary Postures. 2nd edition. 8vo. London 
Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms in the Poultrey. 

[12 copperplates, out of the text. This work, with a different 

title, is in every other respect a reproduction of the Scots Fencing 

Master.'] 

1694 Hope (Sir W. Kt.) — Sword-man's Vade Mecum. 2nd edition. 
i2mo. London Printed by J. Tailor. 

[The title of the second edition only shows a little difference in the 
spelling.] 

1702 and 1705 Blackwell (Henry). — The English Fencing Master, or the 
Compleat Tutor of the Small-Sword. Wherein the truest Method, after a Mathematical Rule, is plainly laid dow^n. Shewing also how necessary it is for all 
Gentlemen to learn this Noble Art. In a Dialogue between master and 
scholar. Adorn' d with several curious postures. 4to. London. 

[5 woodcuts, in the text. 24 copperplates, out of the text, folded. 
Dedicated to C. Tryon, Esq., of Bullick, Northants.J 

1707 Hope (Sir William, of Balcomie, Bart.) [Late Deputy-Governour of 
the Castle of Edinburgh]. — A New, Short, and Easy Method of Fencing or 
the Art of the Broad and Small Sword, Rectified and Compendiz'd, wherein 
the Practice of these two weapons is reduced to so few and general Rules, that 
any Person of indifferent Capacity and ordinary Agility of Body, may, in a very 
short time, attain to, not only a sufficient knowledge of the Theory of this art, 
but also to a considerable Adroitness in Practice, either for the Defence of his 
life, upon a just occasion, or preservation of his Reputation and Honour in any 
Accidental Scuffle, or Trifling Quarrel. 4to. Edinburgh: James Watson. 

[One large folded sheet, containing 16 figures engraved on copper.] 

171 1 Wylde (Zach. ) — The English Master of Defence or the Gentleman's 
Al-a-mode Accomphshment. Containing the True Art of Single-Rapier or 
Small Sword, withal the curious Parres and many more than the vulgar Terms 
of Art plainly exprest with the names of every particular Pass and the true 
performance thereof; withal the exquisite Ways of Disarming and Enclosing, 
and all the Guards at Broad-Sword and Quarter-Staff, perfectly demonstrated; 
shewing how the Blows, Strokes, Chops, Thro's, Flirts, Slips, and Darts are 
perform' d with the true Method of Travesing. 8vo. York: Printed by John 
White, for the Author. 

1714 Hope (Sir William, of Balcomie, Bart.) — New Method of Fencing, 
or the True and Solid Art of Fighting with the Back- Sword, Sheering-Sword, 
Small-Sword, and Sword and Pistol freed from the Errors of the Schools. 
2nd Edition. 4to. Edinburgh Printed by James Watson. 

1724 Hope (Sir William, Bart.) — A Vindication of the True Art of Self- 
Defence, with a proposal, to the Honourable Members of Parliament, for erecting a Court of Honour in Great Britain. Recommended to all Gentlemen, but 
particularly to the Soldiery. To which is added a Short but very useful 
memorial for Sword Men. 8vo. Edinburgh: William Brown and Company. 

[The same plate as that which appears in the work published by Sir 
W. Hope in 1707, and a frontispiece, representing the badge Gladiatorum 
ScoHcorum.^ 

1725 Hope (Sir William, Bart.) — Observations on the Gladiators' Stage- 
Fighting. 8vo. London. 

1728 McBane (Donald). — The expert sword-Man's companion or the 
True Art of self-defence, with an account of the Author's life and his transactions during the wars with France. To which is annexed the art of gunnerie. 
i2mo. Glasgow. Printed by James Duncan. 

[Portrait of McBane, and 22 plates, out of the text.] 

1729 Hope (Sir William, Bart.)— A Vindication of the True Art of Self- 
Defence, &c. 2nd edition. 8vo. Printed by W. Meadowes in London. 

[Same plate and frontispiece. Dedicated to the Right Honourable 
Robert Walpole.] 

1729 Valdin. — The Art of Fencing, as practised by Monsieur Valdin. 
8vo. London Printed by J. Parker. 

 Most humbly dedicated to his Grace the duke of Montagu.'] 

1730 B[lackwell] (H[enry]). — The Gentleman's Tutor for the Small 
Sword or the Compleat English Fencing Master. Containing the truest and 
plainest rules for learning that noble Art shewing how necessary it is for all 
gentlemen to understand the same, in thirteen various lessons between Master 
and Scholar. Adorn'd with several curious postures. Small 4to. London. 

[6 woodcuts.] 

1734 L' Abb AT. — The Art of Fencing, or the Use of the Small Sword. 
Translated from the French of the late celebrated Monsieur L'Abbat (Labat), 
Master of that Art at the Academy of Toulouse, by Andrew Mahon, Professor 
of the small-sword. i2mo. Dublin Printed by James Hoey. 

[12 copperplates, out of the text.] 

1735 L'Abbat. — The Art of Fencing, ko.. Translated from the French 
by Andrew Mahon. 2nd edition. i2mo, London Richard Wellington. 

1738 Miller (J.) [Captain]. — A treatise on fencing in the shape of an 
album of fifteen copperplates, engraved by Scotin, with one column of text. 
Folio. 

1746 Page (T. ) — The use of the Broad Sword. In which is shown the 
true method of fighting with that weapon, as it is now in use among the Highlanders deduc'd from the use of the scymitar, with every throw, cut, guard, 
and disarm. 8vo, 48 pp. Norwich: M.Chase. 

1747 Godfrey (John) [Captain]. — A Treatise upon the useful Science of 
Defence connecting the Small and Back Sword, and shewing the Affinity 
between them. Likewise endeavouring to weed the Art of those superfluous, 
unmeaning Practices which over-run it, and choke the true Principles, by reducing it to a narrow Compass, and supporting it with Mathematical Proofs. 
Also an Examination into the Performances of the most noted masters of the 
Back-Sword, who have fought upon the Stage, pointing out their Faults, and 
allowing their Abilities. 4to. London Printed for the Author by T. 
Gardner. 

1750 (.?) An album of copperplates representing various attitudes in fencing. Oblong 4to. Date about 1750. 

1763 Angelo. — L'Ecole des Armes, avec I'explication g^n^rale des principals attitudes et positions concernant I'Escrime. Oblong folio. Londres 
R. & J. Dodsley. 

[Dediee a Leurs Altesses Royales les Princes Guillaume-Henry et 
Henry-Frederic. Forty-seven copperplates, out of the text.] 
1765 Angelo. — L'Ecole des Armes, &c. Oblong folio. London: S. 
Hooi^er. 

[A second edition of M. Angelo's work containing same plates, but 
with two columns of text, in French and English.] 
1767 Fergusson (Hary).— a dictionary explaining the terms, guards, and 
positions, used in the art of the small sword. 8vo. [No place, no printer's 
name.] Hary is thus on the tide, and at page ii. 

1771-2 Lonnergan (A.) — The Fencer's Guide, being a Series of every 
branch required to compose a Complete System of Defence, Whereby the Admirers of Fencing are gradually led from the First Rudiments of that Art, 
through the most complicated Subtilties yet formed by imagination, or applied 

to practice, until the Lesson, herein many ways varied, also lead them insensibly on to the due Methods of Loose Play, which are here laid down, with every 
Precaution necessary for that Practice. In four parts. Part i and 2 contains 
such a general explanation of the Small Sword as admits of much greater 
Variety and Novelty than are to be found in any other work of this kind. Part 

3 shews, in the Use of the Broad Sword, such an universal knowledge of that 
Weapon, as may be very applicable to the use of any other that a man can lawfully carry in his hand. Part iv is a compound of the Three former, explaining 
and teaching the Cut and Thrust, or Spadroon Play, and that in a more subtile 
and accurate manner than ever appeared in Print. And to these are added 
Particular Lessons for the Gentlemen of the Horse, Dragoons, and Light Horse, 
or Hussars, with some necessary Precautions and an Index, explaining every 
term of that Art throughout the book. The whole being carefully collected 
from long Experience and Speculation, is calculated as a Vade-mecum for gentlemen of the Army, Navy, Universities, &c. 8vo. London. 

1771-2 Olivier. — Fencing Familiarized, or a new treatise on the Art of 
Sword Pjay. Illustrated by Elegant Engravings, representing all the different 
Attitudes in which the Principles and Grace of the Art depend; painted from 
hfe and executed in a most elegant and masterly manner. 8vo. London. 

[Facing the above title is its exact translation into French. The text 
is in both languages. Frontispiece and eight folded plates, engraved by 
Ovenden. Olivier was educated at the Royal Academy of Paris, and 
Professor of Fencing in St. Dunstan's Court, Fleet Street.] 
17 80-1 McArthur (J. )[of the Royal Navy]. — The Army and Navy Gentleman's Companion or a new and complete treatise on the theory and practice 
of Fencing, displaying the intricacies of smallsword play, and reducing the Art 
to the most easy and familiar principles by regular progressive Lessons. Illustrated by mathematical figures and adorned with elegant engravings after paintings from Hfe, executed in the most masterly manner, representing every material 
attitude of the Art. Large 410. London James Lavers. 

[Frontispiece engraved by J. Newton from a drawing by Jas. Sowerby, 
and 8 plates drawn by the Author and engraved by J. Newton.] 
1780 Olivier. — Fencing Familiarized, &c. 2nd ed tion. 8vo. London: 
J. Bell. 

[Dedicated to the Earl of Harrington. Same frontispiece as in first 
edition, but the plates are different, being drawn by J. Roberts, and engraved by D. Jjnkins, Goldar, W. Blake, andC. Grignon.] 
1784 McArthur (J.) — The Army and Navy Gentleman's Companion, &c. 
2nd edition. Plates. 410. London J. Murray. 
[Dedicated to John, Duke of Argyll] 
1787 Angelo (Domenico). — The School of Fencing, with a general explanation of the principal attitudes and positions pecuUar to the Art. Translated 
by Rowlandson. Oblong 4to. London. 

[This work was translated into French and reproduced, together with 
the plates, under the head Escrime,' by Diderot and D'Alembert in their 
 Encyclop^die.'] 

1787 Underwood (James) [of the Custom House]. — The Art of Fencing, 
or the use of the small sword. Corrected, revised, and enlarged. 8vo. Dublin 
Printed by T. Byrne. 

[Dedicated to His Grace, Charles, Duke of Rutland,] 

1790 Anti-Pugilism, or the science of defence exemphfied in short and easy 
lessons, for the practice of the Broad Sword and Single Stick. Whereby 
gentlemen may become proficients in die use of these weapons, without the 
help of a Master, and be enabled to chastise the insolence and temerity, so frequently met with, from those fashionable gentlemen, the Johnsonians, Big 
bennians, and Mendozians of the present Day a work perhaps, better calcu- 

lated to ext'rpate this reigning and brutal folly than a whole volume of sermons. 
By a Highland officer. Illustrated with copperplates. 8vo. London Printed 
for J, Aitkin. [4 copperplates, drawn by Cruickshank. 

1796 Rules and Regulations for the Sword Exercise of Cavalry. Royal 
8vo. London. [29 folding plates.] 

1797 Leach (Richard) [Sergeant in the Norfolk Rangers]. — The words 
of command and a brief explanation, embellished with engravings, representing 
the various cuts and attitudes of the new sword exercise. 8vo. Newcastle. 

1798 RowoRTH (C. ) I of the Royal Westminster Volunteers]. — The Art of 
defence on foot with the broad sword and sabre, uniting Scotch and Austrian 
methods, into one regular system. To which are added remarks on the spadroon. 2nd edition. 8vo. London Egerton. [Plates.] 

1798 Pepper (W. ) [of the Notts Yeomanry Cavalry]. — Treatise on the new 
broad sword exercise, with 14 divisions of movements as performed at Newmarket. i2mo. [5 plates.] 

1798-9 RowLANDSON (T.) — Hungarian and Highland broad sword. 
Twenty-four plates, designed and etched by T. Rowlandson, under the direction of Messrs. H. Angelo and Son, Fencing Masters to the Light Horse 
Voluntee-s of London and Westminster. Dedicated to Colonel Herries. 
Oblong folio. London Printed by C. Roworth. 

1799 Angelo (Domenico). — The school of fencing, &c. Translated by 
Rowlandson. 2nd edition. 8vo. London. 

1799 Sword Exercise for Cavalry. 8vo. London. [6 engravings.] 

1800 Sinclair (Capt. of the 42nd Regt.) — Cudgel-playing modernised, 
and improved or the science of defence exemplified in a few short and easy 
lessons for the practice of the broad sword or single stick on foot. 8vo. 
London J. Bailey. [Coloured frontispiece and folding plate.] 

1802 Hewes (Robert) [of Boston, U.S.] — Rules and regulations for the 
sword exercise of the Cavalry. To which is added the review exercise. The 
2nd American from the London Edition. Revised and corrected by Robert 
Hewes, teacher of the sword exercise for cavalry. 8vo. Philadelphia M. 
Carey. [28 plates.] 

1804 The art of defence on foot with the broad-sword and sabre. Adapted 
also for the Spadroon, or cut-and-thrust sword. Improved and augmented 
with the ten lessons of Mr. John Taylor late Broadsword Ma-ter to the Light 
Horse Volunteers of London and Westminster. Illustrated with plates by 
R. K. Porter, Esqr. 8vo. London. 

[This is a reproduction of Roworth's book (see 1798) with a number 
of alterations and additions, and fresh drawings.] 

1805 Gordon (Anthony). — A treatise on the science of defence for the 
sword, bayonet, and pike in close action. 4to. London. [19 plates.] 

1805 Mathewson (T.) [Lieutenant and Riding Master in the late Roxbrough Fencible Cavalry]. — Fencing familiarised, or a new treatise on the art 
of the Scotch broad sword, shewing the superiority of that weapon when opposed to anenemy armed with a spear, pike, or gun and bayonet. 8vo. Salford 
Printed by W. Cowdray, junr. [34. illustrations.] 

1809 Roland (J.) — The amateur of fencing. 8vo. London: T. Egerton. 

t8i2 Craig (Robert H.) — Rules and regulations for the sword exercise of 
the cavalry. 8vo. Baltimore. [26 plates.] 

1 8 17 Angelo. — A treatise on the utility and advantages of fencing, giving 
the opinions of the most eminent Authors and Medical Practitioners on the important advantages derived from a knowledge of the Art as a means of self 
defence, and a promoter of health, illustrated by forty-seven engravings. To 
which is added a dissertation on the use of the broad sword (with six descrip- 

tive plates). Memoirs of the late Mr. Angelo and a bio.^raphical sketch of 
Chevalier St. George, with his portrait. Foho. London: Published by Mr. 
Angelo, Bolton Row, and at his fencing academy. Old Bond Street. 

[Containing the same plates as the Ecole des Amies of the author's 
father, a portrait of St. George, engraved by W. Ward from a picture of 
Bronn, and six plates engraved and designed by Rowlandson, under the 
care of Angelo himself, in 1798-9.] 
1819 Martellt (C.) — An improved system of fencing, wherein the use of 
the small sword is rendered perfectly plain and familiar being a clear description and explanation of the various thrusts used, with the safest and best 
methods of parrying, as practised in the present age. To which is added a 
treatise on the art of attack and defence. 8vo. London J. Bailey. 
[One folding plate with 12 figures.] 
1822 A Self-Instructor of the new system of Cavalry and Infantry Sword 
Exercise comprehending directions for preparatory motions, assaults, guards, 
attack and defence, and divisions, as performed on foot, also as performed 
when mounted, with instructions for the old sword exercise and its attack and 
defence together with directions and some useful remarks on the Lance 
Exercise. 8vo. Manchester Bancks & Co. 

[One large folding plate, coloured, showing target and numerous 
figures. 

1822 Rolando (Le sieur Guzman). — The modern Art of Fencing, carefully revised and augmented with a technical glossary by J. T. Forsyth. 
i8mo. London: S. Leigh. [22 coloured plates.] 

1823 D'EoN (Frederick). — System of fencing as arranged and systematically taught by Frederick D'Eon, fencing-master. In thirty-one sections, for 
the first quarter's tuition. i2mo. Boston. 

1823 Roland (George). — A treatise on the theory and practice of the art 
of fencing. 8vo. Edinburgh. [12 plates.] 

1824 Roland (George). — A treatise on the theory and practice of the art 
of fencing. Royal 8vo. London. [12 plates.] 

1827 Roland (George) [Fencing-master of the Royal Academy, the 
Scottish Naval and Military Academy, &c., &c.] — An introductory course of 
fencing by George Roland. 8vo. Edinburgh. 
[5 lithographed platts.] 

1830 St. Angelo (a pupil of — sic). — The Art of fencing, wherein the rules 
and instructions with all the new thrusts and guards which have lately been introduced into the Fencing Schools are in this v/ork, that every one should be 
competent to meet his antagonist. For of late years our neighbours on the continent have been our superiors in that of all others, the most useful, necessary, 
and gentlemanly Science. Sm. 8vo. London T. Hughes. 

[One foldmg plate.] 

1 83 1 Art of Fencing. Corrected and revised by the author of the Broadsword exercise.' 8vo. London T. Hughes. 

1 83 1 Easy and Familiar Rules for attaining the art of attack and defence 
on foot with the broadsword, to which are added instructions for using of the 
single stick. 8vo. London T. Hughes. 

[One folding plate with 12 figures, being the same as those given in 
the pamphlet by a pupil of St. Angelo. 

1835 Angelo (Henry) [Superintendent of Sword Exercise to the Army]. — 
Instructions for the sword exercise, selected from His Majesty's rules and regulations, and expressly adapted for the yeomanry. 8vo. London Clowes & 
Sons. 

1837 Roland (George). — An introductory course of Fencing. With 5 
plates. 8vo. London Simpkin, Marshall. 

1840 Walker (D.) — Defensive Exercises, containing Fencing, the Broadsword, &c. i2mo. London H. Bohn. [Figures in the text.] 

1842 The Infantry Sword Exercise. Revised edition. 8vo. London 
W. Clowes & Sons. (23rd April.) 

1842 Walker (D. ). — Defensive exercise, containing wrestling, boxing, 
fencing, the broadsword, &c. New edition. i2mo. London H. G. Bohn. 
[With 100 woodcut illustrations.] 
184.5 Wright (T.) and Halliwell (J. O.) — Reliquiae antiquae. 8vo. 

[Vol. L, pp. 308, contains a poem 'On fencing with the two-handed 
sword,' from MSS. Harleian 3542, of the 15th century, in the British 
Museum. 
1846 Roland (Geo.) — Introductory Course of Fencing. 8vo. London: 
Simpkin. 

1846 Wilkinson (Hen-y) [M.R.A.S., Gunmaker]. — Observations on 
swords, addressed to civihans. 3rd edition. i2mo. London. 

1850 (?) Gribble. — Treatise on Fencing, Horsemanship, &c. 8vo. 
London Whittaker. 

1850 Wayn (Henry C.) [Brevet Major, U. S. Army]. — The SwoM Exercise 
arranged for military instruction. Published by authority of the War Department. 8vo. Washington: Printed by Gideon & Co. [23 plates.] 

[In two parts with separate title-pages, i. Fencing with the small 
sword, arranged for instruction in squads or classes. Washington, 1849, 
pp. 62, II plates. 2. Exercises for the broadsword, sabre, cut and thrust, 
and stick. Washington, 1849, PP- 43> plates.] 

1852 LocKWOOD (Henry H.) and Seager (E.) — Exercises in small 
arms and field artillery arranged for the naval service under an order of the 
Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography of the Navy department. [104 plates. 
Large 8vo. Philadelphia Printed by P. K. and P. G. Collins. 

[Part iv. pp. 151-168, small and broad sword exercises.] 

1853 Burton (R. F.) — A system of Bayonet Exercise. 8vo. London. 

1854 Roland (Geo.) — Introduction to Fencing and Ciymnastics. Royal 
8vo. London Simpkin. 

1858 Instructions for the Sword, Carbine, Pistol and Lance exercise, &c., 
&c. 8vo. London J. Parker «& Sons. 

1859 Berriman (W. M.) — Mihtiaman's Manual and sword play. i2mo. 
New York. 

1859 Meickle (R. ) — The Fencer's manual, a practical treatise on the 
small sword, &c. 8vo. Melbourne. [With illustrations.] 

i860 Chapman (George). — Method of attack and defence in the Art of 
Fencing. Folio. London Clowes & Sons. 

1861 Berriman (M. W.) — Militiaman's Manual and sword-play without 
a master. 2nd edition. i2mo. New York D. van Nostrand. 

1861 Chapman (George). — Foil practice with a review of the art of 
fencing, according to the theories of La Boessiere, Hamon, Gomard, and 
Grisier. 8vo. London: Clowes & Sons. [4 lith. plates.] 

1861 Stephens (Thomas). — A new system of broad and small sword 
exercise, comprising the broad sword exercise for cavalry and artillery, and the 
small sword cut and thrust practice for infantry and navy. 2nd edition. 
Svo. Milwaukee Jermain & Brightman. [62 illustrations.] 

1862 Griffiths (T.) — Modern Fencer, with the most recent means of 
attack and defence. i2mo. London Warne. 

1862 The Infantry Swcrd Exercise. Revised edition. i2mo. London. 

1 862 HuTTON (A. ) [Lieut, her Majesty's Cameron Highlanders]. — Swordsmanship. Writtf^n for the members of the Cameron Fencing Club. 8vo. 
Simla printed at the Simla Advertiser Press. 

1862 McClellan (George B.) — Manual of bayonet exercise: prepared 
for the use of the army of the United States. 8vo. Philadelphia. 

1863 Berriman (W. M.) — Militiaman's Manual and sword play. 3rd 
edition. i2mo. New York. 

1863 Gymnastic Exercises, system of fencing, and exercises for the regulation clubs. Demy i2mo. London Horse Guards. 

1864 Berriman (W. M.) — Militiaman's Manual and sword play. 4th 
edition. i2mo. New York Van Nostrand. 

1864 Chapvtan (George). — Notes and observations on the art of fencing. 
A sequel to Foil Practice.' Part i, No. i. 8vo. London Clowes & Sons. 

1867 HuTTON (Alfred) [Lieut. King's Dragoon Guards]. — Swordsmanship 
and Bayonet-fencing. 8vo. London W. Clowes & Sons. 

1868 Griffiths (T.) — The Modern Fencer with the most recent means 
of attack and defence. i2mo. London Warne. 

1871 Instructions for the Sword, Carbine, Pistol, and Lance Exercise. 
For the use of cavalry. i6mo. London War Office. 

1873 Corbester (A. F.) — Theory of fencing with the small sword exercise. 8vo. Washington. 

1871; Burton (R. F.) — A new system of Sword Exercise for Infantry. 
Post 8vo. London Clowes. 

1880 Waite (T. M. ) [Professor of Fencing, late 2nd Life Guards]. — 
Lessons in Sabre, Singlestick, Sabre and Bayonet and Sword Feats or how 
to use a cut and thrust sword. 8vo. London Weldon & Co. 
[\A^ith 34 illustrations.] 

1882 Castellote (R.) — Handbook of Fencing. i8mo. London 
Ward & Lock. 

1882 HuTTON (Alfred) [late Captain, King's Dragoon Guards]. — The 
Cavalry Swordsman. Bayonet fencing and sword practice. 8vo. London 
W. Clowes & Sons. 

1883 McCarthy (T. A.) — Quarter-Staff. A practical manual. 2mo. 
London Sonnenschein & Co. [With 23 figures.] 

1884 Castle (Egerton) [M.A., F.S.A.l — Schools and Masters of Fence 
from the middle ages to the i8th century. Illustrated with reproductions of old 
engravings and carbon plates of ancient swords. 4to. London: Bell & Son. 

[141 woodcuts in the text. Engraved frontispiece and 6 carbon plates.] 

1884 Elliott (Major W. J.) [^ate of H.M. War Department^.— The Art 
of Attack and Defence in use at the present time. Fencing: Sword against Sword 
or Bayonet, Singlestick, Bayonet against Sword or Bavonet Boxing. 8vo. 
London Dean & Son. [With figures.] 

1885 Infantry Sword and Carbine, Sword-Bayonet Exercise. 32mo. 
Chatham Gale & Polden. 

1885 A New Book of Sports. Reprinted from the Saturday Review.' 8vo. 
London R. Bentley & Son. 

[Backsword and Schlager, pp. 137. Rapier and Dagger, pp. 146.] 

1886 Shakespearian Swordsmanship. 

[An article in the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News,' No. 

1886 Boxers and Fencers. 

[Article in New York Herald,' December 3. 

1887 ECKFORD (Henry). — Fencing and the New York Fencers. 

[The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine,' vol. xxxiii. No. 3 

1888 Barroll (Dr. ) — Some observations on Fencing. Illustrated Naval 
and Military Magazine,' Nov. and Dec. 4to. London. 

[With photolithographs.] 
1888 Dodge (Theodore C.) [Colonel U.S.A.]— Fencing. (Two numbers 
in Harper's Young People,' April 14 and April 21.) 
[Numerous cuts in the text.] 

1888 HuTTON (Alfred) [late Capt. King's Dragoon Guards]. Cold Steel 
a practical Treatise on the sabre, based on the old English backsword play of 
the eighteenth century, combined with the method of the modern Itahan school. 
Also on various other weapons of the present day, including the short swordbayonet and the constable's truncheon. Illustrated with numerous figures, and 
also with reproductions of engravings from masters of bygone years. 8vo. 
London W. Clowes & Sons. 

[Portrait of the author and numerous engravings.] 

1889 Barroll (Dr.) — The Sabre. Illustrated Naval and Mihtary Magazine,' Feb. April, May. London. [With photolithographs.] 

Benard. — Eleven plates on Fencing, containing 48 Positions. 4to. \_n.d.'\ 
Waite (J. M.) — Sword and Bayonet Exercise. \n.d.'\ 

 On fencing with two-handed Sword.' 

[A poem from MS. Harleian 3542, of the 15th century, British 
Museum. 
The names of yo^ Pushes as they are to be learned gradually. [MS. 
British Museum, Additional, No. 5540. Folios 122-123.] 
[Date, middle of the 17th century.] 

FRENCH. 

1533 (?) La noble science des joueurs d'esp^e. 4to. Paris. 

1535 La noble science des joueurs d'esp^e. [Ici commence un tres bean 
livret, contenant la chevaleureuse science des joueurs d'esp^e, pour apprendre 
a jouer de I'esp^e k deux mains et aultres semblables espies, avec aussi les 
braquemars et aultres courts cousteaux lesquels Ion use a une main. 

At the end Imprim6 en la ville Dan vers par moy, Guillaume Wosterman, 
demourant k la licorne d'or. 4to. Antwerp. 1535 (1538?). 

[Black letter. 14 whole page and 12 half page woodcuts.] 

1573 Sainct-Didier (Henry de) [Gentilhomme Proven9al]. — Traict^ 
contenant les secrets du premier livre sur I'esp^e seule, mere de toutes armes, 
qui sont esp^e, dague, cappe, targue, bouclier, rondelle, I'esp^e^ deux mains et 
les deux espies, avec ses pourtraictures, ayant les armes au poing pour se 
deffendre et offencer k un mesme temps des coups qu'on pent tirer, tant en 
assaillant qu'en deffendant, fort utile et profitable pour adextrer la noblesse et 
suposts de Mars redig^ par art, ordre et pratique. Dedi6 a la Maiest^ du 
Roy tres chrestien Charles neufiesme. A Paris, imprim^ par Jean Mettayer et 
Matthurin Challenge. Avec privilege du Roy. 4 to. Paris. 

[Portrait of the author, of the King, and 64 woodcuts in the text.] 

1588 Polycarpe (de St.) — Sonnets contre les escrimeurs et duellistes. 
Petit in-4to. Paris Jamet Mattayer. 

S 

1596 Arbeau (Thoinot).— OrcMsographie, m^tode et t^orie en forme de 
discours et tablalure pour apprendre k dancer, battre le tambour, jouer du fifre 
et arigot tirer des amies et escrimer, avec autres honnestes exercices fort convenables a la jeunesse. Jean Tabourot. Lengres par Jehan dez Preyz. 
4to. Lengres. [Woodcuts. 

1609 Cavalcabo (H.) et Patenostrier. — Traits, ou instruction pour 
tirer des amies, de I'excellent scrimeur Hyeronims Cavalcabo, Bolognois, avec 
un discours pour tirer del'esp^eseule fait par le deffunt Patenostrier, de Rome. 
Traduit d'ltalien en fran9ois par le seigneur de Villamont, chevalier de I'ordre 
de Hierusalem et gentilhomme de la chambre du Roy. Chez Claude le Villain. 
i2nio. Rouen. 

1610 Desbordes. — Discours de la th^orie, de la pratique et I'excellence 
des amies. 4to. Nancy chez Andie. 

1610 Sauaron (Jean) [Maistre, sieur de Villars, Conseiller du Roy, President & Lieutenant General en la Seneschaussee d'Auvergne, & siege Presidial 
a Clairmont]. — Traicte De I'Espee Fran9oise. Au Roy Tres-Crestien. Paris 
Adrian Perier. 

1615 Wallhausen (Jean-Jacques de). — L'art militaire pour I'infanterie, 
auquel est monstre le maniement du mousquet et de la pique, &c., descrit en 
langage allemand et traduit en fran9ois. Small 8vo. Franckfort. 

[Numerous copperplates.] 

1 618 Breen (A. van). — Le maniement d'armes de Nassau avecq Rondelles, 
Piques, Espies et Targes representez par Figures. Folio. La Haye. 

1619 GiGANTi (Nicolat) [Venetien]. — Escrime nouvelle ou theatre auquel 
sont representees diverses manieres de parer et de frapper, d'esp^e seul et 
d'esp^e et poignard ensemble, demontr^es par figures entaill^es en cuivre, 
public en faveur de ceux qui se delectent en ce tres noble exercice des armes, 
et traduit en langue fran9oise par Jacques de Zeter. Apud Ja. de Zeter. Oblong 4to. Francofurti. 

[Portrait of the author and 42 copperplates out of the text.] 

1628 Thfbault (Girard) [d'AnversJ. — Academic del'espee, ou se demonstrent par reigles mathematiques, sur le fondement d'un cercle myst^rieux, la 
th^orie et pratique des vrais et iusqu'a present incognus secrets du maniement 
des armes, a pied et k cheval.. Folio. Leyde. 

[Frontispiece, portrait of Thibauld, 9 plates containing the coats-ofarms of the nine kings and princes who subscribed to this work. 46 
copperplates folio size.] 

1653 Besnard (Charles) [Breton]. — Le maistre d'armes liberal, traittant 
de la th6orie de l'art et exercice de I'esp^e seule, ou fleuret, et de tout ce qui 
s'y pent faire et pratiquer de plus subtil, avec les principales figures et postures 
en taille douce contenant en outre plusieurs moralitez sur ce sujet. Dedi^ a 
Nosseigneurs des Estats de la province et duch6 de Bretagne. A Rennes, chez 
Julien Herbert. 4to. Rennes. [4 copperplates, out of the text 

1668 Thfbault (Girard). — Acad^mie de I'espde. 2nd edition. 
Folio. Bruxelles. 

1670 De la Touche [Maistre en fait d'armes a Paris, des pages de la 
reine, et de ceux du due d Orleans]. — Les vrays principes de I'esp^e seule^ 
dediez au Roy. Obi. 4to. Paris Fran9ois Muguet. 

[Portrait of la Touche, 35 copperplates, out of the text.] 

1672 NoRO WiLLARDS (Comte de). — Essai sur l'art des armes, opuscule 
d^di^' au mar^chal de Turenne. 8vo. Paris, chez Seneuse. 

1676 Le Perche (Jean-Baptiste) [du Coudray]. — L'exercice des armes ou 
le maniement du fleuret. Pour ayder la m^moire de ceux qui sont amateurs 
de cet art. Chez N. Bonnard. Oblong 4to. Paris. [35 copperplates.] 

1686 LiANCOUR (Wernesson de) — Le maistre d'armes ou l'exercice de 
I'esp^e senile dans sa perfection. D^di^ k Monseigneur le due de Bourgogne. 

Les attitudes de ce livre ont est^ poshes Dar le sieur de Liancour et gravies par 
A. Perelle. A Paris, chez I'auteur. Oblons^ 4to. Paris. 

[Portrait of the author and 14 copperplates, out of the text.] 

1690 Labat. — L'art de I'esp^e. i2mo. Toulouse. 
[With copperplates.] 

1692 Liancour (Wernesson de). — Le maistre d'armes. 2nd 
edition. Oblong 4to. Amsterdam. 

1696 Labat [Maitre en fait d'armes de la ville et acad^mie de Toulouse]. 
L'art en fait d'armes, ou de I'^p^e seule, avec les attitudes dedi^ a Monsei^neur le comte d'Armaignac, Grand ecuyer de France, &c. 8vo. Toulouse 
J. Boude. [12 copperplates, out of the text.] 

1701 Labat [Maitre d'armes a Toulouse]. — Questions sur l'art en fait 
d'armes, ou de I'ep^e, dedi^^ Monseigneur le due de Bourgogne. 4to. Toulouse G. Robert. 

1721 De Brye (J.) [Maistre en fait d'armes). — L'art de tirer des armes, 
reduit en abr^g^ methodique. D^di^ a Monseigneur le marechal due de Villeroy. 8vo. Paris C. L. Thibourt. 

[Frontispiece and medallion portrait of the Dauphin.] 

1721 Beaupr^ (Jean Jamin de) [Maitre en fait d'armes de Son Altesse S. 
Electorale de Baviere, a la celebre University d'Ingolstadt]. — M^thode tres 
facile pour former la noblesse dans l'art de I'^p^e, faite pour Futility de tous les 
amateurs de ce bel art. On trouvera en ce livre, ranges en ordre, tous les 
mouvements g^n^ralement bien expliqu^s qui sont necessaires a bien apprendre 
et a enseigner a faire des armes, en allemand et en fran9ais, avec 25 planches 
qui repr^sentent toutes les principales actions, a la derniere perfection. Ce jeu 
est choisi de I'ltalien, de I'Allemand, de I'Espagnol et du Fran9ais, et compost 
de mani^re, par sa grande pratique, qu'on peut I'appeller le centre des armes. 
Dedi^ k Son Altesse Electorale de Baviere. 4to. Ingolstadt. 
[25 copperplates, out of the text.] 

1731 De Brye (J. ) — L'art de tirer des armes. 2nd edition. 8vo. 
Paris. 

1732 Basnierres (Chevalier de). — De la beauts de I'escrime de I'^p^e, 
dedi^ au marechal de Villars. 8vo. Paris, chez Thiboust. 

1736-7 GiRARD (P. J. F. )[Ancien officier de Marine]. — Nouveau traits 
de la perfection sur le fait des armes, dedi^ au Roi. Enseignant la maniere 
de combattre, de I'^p^e de pointe seule, toutes les gardes etrangeres, I'espadon, 
les piques, hallebardes, &c. tels qu'ils se pratiquent aujourd'hui dans l'art militaire de France. Orn^ de figures en taille douce. Obi. 4to. Paris. 

[Frontispiece and 116 copperplates, out of the text, engraved by 
Jacques de Favanne.] 

1737 Martin [Maistre en fait d'armes de I'acad^mie de Strasbourg]. — 
Le Maistre d'armes, ou I'abr^g^ de I'exercice de I'^p^e. Orn^ de figures en 
taille douce. i2mo. Strasbourg. [16 copperplates, out of text.] 

1740 GiRARD (P. J. F.) — Nouveau Traits de la Perfection sur le fait des 
Armes, &c. 4to. La Haye. 

1742 Charpentie [de I'acad^mie de Lyon]. — Les vrays principes de 
r^p^e, dediez a Monseigneur le due de Villeroy. 8vo. Amsterdam. 

1749 ^AS (Fran9ois). — Nouvelles et utiles observations pour bien tirer des 
armes. 8vo. Basle. 

[Dedicated to the Colonels of the Basle troops and MM. J. Bourcard 
and Abel de Wettstein.J 

1750 Le Perche (Jean-Baptiste) [du Coudray]. — L'exercice des armes. 
2nd edition. Oblong 4to. Paris. [With the addition of 5 plates.] 

26o APPENDIX 

1752 De Chevigny. — Science des personnes de cour et d'^p^e. 2nd 
edition. Tome vii. chapter x. i2mo. Amsterdam. 

[A chapter dedicated to the art of fencing. 8 folded copperplates.] 

1754 GORDINE (Gerard) [Capitaine, et maitre en fait d'armes]. — Principes 
et quintessence des armes. Dedi^ a S. A. Jean-Theodore, due des Deux- 
Bavieres, cardinal de la sainte ^glise romaine, 6veque et prince de Liege, &c. 
4to. Liege S. Bourguignon. [20 copperplates, out of text, by Jacob.] 

1763 Angelo. — L'Ecole des Armes, avec I'explication g^n6rale des prin-' 
cipales attitudes et positions concernant TEscrime. Oblong folio. Londres 
R. & J. Dodsley. 

[Dediee a Leurs Altesses Royales les Princes Guillaume-Henry et 
Henry-Fr^d6ric. Forty-seven copperplates, out of the text.] 

1763 M^moire pour le sieur Menessiez, Maitre en fait d'armes et maitre 
des pages de M. le comte de Clermont. Contre la Communaut^ des Maitres 
en fait d'armes. 

At the end De I'imprimerie de C. F. Simon, imprimeurs de la Reine, et 
de I'Archevech^, Rue des Mathurins. 4to. Paris. 

1765 Angelo. — L'Ecole des Armes, &c. 2nd edition. Oblong folio. 
Londres. 

[This edition contains the same plates as the first (vide 1763), but has 
two columns of text in French and Engiish, It was printed byS. Hooper 
in London.] 

1765 O'SuLLiVAN (Daniel) [Maitre en fait d'armes des academies du Roi]. 
L'escrime pratique ou principes de la science des armes. 8vo. Paris Sebastien Jorry. 

1766-7 Danet [Syndic-garde de la Compagnie des maitres d'armes de 
Paris]. — L'art des armes, ou la maniere la plus certaine de se servir utilement 
de r^p^e, soit pour attaquer, soit pour se defendre, simplifi^e et demontr^e 
dans toute son ^tendue et sa perfection, suivant les meilleurs principes de 
th^orie et de pratique adopt^s actuellem^nt en France. Ouvrage n^cessaire a 
la jeune noblesse, aux militaires et a ceux qui se destinent au service du Roy, 
aux personnes me me qui, par la distinction de leur ^tat ou par leurs charges, 
sont obligees de porter I'^p^e et a ceux qui veulent faire profession des armes. 
Dedi^ a Son Altesse Monseigneur le prince de Conty. Tome premier. 8vo. 
1766. Tome second, contenant la refutation des critiques et la suite du meme 
traits. 8vo. Paris. T767. 

[Frontispiece and 43 copperplates, out of the text.] 

1766 |La Boessiere]. — Observations sur le traits de l'art des armes, 
pour servir de d( fense la verity des principes enseign^s par les Maitres d'armes 
de Paris par M. maitre d'armes des academies du Roi, au nom de sa 
compagnie. 8vo. Paris. 

1767 Angelo. — L'Ecole des Armes, &c. 3rd edition. Oblong folio. 
Londres. 

1770 Battier. — La th^orie pratique de l'escrime, pour la pointe seule, 
avec des remarques pour I'assaut. i2mo. Paris. 

1771-2 Olivier [Professor of Fencing in St. Dunstan's Court, Fleet Street, 
London. Of the Royal Academy of Paris]. — L'art des armes simplifi^. Nouveau traits sur la maniere de se servir de I'ep^e. 8vo. Londres Jean Bell. 
[Frontispiece and 8 plates, out of text.] 

1772 Batier [or Battier]. — La th^orie pratique de l'escrime pour la pointe 
seule, avec des remarques instructives pour I'assaut et les mo\ ens d'y parvenir 
par gradation. Dedi^ k S. A. S. le due de Bourbon. 8vo. Paris. 

[One engraving.] 

1775 Navarre (C.) [Maitre d'armes de la premiere compagnie de la 
maison du Roi]. — L'art de vaincre par I'^p^e, d^di6 k messieurs les Gardes-du- 

Corps du Roi de la compagnie de Noailles. Avec approbation de la compagnie. 
i8mo. Paris. 

1775 Freville (Chevalier de). — Maximes et instructions sur I'art de 
tirer des amies. 8vo. Petersbourg. 

1776 Freville (Chevalier de). — Maximes et instructions sur I'art de tirer 
des armes. 2nd edition. 8vo. Leipsig. 

1778 Demeuse (Nicolas) [Garde-du-Corps de S.A.S. le Prince Eveque a 
Liege et Maitre en fait d'armes]. — Nouveau traits de I'art des armes, dans 
lequel on ^tablit les principes certains decet art, et oii Ton enseigne les moyens 
les plus simples de les mettre en pratique. Ouvrage n^cessaire aux personnes 
qui se destinent aux armes et utile a celles qui veulent se rappeler les principes 
qu'on leur a enseign^s. i2mo. Liege Desoer. 

[4 copperplates, out of text.] 

1782 Bremond (Alexandre, Picard). — Traits en raccourci sur I'art des 
armes. 8vo. Turin. 

1786 Demeuse (Nicolas). — Nouveau traits de I'art des armes. 
2nd edition. i2mo. Liege Desoer. [Contains 14 plates.] 

1787 Danet [Ecuyer, Syndic-Garde des ordres de la Compagnie des 
Maitres en fait d'armes des Academies du Roi en la ville et Fauxbourgs de Paris, 
aujourd'hui directeur de I'Ecole Royale d'Armes]. — L'art des armes, oii Ton 
donne I'application de la th^orie a la pratique de cet art avec les principes m^thodiques adopt^s dans nos ^colesroyales d'armes. 2nd edition. 2 vols. 8vo. 
Paris. [45 copperplates, out of text.] 

1787 (?) Angelo (D.). — Escrime [Diderot et D'Alembert's Encyclopedic]. 

[This is a reproduction and translation of Angelo's work published in 

London in 1787.] 

1795 Planches de L' Encyclopedic M^thodique. Nouvelle edit"on enrichie 

de remarques. Dedi^e a la serenissime Republique de \'enise. Art Militaire, 

Equitation, Escrime, &c. Folio. Padova. 

1798 [An vi] Danet. — L'art des armes 3rd edition. B^lin, rue 
St. Jacques. 2 vols. 8vo. Paris, 

1799 Freville (Chevalier de). — Maximes et instructions sur l'art de tirer 
des armes. 3rd edition. 8vo. Leipsig. 

1800 Demeuse (Nicolas). — Nouveau trait6 de l'art des armes 
3rd edition. Imprimerie de Blocquel. To the original text is added a Diclionnaire de l'art des armes. i2mo. Lille and Paris. 

[14 copperplates, different from the previous editions.] 

1801 Bertrand [Maitre d'armes]. — L'escrime appliqu^e a l'art militaire. 
8vo. Paris. 

1804 SAINT-MARTI^^ (J. de) [Maitre d'armes imperial de 1' Academic 
Theresienne]. — L'art de faire des armes r^duit a ses vrais principes. Contenant tous les principes n^cessaires a cet art, qui y sont expliqu^s d'une 
maniere claire et intelligible. Cet ouvrage est compost pour la jeune noblesse 
et pour les personnes qui se destinent au metier de la guerre, ainsi que pour 
tous ceux qui portent I'^pee. On y a joint un traits de I'espadon, oii Ton 
trouve les vrais principes de cet art, qui y sont expliqu^s d'une fa9on ais^e, 
et qui est rempli de d^couvertes vraiment nouvelles. Dddi^ a S.A.R. Monseigneur Tarchiduc Charles. 4to. Vienna. [72 figures.] 

1815 Moreau. — Essai sur l'art de l'escrime. 8vo. Nantes. 1815. 

1816 MuLLER (A.)— Theorie sur l'escrime a cheval, pour se d^fendre 
avec avantage contre toute espece d'armes blanches. 4to. Paris. 

1817 Chatelain.— Traite d'escrime a pied et a cheval, contenant la 
demonstration des positions, bottes, parades, feintes, ruses, et gen^rale- 

ment tous les coups d'armes connus dans les Academies. 8vo. Paris 
Maginel. [9 lithographed plates. J 

1818 La BoESSifeRE (M.) — Traits de I'art des armes k I'usage des professeurs et des amateurs. 4to. Paris. 

18 18 Chatelain. — Trait( d'escrime, k pied et a cheval, contenant la 
demonstration des positions, bottes, parades, feintes, ruses, &c. 2« Edition. 
8vo. Avec planches. Paris. 

1820 Lafaugere (Justin). — Traits de I'art de faire des armes. 8vo. 
I.yon. [2 folding plates.] 

1821 L[homandie] (P. F. M.) — La Xiphonomie, ou I'art de I'escrime, 
poeme didactique en quatre chants par P.-F.-M. L., Amateur, ^leve de feu 
Texier de la Boessiere. 8vo. Angouleme Imprimerie Broquisse. 

1825 Lafaugere (Justin). — Traits de I'art de faire des armes. 8vo. 
Paris Bouchard. 

1826 Theories 6trangeres sur le maniement du sabre. 

1827 Hamon (P. G.) — Manuel de gymnastique suivi d'un Traits sur I'art 
des armes. 8vo. Londres. [Lithographed plates.] 

1828 FouG^RE. — L'art de ne jamais etre tu^ ni bless^ en Duel, sans avoir 
pris aucune lefon d'armes, et lors meme qu'on aurait affaire au premier Tireur 
de I'univers. i2mo. Paris. [A copperplate.] 

1828 MuLLER (Al. ) — Th^orie sur I'escrime k cheval, pour se d^fendre 
avec avantage contre toute espece d'armes blanches. 2^ Edition. Paris Cordier. [With an atlas of 54 plates.] 

1830 (?) DoNON [Ex-Adjudant-Major des ci-devant lanciers polonais], — 
L'escrime moderne ou ncuveau traits simp]ifi6 de l'art des armes. 8vo. 
[13 plates in ouiline.] 

1830 Ghersl— Traits sur I'Art de faire des Armes. 8vo. Paris. 

1832 PiNETTE (Joseph). Ecole du tirailleur, ou maniement de la baionnette appliqu6 aux exercices et manoeuvres de I'infanterie. i8mo. Paris 
Dumaine. [32 figures.] 

1836 De Bast (B.) — Manuel d'escrime. 8vo. Bruxelles H. Dumont. 
[7 folding plates in outline, and a lithographed portrait of the author.] 

1836 MuLLER (Al.)— Maniement de la baionnette appliqu6 a I'attaque et 
 la defense de I'infanterie. 4to. Paris. [20 plates.] 

1838 Lafaugere (L. J.) — Nouveau manuel d'escrime. Nouvelle Edition. 
i2mo. Paris. [Manuels-Roret.] 

1840 (?) Dictionnaire des Arts Acad^miques Equitation, escrime, danse, 
natation faisant partie de 1' Encyclopedic 4to. Paris. [16 plates.] 

1840 L[homandie] (P. F. M.) — La Xiphonomie, ou l'art de I'escrime, 
poeme didactique en quatre chants. 8vo. Angouleme Lefraise. 

[1840] Selmnitz [Capitaine de Tarm^e saxonne]. — De I'escrime a la 
1 aionnette, ou instruction pour I'emploi du fusil d'infanterie comme arme 
d'attaque et de defense. Traduit de I'allemand par J.-B.-N. Merjay. i2mo. 
Paris et Bruxelles. n.d. [4 plates comprising 12 figures.] 

1841 Lafaugere (J.) — L'Esprit de I'escrime; poeme didactique. 8vo. 
Paris Garnier. [Portrait of the author.] 

1842 Escrime k la baionnette (Extrait de I'instruction provis. sur I'exercice 
et les manoeuvres des bataillons de chasseurs a pied). 32mo. Strasbourg 
Levrant. 

1842 Roger (M.) — Principes d'escrime. i2mo. Paris. 
184.3 DoNON. — Manuel des armes ou guide d^s professeurs. Nouveau 
traite simplifie. i2mo. Paris Imprimerie de A. Appert. 

1843 EscHER (J. Baptiste). — M^thode d'escrime. 8vo. Fribourg. 

1845 PosSELLiER (A. y. J.) [dit Gomard]. — La Th^orie de rescrime, enseign^e par une m^thode simple, bas^e sur I'observation de la nature prec^d^e 
d'une introduction dans laquelle sont r^sum^s tous les principaux ouvrages sur 
Tescrime qui ont paru jusqu'a ce jour. 8vo. Paris Dumaine. 

1846 PiNETTE (Joseph). — Ecole du tirailleur, &c. 8^ Edition. i8mo. 
Paris: Dumaine. [32 figures. Vide ist edition, 1832.] 

1847 Grisier (Augustin). — Les armes et le duel. 8vo. Paris Gamier. 
[Engraved portrait of the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and 10 lithographed plates.] 

1847 PiNETTE (Joseph). — Refutation de I'escrime a la ba'fonnette, de M. 
Gomard. 8vo. Paris Dumaine. 

1847 PiNETTE (Joseph). — Th^orie de I'escrime k la baionnette. i8mo. 
Paris Dumaine. [16 figures.] 

1847 POSSELLIER (A. J. J.) [dit Gomard]. — L'Escrime a la bai'onnette, ou 
Ecole du fantassin pour le maniement du fusil comme arme blanche. 8vo. 
Paris. [36 plates.] 

1849-50 Henry.— Sur I'art de I'escrime en Espagne au moyen age, 

1851 (?) Th^orie pratique sur I'art de la savate (appel^e chausson ou 
adresse parisienne) et de la canne avec demonstration expliqu^e de la lecon 
par un amateur, eieve de Michel, dit Pisseux, Professeur. 8vo. Paris. 

1855 ROBAGLIA (A. ) — Escrime-pointe. Nouvelle th^orie, d^di^e k I'armee, 
sur le maniement de rep^e. i6mo. Metz Verronnais. [8 plates.] 

1856 Embry (J. A.) — Dictionnaire raisonn^ d'escrime, ou Principes de 
I'art des armes d'apres la m^thode enseign^e par les premiers professeurs de 
France, pr^c^d^ de I'histoire de I'escrime et de I'analyse de Thistoire de France 
dans ses rapports avec le duel, i*"*^ et 2 parties. In-8, avec 8 pl. Toulouse. 

[L'ouvrage, compose d'environ 700 pages, sera divise en 4 parties, et 
paraitra en 2 series: i^' serie, comprenant I'histoire de I'escrime; 
I'analyse de I'histoire de France, dans ses rapports avec I'escrime etL e 
duel. Une nouvelle edition de cette V^ sene a ete annoncee en 1859, 
en vente a Paris chez M. Bohin de Corday, 18, quai de la Megiseerie. 
La 2" serie, qui sera publiee en deux parties, renfermera un Traite 
theorique sur I'art des armes et le Dictionnaire raisonne d'escrime.] 

1856 Larribeau [Professeur d'escrime et de canne]. — Nouvelle theorie 
du jeu de la canne, ornee de 60 figures, indiquant les poses et les coups. i2mo. 
Paris [chez I'auteur, passage VerdeauJ. 

[Portrait of the author and 4 plates.] 

1857 Lemoine (A1.) — Traite d'education physique, comprenant la natation, I'escrime k la baionnette, la boxe fran9aise, I'escrime a I'epee, la gymnastique. Gr. in-8. Gand. [With an atlas of 56 plates. 

1859 D'AzEMAR. — Combats k la baionnette. Theorie adoptee en 1859 P^^ 
I'armee d'ltalie commandee par I'Empereur Napoleon IH. i6mo. Torino. 

i860 Provost (Pierre). — Theorie pratique de I'escrime simplifiee pour 
I'enseignement mutuel. 8vo. Londres Nissen et Parker. 

i860 SiEVERBRUCK (J.) — Manuel pour I'etude des regies de I'escrime au 
fleuret et a I'espadon. 4to. Paris Tanera. 

1862 BazancourT- (le baron Cesar de). — Les Secrets de I'epee. 8vo. 
Paris Amyot. 

1862 Blot (Jacques Antoine).—L'Ecole de I'escrime petit manuel pratique k I'usage de I'armee. 32mo. Paris Marpon. 

1862 CoRDELOis [Professeur d'escrinie]. — Le9ons d'armes. Du duel et de 
i'aisaut. Gr. 8vo. Paris Tanera. [28 plates comprising 42 figures.] 

1862 Lozfes (Bertrand). — Th^orie de rescrime simultan^e. i8mo. Paris 
Dumaine. 

1863 Grisier (Augustin). — Les armes et le duel. Preface anecdotique 
par Alexandre Dumas. Notice sur I'auteur par Roger de Beauvoir. Epitre 
en vers de M^ry. Lettres du comte d'H et du comte d'l 3^ 
Edition, revue, corrig^e et augment^e. Gr. in-8. Paris Dentu. 

[Portrait of the author by Lassalle and drawings of E. de Beaumont.] 

1864 Grisier (Augustin). — Les armes et le duel. 2^ Edition. 8vo. 
Paris. 

1864 MiLLOTTE. — Traits d'escrime, Pomte. i8mo. Paris Dumaine. 

1864 RoBAGLiA (A.) — Cours complet d'escrime. Theories sur le maniement de I'^p^e ou I'Art de faire des armes, simplifi^ et d^montr^ suivant tous 
les principes th^oriques et pratiques pr^c^d^ de quelques notices et de recueils 
histoiiques. i2mo. Paris Fontenay. 

1865 Lafaugere' (J.) — Nouveau manuel complet d'escrime, ou Traits 
de I'art de faire des armes. Nouvelle Edition, entierement refondue et orn^e de 
vignettes intercal^es dans le texte. i8mo. Paris Roret. 

1866 Instruction pour I'enseignement pr^paratoire de I'escrime k I'^p^e. 
i8mo. Pans Dumame. [9 lithographed plates.] 

1866 Notice biographique sur Jean-Louis et son Ecole. 8vo. Montpeiller Richard. 

[Attributed to General D a pupil of Jean-Louis. Lithographed 

portrait.] 

1867 Statuts et reglemens faits par les maitres en fait d'armes de la ville 
et fauxbourgs de Paris, 1644. Paris Henri Daressy. 

1869 Bonaparte (Prince Pierre-Napoleon). — Le maniement de I'ep^e r6duit a sa plus simple expression utile. 2e Edition. In 121110. Paris Imprimerie Aubry. 

1869 Campenon (le g^n^ral). — Lemons d'armes. 4to. Lyon. 

1872 K. (C. de) [le colonel]. — Annotations m^thodiques et succinctes de 
I'escrime. 8vo. Paris L^autey. 

1872 Legouve (Ernest). — Un tournoi au XIX« siecle. 4to. Lemerre. 

1872 Trait^s du duel judiciaire, relations de pas d'armes et tournois par 
Olivier de la Marche, Jean de Vilhers, seigneur de T Isle-Adam, Hardouin de 
La Jaille, &c. Publics par Bernard Prost. 8vo. Paris L. Willem. 

1873 CoRDELOis. — Lecons d'armes. Du duel et de I'assaut. Th^orie 
complete sur I'art de Fescrime. 2 Edition. 8vo. Paris J. Dumaine. 

[Portrait and 28 plates.] 

1874 Terwangue. — Reflexions techniques et historiques sur Tescrime, 
par un ancien amateur. 8vo. Lille Meriaux. 

1875 Blot (Jacques-Antoine). — L'dcole de I'escrime, &c. i2mo. Paris. 

1875 GiLLET (x^uguste). — L'escrime rendue facile et classique. Traits 
th^orique et pratique a 1' usage de I'enseignement et des amateurs d'apres les 
lefons de M. Lacrette. i8mo. Paris Dumaine. [With figures.] 

1875 Instruction pour I'enseignement pr^paratoire de I'escrime a Tep^e, 
suivie du reglement provisoire pour 1' organisation de I'enseignement gratuit et 
obligatoire de I'escrime dans I'arm^e, 28 avril 1872, modifie par la circulaire 
du 7 d^cembre 1872. i8mo. Paris: J. Dumaine. [With plates.] 

1875 Manuel pour I'enseignement de la gymnastique et de I'escrime, public 

par ordre de M. le Ministre de la marine et des colonies. i8mo. Paris J. 
Damaine. [With numerous figures. 

1875 Saint-Albin (A. de). — Les salles d'armes de Paris. Roy. Bvo. 
Paris Glady freres. [With copperplates.] 

1876 Legouv^ (K.)— Deux ^p^ei bris^es (Bertrand et Robert). 8vo. 
Paris Ollendorff. 

1877 RoBAGLiA (A.) — De I'escrime d'apres les regies et les principes de 
nos meilleurs professeurs La Boessiere, Gomard, Lhomandie, Jean-Louis, 
Lafaugere et Grisier, pr^c^dee d'une notice historique sur le fleuret et les salles 
d'escrime. 8vo. Paris: F. Vernay. [16 plates.] 

1878 Manuel d'escrime approuv^ par le ministre de la guerre. 32mo. 
Paris Dumaine. [40 figures.] 

1879 Manuel de gymnastique (gymnastique d'assouplissement et gymnastique appliqu^e, natation, boxe franfaise, baton et canne) approuv^ |:ar M. 
le Ministre de la guerre, le 26 juillet 1877. i8mo. Paris J. Dumaine. 

[With numerous figures.] 

1881 Manuel d'escrime, approuv^ par M. le Ministre de la guerre, le 18 
mai 1877. i8mo. Paris J. Dumaine. [With figures.] 

1882 Andre (Emile). — Coulisses et salles d'armes. 8vo. Paris. 

1882 R. (P. de). — Dialogue de salle sur I'art de I'escrime. 8vo. Geneve. 

1882 Vaux (Baron de). — Les hommes d'^p^e. 8vo. Paris. 
[42 portraits and copperplates.] 

1882 ViGEANT (F. ) — La bibliographic de I'escrime ancienne et moderne, 
8vo. Paris Motteroz. [Witn 5 woodcuts.] 

1883 M^RIGNAC (Emile). — Histoire de I'escrime dans tous les temps et 
dans tOLis les pays. Tome I, Antiquity. Gr. 8vo. Paris Rouquette. 

[With engravings.] 

1883 ViGEANT [maitre d'armes]. — Un maitre d'armes sous la Restauration. Small 8vo. Paris. 

[With etched frontispiece (portrait of Jean-Louis) and vignettes.] 

1884 Brunet (Romuald). — Traits d'escrime pointe, et cont e-pointe. 
i2mo. Paris Rouveyre. 

[5 drawings by E. Chaperon, and 27 plates.] 
1884 Lafaugere (L. J.) — Nouveau manuel complet d'escrime. Nouyelle Edition, entierement refondue. i8mo. Paris Roret. 
[With figures in the text.] 
1884 La Marche (Claude).— Traitd de I'dp^e. 8vo. Paris Marpon et 
Flammarion. [Illustrated.] 

1884 Leroy (Charles). — Guide du duelliste ind^hcat. 8vo. Paris Fressc. 

1884 RoBAGLiA [Le Capitaine]. — L'escrime et le duel. i2mo. Paris 
Dejey. 

1884 Vaux (Baron de). — Les duels c^lebres. Preface par A. Scholl. 
Grand 8vo, illustre. Paris Rouveyre. 

1884 ViGEANT [maitre d'armes]. — Duels de maitres d'armes. Small 4to. 
Paris. 

[With frontispiece (portrait of Bertrand) and a few vignettes.] 

1885 Bettenfeld (Michel).— L'art de I'escrime. i2mo. Paiis Charpentier. 

1885 CORTHEY (A.)— Le fleuret et I'^p^e. Etude sur I'escrime contemporaine. 8vo. Paris Giraud. 

1885 DfiRUE (le capitaine). — Nouvelle m^thode d'escrime a cheval. 
i2mo. Paris Lahure. [Illustrated.] 

1885 Lagrange (F.) — L'escrime et ses effets sur la colonne vert^brale. 
[J. Soc. de rn6d. et pharm. de la Haute-Vienne. Limoges. 8vo. 
1885 Le duel et rescrime. (Paris lUustr^, No. 31 [i juin 1885].) 

1885 Tavernier (Adolphe). — L'art du duel. Preface par Aur^lien Scholl. 
Nouvelle Edition. i2mo, illustr^. Paris Marpon et Flammarion. 

t886 MfiRiGNAC (E. ) — Histoire de rescrime dans tons les temps et dans 
tous les pays. Tome IL Gr. in 8. Paris Rouquette. 
[Illustrated.] 

1886 Provost (C.) — Th^orie pratique de Tescrime. Avec la biographie 
de Provost pere, par A. Tavernier. Gr. in-8. Paris De Brunhoff. 

[With plates.] 

1886 Tavernier (A.) — Amateurs et salles d'armes de Paris. i2mo. 
Pans Marpon et Flammarion. [Illustrated 

1887 Jacob (Jules). — Le jeu de I'ep^e. Le9ons de Jules Jacob r^dig^es 
par Emile Andr^, suivies du duel au sabre et du duel au pistolet et de conseils 
aux t^moins. Prefaces de MM. P. de Cassagnac, A. Ranc et A. de la Forge. 
8vo. Paris Paul Ollendorff. 

1887 Robert (Georges) [professeur d'escrime au Lyc^e Henri IV et au 
college Sainte-Barbe], — La science des armes, I'assaut et les assauts publics, 
le duel et la lefon de duel. Avec une notice sur Robert aine par M. Ernest 
Legouv^ de 1' Academic fran9aise, et une lettre deM. H^brard de Villeneuve, president de la Societe d'encouragement de l'escrime. 4to. Paris Garnier. 

[Portrait of Robert the Elder, vignettes, 57 figures, and 8 folding 
analytical tables.] 

1887 Saint-Albin (Albert de). — A travers les salles d'armes, avec une 
preface de Vigeant. 8vo. Paris. 

[12 engravings in photogravure by Louis Regamey, and one vignette 
in the text.] 

1888 Blot (J. A.) — L'ecole de l'escrime. Petit manuel pratique al'usage 
de I'arm^e, suivi du code du duel. 32mo. Paris Marpon et Flammarion. 

1888 Castle (Egerton) [membre du London Fencing Club]. — L'escrime 
et les escrimeurs, clepuis le moyen age jusqu'au i8me siecle. Traduit de 
I'anglais par Albert Fierlants. 4to. Paris Ollendorff. 

[Frontispiece, 160 illustrations, 6 carbon plates.] 

1888 Desmedt (Eugene). — La science de l'escrime. Avec une preface 
de Max Waller, un Dictionnaire de I'epee et un Guide des escrimeurs. 8vo. 
Bruxelles. [15 phototypes.] 

1888 Daressy (Henri) [membre honoraire de I'Acad^aiie d'armes]. — 
Archives des maitres d'armes de Paris. 8vo. Paris Quantin. 

[Illustrated.] 

1888 Le salut des armes. (Issued under the authority of the Academic 
d'armes, attributed to Vigeant.) 8vo. Paris: Paul Schmidt. 

1889 Vigeant [maitre d'armes k Paris]. — L'almanach de l'escrime. 
Dessins de Fred. Regamey. 8vo. Paris Quantin. 

[Numerous photogravi res. 
1889 (periodical) L'Escrime fran9aise. Redacteur en chef, Emile Andrd 
(Bi-monthly review devoted to the interests of French swordsmanship, 60 centimes.) 4to. Paris, 12 Rue de la Grange Bateliere. 

(?) Mauroy (Victor). — Memento de I'escrimeur. (D^di6 aux professeurs bretons.) 

Manuscript. 

Sloanian. No. 1198, folio 40, 23 lines, in the British Museum. 
[About the end of the 17th century.] 

GERMAN. 

1799 BuRGMATER (Hans). — Weiss Kunig. Suite de 237 planches grave^es 
sur bois d'apres les de-sins et sous la conduite de Hans Burgmaier. Folio. 
Vienne. [Plates No. 37, 38, 39, and 56 interest the fencer. J 

1516 Paurnfeindt (Andrae) [Freyfechter zu Wien in Oesterreich]. — 
Ergrundung ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey. Vien. 

The following four works, which show hut slight differeiices (in title a?id 
arrangement especially ), were printed between 1530 and 1558. 

1531 (?) Der altenn Fechter anfengliche Kunst. Mit sampt verborgenen 
heymlicheytten, Kampffens, Ringens, Wertlens. &c. Figiirli h llirgemalet. 
Bisher nie an tag kommen. Zu Frankfurt am Meyn Chr. Egen. 46 pages. 
[Woodcut on title-page. At the end Zu Franckfurt am Meyn, bei 
Christian Egenolph.] 

— Der alten Fechter griindliche Kunst. Mit sampt verborgenen heymlichten, Kampffens, Ringens, Werffens, &c. Figiirlich fiirgemalet. Bisher nie 
an tag koiTien. 48 pages. [Woodcut on title-page.] 

— Fechtbuch Die Ritterlicbe, manliche Kunst und handarbeyt Fechtens 
und Kempffens. Auswarem ursprunglichen grund der Alten, mit sampt heymlichen Geschwindigkeyten, in leibs noten sich dts Feinds trosthch gemalt. Zu 
Franckfort am Meyn, bei Chr. Egenolff. 46 pages. [Woodcut on title-page.] 

1558 Fechtbuch. Die Ritterliche, MannHche Kunst und handarbeyt 
Fechtens und Kempffens, &c. 

[At the end Zu Franckfurt am Meyn, bei Chri. Egen. Erben. 

MDLVIII.] 

1570 Meyer (Joachim) [Freyfechter zu Strasburg]. — GriindlicheBeschreibung der Freyen, Ritterlichen und Adelichen Kunst der Fechtens in allerley 
gebreuchlichen Wehren, mit vil schonen und niitzlichen Figuren gezieret und 
furgesteliet. Oblong 4to. Strasburg. 

[Getruckt zu Strasburg bey Thiebolt Berger am Weynmarkt zum 
Treubel. Numerous woodcuts.] 
1579 GUNTERRODT (A.) — De veris principiis artis dimicatoriae. 4to. 
Wittemberg. 

1610 Meyer (Joachim) [Freyfe hterzu Strasburg]. — Griindliche Beschreibung der Freyen, &c., &c. 2nd edition. Oblong 4to. Augspurg. 

[Getruckt zu Augspurg bey Michael Mauger, in verlegung Eliae 
Willers. 73 woodcuts.] 

1611 Bononien (C. von). — Neu Kiinstlich Fechtbuch. Leipzig. 

161 1 HuNDT (Mich.) — Ein new Kiinstlich Fechtbuch im Rappier zum 
Fechten und Balgen, u.s.w. 4to. Leipsig. 

1612 SuTORiUM (Jacob) [Freyfechter von Baden]. — New Kunstliches 
Fechtbuch, das ist aussfiihrhche Deschription der Freyen Adelichen und Ritterlichen Kunst dess Fechtens in den gebreuch lichsten Wehren, als Schwerdt, 
Diisacken, Rappier, «S:c. &c. 4to. Franckfurt Wilhelm Hoffmans. 

[Gedruckt zu Franckfurt am Mayn durch Johann Bringern. Woodcuts.] 
1612 Cavalcabo (Hieronimo). — Neues Kunstliches Fechtbuch des 
Weitberiimten und viel erfahrnen Ttalienischen Fechtmeister Hieronimo Cavalcabo, von Bononien Stievorn, aus dem geschrieben welchem Exemplar durch 
Monsieur de Villamont, Ritter des Ordens zu Jerusalem, &c. (S:c. in franzosische Sprache transferirt. Nun aber alien Loblichen Fechtkunst Liebhabern 
zu gefallen aus gemelter franzosischer Sprach verdenselt durch Conrad von 
Einsidell. Oblong 4to. Jena. 

[Six copperplates, out of the text.] 

1617 Wallhausen /J. F. von). — Kunstliche Picquen Handlung. Darinnen Schrifftlich und mit Figuren dieser adelichen Exercisiren angewiesen und 
gelernt wird. Folio. Hanover. 

1619 Garzonius. — Allgemeiner Schauplatz. Franckfurt. 

1619 KOPPEN ( Joach. )— Cours v. d. Fechtkunst. Small folio. Magdeburg. 

1619 Fabris (S.) — Der Kunstreichen imd weitberiimeten Fechtmeisters 
S. Fabris Italianische Fechtkunst. Folio, Leyden. 

[Printed by Isaack Elzevier, and dedicated by the same to Gustavus 
Adolphus. The copperplates of the first edition are replaced by woodcuts (192).] 

1619 K5PPEN (Joach. ) — Newer diskurs von der rittermassigen und weitberiihmten Kunst des Fechtens, u.s.w. Small foho. Magdeburg. 

1620 SCHOFFER (Hans Wilhelm) [von Dietz, Fechtmeister in Marpurg]. — 
Grundtliche und eigentliche Beschreibung der freyen Adelichen und Ritterlichen 
Fecht-Kunst im einfachen Rappir und im Rappir und Dolch, nach Italianischer Manir und Art, in zwey underschiedene Biicher ferfast, und mit 670 
schoenen und nothwendigen Kupfferstucken gezieret und for Augen gestellt. 
Oblong 4to. Marpurg Johan Saurn. 

1622 GiGANTi's Theatre (see Italian, 1606 French, 1619). Obi. 4to. 

[An edition appeared as a French and German translation in Franckfurth.] 

1630 Heussler (Sebastian) [Kriegsmann und Freyfechter von Niirnberg]. — Neu Kunstlich Fechtbuch zum dritten mal auffgelegt und mit vielen 
schoenen Stucken verbessert. Als des Sig. Salvator Fabris de Padua und Sig. 
Rud. Capo di Ferro, wie auch anderer Italienischen und Franzosischen Fechter. 
Obi. 4to. Niirnberg Simon Halbmayerr. 

1637 Salgen. — Kriegsiibung u.s.w. den frischanfahenden Fechtern und 
Soldaten fiir erst nutzlich und nothig zu wissen. 

1657 Pascha[ll] (J. G. ) — Kurze Unterrichtung belangend die Pique, die 
Fahne, den Jagerstock. Das Voltesiren, das Ringen, das Fechten auf den 
Stoss und Hieb, und endUch das Trincieren verferrtigts. 8vo. Wittenberg. 

1659 Pasche (J. G.) — Kurtze doch Grlindliche Unterrichtung der Pique, 
den Trillens in der Pique, der Fahne des Jagerstocks, Trincierens, Fechtens 
auf den Stoss und auf den Hieb, <&c. Mit Kpf. Osnabruck. 

1659 Pascha[ll] (J. G.)— Kurze doch Grlindliche Unterrichtung den 
Pique, den Trillens in der Pique, die Fahne, den Jagerstock, Trincieren, 
Fechtens auf den Stoss und auf den Hieb, <S:c. 8vo. Osnabruck. 

1660 Meyer (Joachim) [Freyfechter zu Strasburg]. — Griindliche Beschreibung der Freyen, (&c., &c. 3rd edition. Oblong 4:0. Augsburg. 

[Numerous woodcuts.] 

1661 Paschen (Johann Georg). — Kurze, jedoch deutliche, Beschreibung 
handehid vom Fechten auf den Stoss und Hieb. Folio. Halle in Sachsen. 

1664 L'Ange (J. D.) [Fechtmeister], — Deutliche und Grlindliche Erklarung der AdeHchen und Ritterlichen freyen Fechtkunst. Oblong 8vo. Heidelberg. [Portrait of Daniel L'Ange, by Metzger, and 61 copperplates.] 

1664 Paschen (Johann Georg). — Kurze, jedoch deutliche Beschreibung 
handelnd vom Fechten auf den Stoss und Hieb. 2te Aufl. Foho. Halle in 
Sachsen. 

1664 Triegler (Jo. Ge.). — Neues Kiinstliches Fechtbuch. 4to. Leipsig. 

1665 Heussler (Sebastian). — Kiinstliches Abprobirtes und Niitzliches 

BIBLIOTHECA ARJIS DIMICATORI/E 269 

Fecht-Buch von Einfachen und doppelten Degen Fechten, damit ein ieder 
seinen Leib defendirn kan. Oblong 4to. Nurnberg. 
1667 Paschen (J. G.)— VoUstandige Fecht-, Ring- und Volligier-Kunst. 
Small folio. Leipsig. 

1673 Paschen (J. G.) — VoUstandige Fecht-, Ring- und Voltigier-Kunst. 
Small folio. Leipsig. 

1677 Fabris (Salvatore). — Scienza e pratica d' arme di Salvatore Fabris, 
Capo deir ordine dei sette cuori. Das ist Herrn Salvatore Fabris, Obersten 
des Ritter-Orders der Sieben Hertzen, Italianische Fechtkunst. Von Johann 
Joachim Hynitzchen, Exercitien Meister. 4to. Leipsig. 

[German translation parallel with the Italian text. The plates are the 
same as in the original edition, with the addition of one representing the 
monument erected to Fabris's memory in Padua, his native town, and of 
a portrait of a certain Heinrich, who seems to have patronised this reproduction of the great master's work.l 
1679 Verolinus (Theodor), — Der Kunstliche Fechter, oder Beschreibung 
des Fechtens im Rappier, Dlisacken, und Schwerdt. 4to. Wurzburg. 

1683 Paschen (Joh. Georg). — Der adelichen gemiithen wohlerfahrne 
Exercitien-Meister, d.i. VoUstandige Fecht-, Ring- und Voltigier-Kunst. Small 
foho. Franckfurt und Leipsig. 

1706 Uffenbach. — Fechten in England. Wien (?) Lenz. 

1713 Fabris (Salvator). — [A second edition of the Italian and German reproduction.] 4to. Leipzig. 

171 3 Schmidt (Johann Andreas) [des H. Rom. Reichs Freyen Stadt 
Niirnberg, bestellter Fecht- und Exercitien-Me'ster], — Leib-beschirmende und 
Feinden Trotz bietende Fecht-Kunst, oder leichte und getreue Anweisung auf 
Stoss und Hieb zierlich und sicher zu fechten. Nebst einem curieusen Unterricht vom Voltigiren und Ringen. Obi. 8vo. Nurnberg Weigel. 

[Portrait of the author in his own fencing school, 84 copperplates, in 
and out of the text.] 

1715 Doyle (Alexander). — Neue Alamodische Ritterliche Fecht- und 
Schirm-Kunst. Das ist Wahre und nach neuester Franzosischer Manier eingerichtete Unterweisung wie man sich in Fechten und Schirmen perfectioniren und 
verhalten soUe. Denen respectiven Herren Liebhaberen zu besserer Erleuterung 
rait 60 hierzu deutlichen Figuren herausge^eben von Alexander Doyle, aus 
Irrland geburtig. (i) Ihrer Churfurstl. Gnaden zu Maintz verordneten Hof~ 
Fechtmeistern. Obi. 4to. Nurnberg. 

1715 Fecht-Boden (der geoffnete) auf welchen durch kurtz gefasste Regeln 
gute Anleit. z. rechten Fundament der Fecht-Kunst gegeben wird. Mit 8 
Kupfertaf. 8vo. Hamburg. 

1716-17 Heussler (Seb.) — Neues Kunstliches Fechtbuch, darinnen 54 
Stuck in einfachen Rappier, &c. 2 Theile. Nurnberg. 

1729 Doyle (Alexander). — Neue Alamodische Ritterliche Fecht- und 
Schirm-Kunst. 2te Aufl. Obi. 4to. Niirnberg. 

1739 Kahn (Anthon Friedrich) [Fechtme'ster auf der Georgius Augustus Universitat zu Goettingen]. — Anfangsgriinde der Fechtkunst nebst einer 
Vorrede von dem Nutzem der Fechtkunst und den Fortzligen dieser Anweisung. 
4to. Goettingen. 

[Portrait of Kahn and 25 copperplates, out of the text, engraved by 
F. Fritsch.] 

1749 Schmidt (Johann Andreas) [Fecht- und Exercitien-Meister.] — 
Griindlich lehrende Fecht-Schule. 8vo. Nurnberg. 

1750 Schmidt (Johann Andreas). — Fecht-Kunst. 8vo. Nurnberg. 1750. 

1760 Christfels (P. E.)— Jiidische Fechtschule. 8vo. Onoldst und 
Schwabach Enderes. 

1760 Schmidt (Joh. Andre). — Lehrende Fechtschule. 8vo. Nurnberg 
Stein. [Copperplates.] 

1761 Kahn (A. F.) — Anfangsgriinde der Fechtkunst, &c., &c. Neue 
Aufl. Mit e. Anh. iiber d. Kunst, auf d. Hieb zu fechten. 4to. Helmstadt 
Weygand. [25 copperplates.] 

1764 Weischner (S. ) [Hauptmann]. — Uebungen auf den furstlichen 
Sachsischen Hof und Fechtboden zu Weimar. Verb, und verm. Aufl. 8vo. 
Weimar Hoffman. 

1765 Weischner (S.) [Hauptmann]. — Uebungen auf den furstlichen Hof 
und Fechtboden zu Weimar. 2te Aufl. Bvo. Weimar Hoffman. 

1766 Weischner (C. F.) — Ritterliche Geschicklichkeit im Fechten 
durch ungezwungene Stellungen. 4to. Weimar Hoffmann. 

1771 Ranis (Heinrich Christoph). — Konigl. Commissarrii und Fechtmeister. Anweisung zur Fechtkunst fiir Lehrer und Lernende. Bvo. Berlin Mylius. 

1776 Temlich. — Anfangsgriinde der Fecht-Kunst. 8vo. Halle. 

1777 Vester (E. F. W.) — Einleitung zur adehchen Fechtkunst. 8vo. 
Breslau Korn. 

1780 Schmidt (Joh. Andr.) — Fechtkunst, oder Anweisung in Stoss und 
Hieb, wie auch zum Ringen und Voltigiren. i2mo. Nurnberg Schneider 

1780 Schmidt. — Fechtkunst auf Stoss und Hieb. 8vo. Leipzig. 

1780 Will's Historisch-dinlomatisches Magazin fiir das Vaterland. 

[Bd. H. iiber die Fechtschulen zu Niirnberg,' also Seite 264, iiber die 
 Marxbriider.'] 
1783 Haspelmacher (Jh. Geo. Hnr.). — Systematische Abhandlune: von 
den schadlichen Folgen einer nicht auf sicheren Regeln gegriindeten Fechtkunst, nebst einer Anweisung wie man solche vermeiden kann. Gr. Bvo. 
Helmstadt Fleckeisen. 

1786 Roux (Heinrich). — Versuch iiber das Contrafechten auf der rechten 
und linken Handnach Kreuzler'schen Grundsatzen. 4to. Jena Croker. 

1792 Behr (Fr. L.) — Fliichtige Bemerkungen iiber die verschiedene 
Art zu fechten einiger Universitaten, von einem fleissigen Beobachter. Bvo. 
Halle Dost. 

1791; ViETH (G. U. A.) — Versuch einer Encyklopadie der Leibesiibungen. 
2 Theile. Bvo. Berlin. 

[A short article on fencing in vol. ii., p. 496.] 

1796 TiMLiCH (K.) — Griindliche Abhandlung der Fechtkunst auf den 
Hieb zu Fuss und zu Pferde. Wien. 

1797 Schmidt. — Lehrschule der Fechtkunst. ite Theil, oder Lehrbuch 
fiir die Cavalerie zum vortheilhaften Gebrauche des Sabels. 4to. Berhn 
Maurer. [8 copperplates. 

1798 Roux (J. Ad. K.')— Griindhche und vollstandige Anweisung in der 
deutschen Fechtkunst auf Sloss und Hieb aus ihren innersten Geheimnissen 
wissenschafdich erlautert, u.s.w. 4to. Jena Wolfg. Stahl. 

1799 HOYER (G. V.) — Geschichte der Kriegskunst (Fechten). 2 Bd. 
Gottingen. 

1799 Roux (J. A. K.) — Grundrisz d. Fechtkunst, als gymnast. Uebung. 
2te Aufl. Jena. 

1799 Roux (J. Ad. K.)— Grundriss der Fechtkunst als gymnastischer Uebung betrachtet. Gr. 8vo. Jena. 

1802 Die Fechtkunst auf Universitaten. Bvo. Kothen Aue. 

1802 Venturini (G.) — Die Fechtkunst auf Stosz und Hieb, in systemat. 
Uebersicht fiir Offiziere, und zum Gebrauch in Kriegsschulen. 8vo. Braunschweig. [Copperplates.] 

1803 Roux (J. Ad. K.) — Theoretisch-practische Anweisung zum Hiebfechten, e. Leitfaden f. d. miindl. Unterricht. Gr. 8vo. Fiirth. 

1804 Roux (J. A. C.) — Das Fechten auf Stoss und Hieb. 

[Article in Gutmuth (E. C. F.), Gymnastik fiir die Jugend.' 2teAufl. 
8vo. Schnepfenthal. J 
1807 Roux (J. W.) — Anleitnng zur Fechtkunst nach mathemat.-physikal. 
Grund-atzen. 4t(). Jena: Hennings. [10 copperplates.] 

1807 TiMLiCH (Karl). — Die Fechtkunst auf den Stosz. i2mo. Wien 
Tendler. Copperplates. 

1809 Venturini (G.) — Die Fechtkunst auf Stosz und Hieb, &c., &c. 
2te Aufl. 8vo. Hannover Hahn. 

1816 Jahn (F. L.) und Eiselen (E.)— Die deutsche Turnkunst. Gr. 8vo. 
Berlin Reimer. 

[Contains a list of altera Fechtbiicher.' 2 copperplates.] 

1817 Roux (J. A. K.) — Die deutsche Fechtkunst, enthalthe theoret.prakt. Anweisg. z. Stoszfechten, &c. Gr. 8vo. Jena. 

1817 Roux (J. Ad. K.) — Grundriss der Fechtkunst als gymnastischer 
Uebung betrachtet. Gr. 8vo. Jena u. Leipzig Barth. 

1817 Schmidt (Jh. Fr.) — Griindl. Anweisung zur deutschen Fechtkunst 
auf Stosz und Hieb. 4to. Dresden Arnold. 

1818 Eiselen (E. W. B.) — Das deutsche Hiebfechten der Berliner Turnschule. 8vo. Berlin Diimmler. 

1819 Theorie der Fechtkunst, eine analytische Darstellung sammtlicher 
Stellungen, Stosse Paraden, u.s.w. Nach dem Traits d'escnme par Chatelain, 
nebst einer Anleitung iiber das Hiebfechten. 4to. Leipzig. 

1820 LuPSCHER (Ant.) und Gommel (Fr.)— Theorie der Fechtkunst. 
Eine analytische Abhandlung sammtl. Stellungen, Stosze, Paraden, Finten 
u.s.w., iiberhaupt aller Bewegungen im Angriffe u.d. Vertheidung. Nach der 
Traits d'escrime par le Chevalier Chatelain frei bearbeitet. Nebst einer Anleit. 
iiber das Hiebfechten. 8vo. Wien Tendler. 

[With 2 tables and 20 plates.] 

1820 PoLLNiTZ (G. L. von). — Das Hiebfechten zu Fusz und Pferde. 
Gr. 8vo. Halberstadt Briiggemann. 

1822 DiJVAL (Jeanet).— Theoret. Anweisung zur Fecht- und Voltigirkunst. 
Qu. 4to. Miinchen Fleischmann. 

[i plate and 60 figs., lithographed.] 

1822 PoNiTZ (Karl Eduard). — Die Fechtkunst auf den Stoss nach den 
Grund-atzen des Herrn von Selmnitz. 8vo. Dresden Arnold. 

1823 Bajonet-Fechtlehre fiir die Grossherzogliche badensche In'anterie. 
8vo. Mannheim. 

1824 Werner (J. A. L.) — Versuch einer theoretischen Anweisung zur 
Fechtkunst im Hiebe. Qu. 4to. Leipzig Lehnhold. 

1825 PoLLNiTZ (G. L. von). — Das Hiebfechten zu Fuss und Pferde. Neue 
Aufl. Gr. 8vo. Halberstadt Briiggemann. 

1825 Selmnitz (Ed. von) [Ritter].— Die Bajonettfechtkunst, oder Lehre 

des Verhaltens mit d. Infanterie-Gewehre als Angriffs-und Vertheidigungswaffe. 
ler Theil. Gr. 8vo. Dresden. 

[lo folio copperplates and one vignette.] 

1826 Pajonett-Fecht-Schule in 21 Darstell. mit Erlaut. 4to. Hermannstadt Thierry. [The text is lithographed.] 

1826 EiSELEN (E. W. B.) — Abrisz des deutschen Stoszfechtens, nach 
Kreuszlers Grundsatzen dargestellt. 8vo. Berlin Diimmler. 

1826 WiELAND (Jh.) — Anleit. zum Gebrauch des Bajonets oder kurzer 
Unterricht des Wesenthchsten dieser Fechtkunst. 8vo. Basel Schweighauser. 

1828 PONITZ (Karl Eduard). — Die Fechtkunst 9uf den Stoss nach den 
Grundsatzen des Herrn von Selmnitz. Neue wohl. Ausg. 8vo. Dresden 
Arnold. 

1829 Die Anwendung des Bajonets gegen Infanterie und Kavallerie in d. 
konigl.-Danischen Armee (aus d. Danischen iibertragen von den Kapitan v. 
Jensen). i2mo. Braunschweig Vieweg. 

1829 FoUGERE (J.) [Fechtmeister]. — Die Kunst, aus jedem Zweikampfe 
lebend und unverwundet zurlickzukehren, selbst wenn man niemals Unterricht 
im Fechten gehabt, und es auch mit dem groszten Schlager oder Schiitzen der 
Welt zu thun hatte. In loVorlesungen. Aus dem Franzosischen. 8vo. Leipzig Rein. 

1829 GoTTLiNG (Prof.) — Ueberdie thiiring. Fechterfamilien Kreussler. 
[Vide Thliringer Volksfrcund.' 1829, Nr. 43, Seite 345.] 

];.83i Selmn'itz (Ed. von) [Ritter]. — Die Bajonettfechtkunst. (Vorrede zur 
2teAufl.) 8vo. Leipzig. 

1832 Selmnitz (Ed. von) [Ritter]. — Die Bajonettfechtkunst. 2te Aufl. 
Berlin Mittler. [10 copperplates.] 

1833 Werner (J. A. L.). — Die ganze Gymnastik (Fechten auf Stoss, 
p. 257 auf Hieb, p. 236). Gr. 8vo. Meissen Goedsche. 

1834 RiEMANN (Heinr.) — Vollstand. Anweisung zum Stoszfechten, nach 
Kreussler' s Grundsatzen. 8vo. Leipzig Engelmann. 

1834 Segers (J.)— Anleitung zum Hiebfechten mit Korbrappier, Sabel 
und Pallasch, zum Selbstunterricht auf deutschen Universitaten undmit besonderer Riicksicht auf das Militar herausg. 8vo. Bonn Habicht. 

[38 figures.] 

1835 Praktischer Unterricht in der Bajonetfechtkunst, der schweizerischen 
Infanterie ge\Aidmet. 8vo. Bern. [52 figures.] 

 18^6 Bajoneiir-Reglement fiir die Groszherz. Hessische Infanterie. Lex. 
8vo. Darmstadt Leske. [55 lithographs 

1836 Segers (J.) — Anleitung zum Stoszfechten, nach eigenen Grundsatzen und Erfahrungen herausg. Gr. 8vo. Bonn Habicht. 

[16 figures.] 

1837 NovALi (K. von). — Germanisches Turnbuch, oder die Reit-, Jagdund Fechtkunst, nach den neuesten Grundsatzen dargestellt. Ein Hand- und 
Hausbuch fiir Ritterguts-Besitzer, Offiziere, Forstbeamte, Akademiker, &c. 
Gr. 8vo. Augsburg Jenisch u. Stage. 

1837 Segers (J.) — Anleitung zum Hiebfechten mit Korbrappier, Sabel 
und Pallasch, zum Selbstunterricht auf deutschen Universitaten und mit 
be~ond. Riicksicht auf das Militar herausg. 2te verm. Aufl. 8vo. Bonn 
Habicht. Ls^ figures.] 

1838 Christmann(F. C.) und Pfeffinger (Dr. G.) — Theoreti^ch-praktische Anleitung des Hau-Stossfechtens und des Schwadronhauens, nach einer 
ganz neuen Methode, nebst einem Anhange Verhalten des Degen- oder Sabelfiihrenden gegen der Bajonnetisten,' &c., & 8vo. Offenbach a. M. 

BIBLIOTHECA ARTIS DIMICATORLE 273 

1838 Thalhofer (Karl) und Isnardi (Mich.)— Theoret.-prakt. Anleitung zur Fechtkunst a la Contrepointe. Nebst e. Anleitung zur Vertheidigung 
mit d. Sabel oder Degen den Bajonnetisten von Tallhofer. Mit i Heft figuren. 
Gr. 8vo. Wien Heubner. [59 lithographed plates.] 

1839 Chappon (Louis). — Theoretisch-praktische Anleitung zur Fechtkunst. Qu. 4to. Pesth. [80 lithographed plates.] 

1839 NovALi (K. von^. — Germanisches Turnbuch, oder die Reit-, Jagdund Fechtkunst, &c. 2te Aufl. 8vo. Augsburg Jenisch u. Stage. 

1840 Rhein (A. von). — Das Bajonetfechten. 8vo. Wesel Bagel. 
[8 lithographed plates.] 

1840 ROHNE (K.) — Grlindlicher Unterricht im Hiebfechten, zum Selbstunterricht und zur Fortiibung. Gr. 8vo. Quedlinburg Basse. 

1840 Roux (W.) — Anweisung zum Hiebfechten mit ^raden und krummen 
Klingen. Nebst einer Einleitung vom Prof. Dr. K. H. Scheidler. Qu. gr. 8vo. 
Jena Mauke. [36 plates.] 

1840 Seidler (E. F.) [Stallmeister].— Anleitunor zum Fechten mH dem 
Sabel und dem Kiirassierdegen, zuvorderst dem Unterrichte in Kavallerie- 
Abtheilungen angeeignet, nebst Bemerkungen flir den ernstlichen Kampf zu 
Fuss u. zu Pferde. 8vo. Berhn. [i copperplate.] 

1840 Scheidler (K. H.)— Ueber die Geschichte der Fechtkunst, so wie 
liber den w^ahren Werth und die Vorziige des Hiebfechtens (s. W. Roux, 1840^ 

184T KOTHE (Fried.) — Das Ganze der Fechtkunst, oder ausfuhrhche 
Lehrbuch die Fechtkunst in ihren verschiedenen Zweigen grlindhch zu erlernen. 
(Bd. I. das Stossfechten, m. Fig.) 8vo. Nordhausen. 

T841 MuLLER (Frz.) — Fecht-Unterrcht mit dem Feuer-Gewehre, eigentlich Bajonetfechten. Kl, 8vo. Prag Haase Sohne. 
[6 lithographs. 

1841 Roux (J. A. K.)— Ueber das Verhaltniss der deutschen Fechtkunst 
zum Ehrenduell sowohl im Alls'emeinen, als auch fiir Universitaten insbesondere, mit Berticksichtigung der Mittel die Duelle zuverhiiten, S:c. Auf besonderes Verlangen des nun mehr verstorb. Verfassers z. Druck be^ordert u. 
vollendet von W. Roux. 8vo. Erfurt Hennings u. Hopf. 

1 841 Vorschriften liber den Bajonet-Fechtunterrichtf. d. Grossh. badenschen 
Truppen. Carlsruhe. [6 plates.] 

1842 Instruction iiber das Bajonetfechten fiir das K. Preuss. 31 Inf. 
Regt. 8vo. Erfurt. 

1843 Anleitung zum Floretfechten fiir die R. Sachs. Infanterie. 8vo. 
Dresden u. Leipzig Arnold. 

1843 SCHETDLER (Dr. K. H.) — Nochmalige Erorterune der Frage Hieb 
oder Stoss ? Eine hode^etische Vorlesung. 8vo. Jena Frommann. 

1843 Seidler (F. F.) Stallmeister]. — Anleitung zum Fechten mit dem 
Sabel u. dem Kiirassierdegen, &c., &c. 2te verm. Aufl. Gr. 8vo. Berlin 
Mittler. [i copperplate.] 

1843 Vorschriften fiir den Unterricht im Bayonnet-Fechten der Konigl. 
bayer. Infanterie. 32mo. Amberg. 

1844 Ballassa (C. K. K.) [Maiorl — Fechtmethode. Eine rationell^, 
vereinfachte und schnell faszhche Fechtiibung des Sabel s gee^n den Sabel, 
und dieses gegen das Bajonet und die Picke. zum Hauen, Stephen und Pariren. 
Eigens fiir die Cavallerie, nach den aus der Feld- u. Friedens-Praxis geschopften 
Grundsatzen in 25 Tabellen, nebst einem kleinen Anhang Ueber das Kunstfechten.' Qu. gr. 4to. Pest. [19 figures. 

1844 Rhein (A. von\— Das Baionetfechten. 2te Aufl. Wesel: Bagel. 
[10 plates, giving 35 figures.] 

T 

1844 (?) Schneider (H.) — Fechtkunst. 

[Vide Ersch u. Gruber's Encyklopadie, ite Sec, Bd. 42, S. 204 u. ff.] 

1845 Franckenberg-Ludwigsdorff (M. von).— Das Bajonetfechten. 
Nach den Grundsatzen der neutren Zeit umgeandert. 8vo. Munster Wundermann. [6 copperplates.] 

1845 Franckenberg-Ludwigsdorff (M. von). — Das Fleurettiren oder 
Stoszfechten, als Voriibung f. d. Hiebfechten und Bajonettiren. 8vo. Munster Wundermann. [3 plates of figures.] 

1845 Vorschriften fiir den Unterricht im Fechten u. Voltigiren der konigl. 
bayer. Kavalerie. i6mo. Straubing Schorner. 

1847 JAHN (F. L.)— Deutsche Turi>kunst. Gr. 8vo. Berlin: G. Reimer. 

[Seite 281 — Ordnung der Fechtschulen.'] 
1849 Bottcher (A. M.) — Die reine, deutsche Stoszfechtschule nach E. W. 
B. Eiselen ausfuhrlich bearbeitet. Gr. 8vo. GorLtz Heinze & Co. 
[25 figures.] 
1849 Roux (F. A. W. L.) — Anweisung zum Hiebfechten mit graden und 
krummen Klingen. 2te Aufl. Qu. 8vo. Jena Mauke. [36 figures. 

[Einleitende Bemerk. liber die Geschichte der Fechtkunst, namentlich 
auf unsern deutschtn Universitaten, Seite 22.] 
1849 Roux (F. A. W. L.) — Die Kreussler'sche Stossfechtschule, zum Gebrauch f. Academieen u. Militarschulen, nach mathemat. Grundsatzen. Imp. 
4to. Jena Mauke. 

[Portrait of the author and 120 figures drawn from nature, lithographed. 

1849 SuTOR (J.) — New kiinsiliches Fechtbuch, das ist Ausfiihrliche 
Deschription der Freyen Adelichen und Ritterlichen Kunst des Fechtens in 
den gebrauchlichsten Wehren, als Schwerdt, Dusacken, Rappier, &c,, &c. 
Neu herausgegeben wort- und bildgetreu nach dem Original. 4to. Stuttgart 
J. Scheible. [89 woodcuts.] 

1850 Erste Anleitung des Soldaten in der eigentHchen zerstreuten Fechtart. 
Auszug aus d. Werke des Obersten Graf en v. Waldersee, Die Methode zur 
Kriegsgemassen-Ausbildung der Infanterie f. das zerstreute Gefecht.' 8vo. 
MaiiiZ V. v. Zabern. 

1850 Reihenfolge der Kommandsworter f. das Bayonnet-Fechten der 
konigl. bayer. Infanterie. Gr. i6mo. Miinchen Kaiser. 

1850 Werner (J. A. L.)— Mihtar-Gymnastik, &c. Gr. 8vo. Leipzig 
Arnold. 

1851 Fehn (A.) — Die Fechtkunst mit Stosz- und Hiebwaffen. Gr. 8vo. 
Hannover Riimpler. [34 figures. 

1851 Heinze (A. C.) — Katechismus der Bajonetfechtkunst. 8vo. Leipzig Weber. 

1851 Ott (Jos.) [Unterlieut.] — Das System der Fechtkunst a la contrepointe f. den Stosz und Hieb. Zum Unterricht in Fechtschulen sowic zur 
Selbstbildg. nebst den Verhaltgn. im Zweikampfe, General-assaut, Duell od. 
Wettkampf, m. Rechts-Links-Kunst- und Naturfechten, u. e. Arb. Geschichte 
d. Duells.' 3 Blicher. Gr. 8vo. Olmiitz Holzel. 

[i Buch des Stossfechten, 192 S. mit 47 lith. Taf. in qu. 4to.] 

1851 Pinette (J.) — Katechismus der Bayonnetfechtkunst. 8vo. Leipzig. [16 figures.] 

1851 ToLLiN (F.) [Fechtmeister]. — Neue illustrirte Fechtschule. Nach 
der neuen und naturgemaszen Methode des Prof. Heinr. Ling dargestellt u. m. 
zahlreichen, nach der Natur gez. lllustr (in Holzschn. ) versehen. 8vo. Grimma 
Verlags Compt. 

1852 B** (Dr.) — Anleitung das Contraschlagen in kurzer Zeit griindhch 

zu erlernen, nebst einem Anhange iiber die steile Auslage und das Sabelschlagen. 8vo. Bonn Henry A. Cohen. [With figures.] 

1852 Das Bajonettfechten. Leicht faszliche Darstellung, dasselbe in kurzer 
Zeit griindlich zu erlernen, nebst kurzer Auseinandersetzg. wie solches ohne 
hohe Kosten in der Schweiz einzufiihren. Bvo. Chur Hitz. 1852. [6 figures. 

1853 ROTHSTEIN (H.) — Das Bajonetfechten nach dem System P. H. 
Ling's reglementarisch dargestellt. 8vo. Berlin Schroeder. 

[2 lithographs, comprising 32 figures.] 

1853 RoTHSTEiN (H.) — Anleitung zum Bajonetfechten. ite u. 2te unverand. Abdr. 8vo. Berlin Schroeder. 

[One lithograph containing 11 figures.] 

1854 Leitfaden fiir den Unterricht im Stockfechten zum Gebrauche der 
K. K. Mihtar-Bildungs-Anstalten. 8vo. Wien. 

1854 Vorschriften zum Gewehrfechten. 8vo. Schwerin. 

1855 BoTTCHER (A. M.) — Die reine, deutsche Stossfechtschule nach 
Eiselen. 2te Aufl. 8vo. Gorlitz Heyn. 

1856 Fehn (A.) — Fechtschule, mit Originalzeichnungen von Ferdinand 
Liebsch. 2te Aufl. 8vo. Hannover C. Meyer^ 

1856 Fehn (A.) — Die Fechtkunst mit Stoss- und Hiebwaffen. 2te Aufl. 
8vo, Hannover C. Meyer. [34 figures.] 

1856 Ott (Jos.) — Das System der Fechtkunst a la contrepointe f. den 
Stosz und Hieb. 2te Aufl. Olmiitz Holzel. 

1857 Dierkes (A.) — Leitfaden fiir den Unterricht im Sabelfechten. 8vo. 
Prag Hess. 

1857 RoTHSTEiN (H.) — Anleitung zur Bajonetfechten. 8vo. Berhn 
Schroeder. [3 figures.] 

1857 Roux. — Deutsches Paukbuch. 410. Jena Mauke. 1857. 

[6 photolithographed figures. 

1858 GORNE (von), SCHERFF (von), und Mertens. — Die Gymnastik und 
die Fechtkunst in der Armee. 8vo. Ferlin Mittler. 

1859 Hermann (A.) — Grundziige einer Anleitung zum Sabelfechten. 
i6mo. Pest Geibel. 

1859 Meyer (Oscar). — Das Fechten des Cavalleristen mit dem blanken 
Waffen (dem Sabel und Pallasch), zu Fuss und zu Pferde. Mit Zeichnungen. 
8vo. Trier. [6 plates.] 

i860 D'AZEMAR (Baron) [Obst.] — Theorie der Kampfe mit dem Bajonett, 
angenommen im J. 1859 von der italien. Armee unter Napoleon HI. aus (des 
verf.) System der neueren Kriegfiihrg. In's Deutsche iibertragen von Lieut. 
Rich. Stein. Gr. 8vo. Breslau Kern. 

i860 Ballasa (C.) [Major]. — Die militarische Fechtkunst vor dem 
Feinde. Eine Darstellg. der im Kriege vorkommenden Fechtarten d. Bajonets 
gegen das Bajonet, d. Sabels gegen den Sabel, u. der Lanze gegen die Lanze, m. 
Beseitigg. aller beim Kunstfechten vorkommenden, vor dem Feinde abernicht 
fiiglich anwendbaren Stiche, Hiebe u. Paraden zum Gebrauche f. Infanterie u. 
Kavallerie, m. 26 (Hth.) Abbildgn, nebst e. Anh. iiber das Kunstfechten m. dem 
Sabel. Qu. gr. 4to. Pest Geibel. 

[One Hthograph containing 16 figures.] 

i860 ROTHSTEIN (H.) — Das Bajonetfechten nach dem Systeme Ling's. 
2te Aufl. 8vo. Berlin Schroeder. 

1861 Anleitung zur Betrieb der Gymnastik und der Fechtkunst in der 
Armee. 8vo. Berlin v. Decker. 

1861 Die zerstreute Fechtart der K. K. Cavallerie. Dargestellt nach den 
allerhochsten Bestimmgn. v. e. K. K. Officier. i6mo. Wien Pichler's Wwe. 
und Sohn. 

1861 Franckenberg-Ludwigsdorff (Hauptm. von). — Betrachtung-en 
iiber das Bajonettfechten iind den bisherigen Betrieb desselben in der Armee. 
Ein Vortrag gehalten zur Anregg. der Besprechung im Officier-Corps. 8vo. 
Berlin Mittler u. Sohn. 

1861 Hermann (A. )— Schliissel zur Kunst des Rapier- und Sabelfechtens 
a la contrepointe. i6mo. Linz Banner. 

1861 Strantz (Gust.) [Prem. Lieut.]— Leitfaden zum Stoszfechten, 
Schlagen und Turnen fiir die konigl. Militar-Reitschule zu Schwedt. Gr. 8vo. 
Berlin Springer. 

1862 Albanesi (Carl). — Theorie der Fechtkunst, nebst e. Anleit. zum 
Hiebfecbten und zum prakt. Unterrichte. Gr. 8vo. Wien Pichler's Wwe. 
u. Sohn. [3 folio plates photographed, containing 12 sketches.] 

1862 Stocken (Hauptm.) — Uebungs-Tabellen fiir den systematischen 
Betrieb der Gymnastik und des Bajonnetfechtens bei der Infanterie. ite u. 2te 
Aufl. Berlin Schroeder. 

1863 Grlindliche Bajonnet-Fechtschule zur Ausbildung der Lehrer und 
Vorfechter in der Armee. Gr. 8vo. Cassel Feyschmidt. 

[With figures.] 
T863 ROTHSTEIN (H.)— Das Stoss- und Hiebfechten mit Degen und 
Sabel. 8vo. Berlin: Schroeder. [40 figures.] 

1864 Bergauer (Josef) [Lieut, ite Klasse des k. k. 38 Linien Infanterie 
Regt.] — Methodischer Leitfaden fiir das Sabelfechter. i2mo. 

[Selbstverlag des Verfassers. i plate.] 
1864 Metz (A. E. von). — Fechtbuch fiir die Prim-Auslage. 8vo. Wien: 
Braumiiller. 

1864 E. V. S. — Die Grundsatze der zerstreuten Fecht^rt in ihrer prak tischen Anwendung naher beleuchtet. i6mo. Wien Seidel u. Sohn. 
[3 lithographed plates. 
1864 Stocken (Hauptm.) — Uebungs-Tabellen fiir den systematischen 
Betrieb der Gymnastik und des Bajonnettfechtens bei der Infanterie. 3te Au fl. 
Berlin Schroeder. 

1864 Wassmanmsdorff (Karl). — Anleitung zum Gewehrfechten auf den 
deutschen Turnvereinen. 8vo. Leipzig: Keil. [6 figures.] 

1865 Abanderungen zur Instruktion fiir den Betrieb der Gymnastik und 
des Bajonetfechtens bei der Infanterie vom 19 Octobr. i860. Gr. 8vo. Berlin 
v. Decker. [14 woodcuts in the text.] 

1865 Happel (J.) — Das Freifechten. 8vo. Leipzig Weber. 
1865 Lenz (G. F. ) — Zusammenstellung von Schriften iiber Leibesiibungen. 
3te Aufl. 8vo. Berlin Lenz. 

1865 LuBECK (W.) — Lehr- und Handbuch der deutschen Fechtkunst. 
Svo. Frankfurt a. d. Oder Harnecker. 
[3 lithographs and 7 tables.] 
1865 RiJCKER (Prem. Lieut.) — Vergleichung der Bajonnettfechtens der 
preuszischen und franzosischen Armee. i6mo. Luxemburg: Heintze. 
[9 lithographed plates.] 

1865 Unterrichts-Plan fiir den Betrieb des gymnastichen Unterrichts auf 
den koniglichen Kriegsschulen, unter zu Grundlegg. der allerhochst genehmigten Abandergn. und Zusatze zur Instruction fiir den Betrieb der Gymnastik und 
des Bajonettfechtens bei der Infanterie vom 19 Octb. i860. Gr. Svo. Berlin 
V. Decker. 

1866 QuEHL (Fr. W.) — Anweisung zum Fechten auf Stosz und Hieb, mit 
einer Anleitung zum Unterricht groszerer Abtheilungen im Fechten ins besondere 
in Turnvereinen. i6mo. Erlangen Besold. [26 plates.] 

iS33 Qyetii.(F. W.)— Anweisung TMni Bayon-tfechten. 8vo. Berlin. 

1867 Roux. — Deutsches Paukbuch. 2te Aufl. Fol. Jena: Mauke. 
1867 Stocken (Hauptm.) — Lectionsgang fiir den Unterricht im Stoszund Hiebfechten als AnhaU fiir den Lehrer. 8vo. Berlin Schroeder. 

1867 Stocken (Hauptm.) — Uebungs-Tabellen fiir den systematischen 
Betrieb der Gymnastik und des Bajonnetsfechtens bei der Infanterie. Nebst 
einem kurzen Lection sgange fiir den Unterricht im Stosz und Hiebfechten. 
4te Aufl. 8vo. BerHn Schroeder. 

1868-9 Di^ geschlossene und zerstreute Fechtart [das Exerciren und Plankehi] der Infanterie. 1-3 Abth. 8vo. Stuttgart Lindemann. 

1868 MoNTAG (J. B.) — Neue praktische Fechtschule auf Hieb und 
Stoss, sowie auch Stoss gegen Hieb und Hieb gegen Stoss. 8vo. Erfurt 
Bartholomaus. [30 figures.] 

1869 HoRNSTEiN (L.) — Die Fechtkunst auf den Hieb. Fine Skizze. Querfolio. Miinchen J. A. Finsterlin. [38 figures.] 

1870 S. (v.) — Hiilfsbuch zum Betriebe der Gymnastik u. d. Bajonetfechtens fur Offiziere und Unteroffiziere der preuszisLh-norddeutschen Infanterie. 
2te u. 3te Aufl. 32mo. Nordhausen Eick. 

1870 Wassmannsdorff (Karl). — Sechs Fechtschulen (d. i. Schau- und 
Preisfechten) der Marxbriider und Federfechter aus den Jahren 1573 bis 1614 
Niirnberger P^echtschulreime v. J. 1579 und Rosener's Gedicht Enrentitelund 
Lobspruch der Fechtkunst v. J. 1589. Fine Vorarbeit zur einer Geschichte 
der Marxbriider und P'ederfechter. 8vo. Heidelberg Karl Groos. 

1872 Praktische Anleitung zum Unterricht im Stossfechten. 8vo. Berlin: 
Schroeder. [With woodcuts. 

1872 RoTHSTEiN (H.) — Das Bajonetfechten nach dem System P. H. 
Ling's reglem. dargest. 2te Aufl. 8vo. Berlin Schroeder. 

1873 Sebetic (Raimund). — Theoretisch-praktische Anleitung zum Unterrichte im Sabelfechten. Zum Gebrauche fiir Truppenschulen sowie zur Selbstbildimg leichtfasslich und voUstandig nach der k. k. osterreich. Armee eingefiihrten Fecht-Methode bearb. Gr. 8vo. Wien Gerold's Sohn. 

[2 lithographed plates comprising 14 figures.] 

1874 Hiilfs- und Handbuch f. Ofliziere u. Unterofliziere d. preuss. Infanterie z. Gebrauch bei Ausbildg. d. Mannschaft in d. Gymnastik u. im Bajonetfechten. 5te Aufl. i6mo. Potsdam Doring. 

1874 Praktische Anleitung zum Unterricht im Stossfechten. 2te Aufl. 
Kl. 8vo. Berlin Schroeder. [Figures in the text.] 

1874 S. (von). — Hiilfsbuch zum Betriebe d. Gymnastik u. d. Bajonettfechtens f. Ofticiereund Unterofticiere d. preuss. -norddeut. Infanterie. 7te Aufl. 
32mo. Nordhausen Eich. 

1875 Chalaupka (Lieut. Frz.) — Leitfaden zum Unterricht im Sabelfechten. Fiir Truppenschulen der k. k. Armee. 8vo. Teschen Prochaska. 

[i lithographed plate.] 

1876 Vorschriften iiber das Bajonettfechten der Infanterie. Gr. 8vo. 
Berlin Mittler u. Sohn. 

1877 Happel (J.)— Das Gerathfechten. Das Sto:k-, Stab-, Sabel- und 
Schwertfechten. 8vo. Antwerpen. [51 figures in the text.] 

1877-8 Hiilfs- und Handbuch fiir Offiziere und Unteroffiziere d. preuss. Infanterie zum Gebrauch bei Ausbildg. d. Mannschaft im Turnen u. Bajonetts 
fechten. Nach den allerhochsten Vorschriften vom 6 April 1876 in tabellar. 
Form bearb. v. e. preusz. Offizier. 8te Aufl. i6mo. Potsdam Doring. 

1877 S. (von). — Hiilfsbuch zum Betriebe d. Turnensu. d. Bajonettfechtens 
f. Offiziere und Unteroffiziere d. deut. Infanterie. 8te Aufl. Nordhausen 
Eick u. H. 

1878 Bluth (Prem. Lieut.) — Praktische Anleitung zum Unterricbt im 
Kieblecnten. Nach der bei der konigl. Central -Turnanstalt eingefuhrten 
Lehrmethode bearbeitet. 8vo. Berlin Schroeder. 

1878 Effenberger (Ant.) — Leitfaden zur praktischer Erlernung d. Rappier- und Sabelfechtens. 8vo. Pola Schmidt. 

1878 Fehn (Aug.) [Univ. Fechtlehrer], — Die Schule d. Manschettfechs 
tens. 8vo. Heidelberg Koester. [With drawings.] 

1878 Hulsbuch zum Betriebe d. Turnens u. d. Bajonettfechtens der 
Infanterie. Zusammengestellt nach den neuesten Vorschriften zum prakt. 
Gebrauch und zum Anhalt v. B. i6mo. Torgau Jacob. 

1878 Lancke (Jul.) [Prem. Lieut.] — Praktische Anleitung zur Ausbildung und Vorsteilung der II. Bajonetfechtklasse. Nach den Vorschriften iiber 
das Bajonetfechten der Infanterie aus dem J. 1876 und eigenen Erfahrgn. 
zusammengestellt. 8vo. Mainz V. von Zabern. 

1879 Praktische Anleitung zUiH Unterricht im Stossfechten. Nach der 
bei der konigl. Ceatral-Turninstalt eingefuhrten Lehrmethode. 3teverb. Aufl. 
8vo. Berlin Schroeder. [Figures in the text.] 

1879 Weiland (B.) — Anleitung zum Betriebe d. Stosz- und Hiebfechtens 
Fiir Militarschulen und Turnanstalten, wie auch zum Selbstunterricht f. Liebhiber der Fechtkunst zusammengestellt u. bearb. 24mo. Wiesbaden: Limbarth. 

1880 BolgA*^ (Frz. von) [Oberlieut.]— DieRegelnd. Duells. 8vo. Budapest. 

1881 B. (von). — Arleitung fur Officiere und Unterofficiere beim Ertheilen 
d. Unterrichts im Turnen und Bajonettiren. i6mo. Hannover Helwing. 

1881 Bericht iiber den Fechtbetrieb von Ende 1877 bis Anfang 1881 im 
markischen Turngau im VIII. Kreise (Rheinlandund Westfalen) der deutschen 
Turnerschaft. Hierbei ein Anhang. Die Hiebfcchtlehre. Kl. 8vo. Iserlohn. 

1 88 1 Eiselen (E. W. B.)— Das Sabelfechten. Manuscript, ausgezeichnet v. dessen Schiiler G. im J. 1825. 8vo. Berlin Lenz. 

188 1 Hergsell (Gustav). — Die Fechtkunst. 8vo. Wien Hartleben. 

1881 SebetiC (Raimund) [Oberheut. — Duell-Regeln. 3te unverand. 
Aufl. i2mo. Debreczin Csathy. 

1881 Lenz (G. F.) — Zusammenstellung von Schriften iiber Leibesubungen- 
[Turnen, Heilgymnastik, Ringen, Spiele, Turnlieder, Schwimmen, Eislauf, 
Fechten und Turniere.] Herausgegeben von G. F. Lenz, unter Mitwirkg. 
von E. Angerstein, N. J. Cup^rus, G. Eckler, &c. 4te stark verm. Aufl. Gr. 
Svo. Berlin Lenz. 

1882 Anleitung zum Gewehrfechten. 8vo. Dresden Meinhold u. Sohn. 

1882 Eiselen (G. W. B.) — Das deutsche Hiebfechten der Berliner Turnschulen. Neu bearb. und mit Abbildgn. versehen von Turnlehr. A. W. Bottcher und Dr. K. Wassmannsdorff. 8vo. Lahr Schauenburg. 

1882 Feldmann (Jos.) [Major]. — Leitfaden zum Unterrichte im Rappier-, 
Sabel-, Bajonet-und Stockfechten. Gr. 8vo. Wiener-Neustadt Lentner. 

1882 Lion (J. C.) — Das Stossfechten, zur Lehreund Uebungin Wort und 
Bild dargestellt. Gr. Svo. Hof Grau u. Co. 

1882 MONTAG (J. B.)— Neue praktische Fechtschule auf Hieb und Stoss, 
&c. &c. 2te verb, setir verm. Aufl. 8vo. Leipzig Gracklauer. 

1882 R. (Hauptmann von). — Anleitun^ zum Kontrabajonettfechten im 
Anschusz an den Ent vurf der provisorischen Vorschriften fiir das Bajonettfechten der Infanterie. i2mo. Berlin Liebel. 

1882 Vorschriften fiir das Bajonettfechten der Infanterie. Gr. 8vo. Berlin 
Mittler u. Sohn. 

1883 Bluth (Hauptm.) — Praktische Anleitung zum Unterricht im Hiebfechten. Nach der bei konigl. Militar-Turnanstalt eingefiihrten Lehrmethode 
b arb. 2te verb. Aufl. 8vo. Berlin Mittler u. Sohn. 

[18 vi^oodcuts in the text.] 
1883 Metz (Alex. Edler von) [Gen. Major]. — Fechtbuch fiir die Prim- 
Auslage. Hrsg. im J. 1863, nach genauer Durchsicht neu aufgelegt im J. 
1883. 8vo. Wien Seidel u. Sohn. 

1883 S. (von). — Hiilfsbuch zum Betriebe d. Turnens und d. Bajonettfechtens f. Offiziere u. Unteroffiziere der deutschen Infanterie. iite nach den 
neuesten Vorschriften voUstandig ungeand. Aufl. 32mo. Nordhausen Eigendorf. 

1884 B. (von). [Univ. Fechtmeister]. — Die Fechtkunst mit dem krummen Sabel. Praktische Anleitung zum Mihtarfechten (Hieb und Strich) 
und zum deutschen kommentmaszigen Studentenfechten. Gr. 8vo. Straszburg 
i. E. R. Schultz & Comp. [22 plates from photographs.] 

1884 BoLGAR (Frz. von) [Oberlieut.]— Die Regeln d. Duells. 2te verm. 
Aufl. 8vo. Wien Seidel u. Sohn. 

1884 Hiilfsbuch fiir den Infanterie-Unteroffizier zum Gebrauch bei Ausbildung der Mannschaft im Turnen und Bajonettfechten. Zusammengestellt 
nach den bis 9 Nov. 1882 ergangenen Bestimmgn. ite u. 2te Aufl. 24mo. 
Potsdam Doring. 

1884 S. (von). — Hiilfsbuch zum Betriebe d. Turnens und d. Bajonettfechtens f. Offiziere und Unteroffiziere der deutschen Infanterie. i2te Aufl. 32mo. 
Nordhausen Eigendorf. 

1884 Vorschriften fiir das Hiebfechten. Gr. 8vo. Berlin Mittler u. Sohn. 

1884 Vorschriften fiir das Stossfechten. Gr. 8vo. Berlin Mittler u. Sohn. 

1885 Anleitung fiir Officiere und Unterofficiere beim Ertheilen d. Unterrichts im Turnen und Rajonettiren. 2te nach den allerhochsten und neuesten 
Vorschriften bearb. Aufl. von v. B. i6mo. Hannover Helwing. 

1885 Fehn (W. ) — Anleitung fiir Officiere und Unterofficiere beim Ertheilen 
d. Unterri( hts im Turnen und Bajonettiren. 2te nach den allerhochsten und 
neuesten Vorschriften bearb. Aufl. i6mo. Hannover Helwing. 

1885 Fehn (W. ) [Univ. Fechtmeister]. — Das kommentmaszige Fechten 
mit dem deutschen Haurappier Rechts und Links. Gr. 8vo. Straszburg i. E. 
Schultz & Comp. [24 plates from photographs.] 

1885 Fehn (W. ) — Entwurf einer Instruction fiir deutsche Hiebfechtschulen. 
8vo. Straszburg i. E. Schultz & Comp. [With photographic plates.] 

1885 Hergsell (Gustav). — Unterricht im Sabelfechten. Gr. 8vo. Wien 
Hartleben. 

1885 Roux (Ludwig Caesar) [Univ. Fechtmeister]. — Die Hiebfechtkunst. 
Eine Anleitung zum Lehren und Erlernen des Hiebfechtens aus der verhangenen 
und steilen Auslage mit Beriicksichtigung des akad. Comments. Gr. Svo. 
Jena Pohle. [100 tinted Hthographic figures.] 

1885 SCHULZE (Friedrich). — Die Fechtkunst mit dem Haurapier unter 
besonderer Beriicksichtigung des Linksfechtens, mit Uebungsbeispielen. Gr. 
8vo. Heidelberg Bangel u. Schmitt. [5 photographs.] 

1885 WiELAND (B. ) — Praktisches Handbuch der Fechtkunst fiir Truppen- 

28o APPENDIX 

schulen, Militarbildungsanstalten, Turnschulen und Fechtvereine, sowie 
Freunde und Liebhaber der Fechtkunst. Gr. 8vo. Wiesbaden R. Bechtold 
& Comp. 

1885 RiELECH (F. ) — Lose Worte liber die Bestimmungsmensuren der deutschen Couleurstudenten. 8vo. Breslau V. Zimmer. 

1886 Feldmann (Jos.) [Major]. — Leitfaden zum Unterrichte im Stock-, 
Rapier-, Sabel- u. Bajonettfechten. 2te Aufl. Lex. 8vo. Wien Seidel und 
Sohn. 

1887 Hergsell (Gustav) [Hauptmann u. Landesfechtmeister]. — Talhofer's Fechtbuch aus d. Jahre 1467. Large 410. Prag Calve. 

[268 photographic plates.] 
1887 Talhoffer. — Fechtbuch aus dem Jahre 1467, gerichtliche und 
andere Zweykampfe darstellend. Herausgegeben von G. Hergsell. 4to. 
Prag. [With 268 plates.] 

1887 Wassmannsdorff (Dr. Karl). — Aufschliisse iiber Fechthandschriften und gedruckte Fechtbiicher des 16 und 17 Jahrhunderts in einer Basprechung von G. Hergsell Taihoffers Fechtbuch aus d.^m Jahre 1467. 8vo. 
Berhn Gaertner. 

[Reprinted from the Monatsschrift fiir das Turnwesen.'] 

Mair (Conrad). — Ein Fechtbuch. MSS. Kgl. Bibl. Dresden. 
Paulsen (Hector Mair) [Biirger zu Augsburg]. — MSS. in the Konigl. 
Bibl. Dresden. 

[Contains numerous well-drawn coloured illustrations of Fencing.] 
Kreussler. — Fechtschule. MSS. Kgl. Bibl. Dresden. 

GREEK (Modern). 

1872 Pyrgos (N. )— Hoplomachetik^ Xiphaski'a kai Spathaskia hypo N. 
Pyrgu, Didaskalu en tei stratiotikei scholei. En Ath^nais Typographeion 
S. K. Blastu, hodos Hermu. arith. 178. 8vo. 

1876 Pyrgos (N.) — Encheiridion praktikes spathaskias. Meros proton. 
Askesis kata xiphon hypo N. Pyrgu, Didaskalu tes hoplomachetikes en tei 
scholei ton euelpidon kai tu ekpaideutiku lochu. Athenesi (timatai drachm es). 
Typois Andreu Koromeda. 8vo. 

ITALIAN. 

1509 MoNCio (Pietro). — Opere di scherma. 

1532 LuCA (Guido Antonio di). — (?) 

1531 Manciolino (Antonio) [Bolognese]. — Opera nova, dove sono tutti 
li documenti e vantaggi che si ponno havere nel mestier de I'armi d'ogni sorte, 
novemente correcta ei stampata. i6mo. Vinegia Per N. d'Aristotile, detto 
Zappino. [A few woodcuts, unconnected with the text. 

1536 Marozzo (Achille) [Bolognese. Maestro generale de 1' arte de 
r armi.] — Opera nova. 4to. Mutinae, in sedibus venerabilis D. Antonii Bergolae sacerdotis ac civis Mutin. XXHL Idus Mail. [82 woodcuts.] 

1550 Marozzo (Achille) [di Bologna].— Opera nova &c. 2nd 
edition. 410. Venetia Stampata per Giovane Padouano, ad instantia de 
Marchior Sessa. 

15^3 Pagano (Marc' Antonio) [gentil'huomo napolitano]. — Le tre 
giornate d' intorno alia disciplina dell' Arme, espezialmente della spada al 
duca di Sessa. 8vo. Napoli. 

1553 Agrtppa (Camillo) [Milanese]. — Trattato di Scientia d' arme, con 
un dialogo di filosofia. 4to. Roma Per Antonio Blado, stampadoreapostolico. 
[Portrait of the author, 55 copperplates in the text.] 

1560 Modi di metter mano alia Spada. Obi. 24mo. Venice. 
[42 plates of Fencing, the text also engraved.] 

1568 Marozzo (Achille) [Bolognese]. — Arte dell' Armi. Ricorretto, et 
ornato di nuove figure in rame. 4to. Venetia Appresso Antonio Pinargenti. 
[Copperplates in the text. 

1568 Aggripa (Camillo). — Trattato di Scienza d' arme et un dialogo in 
detta materia. 4to. Venetia Appresso A. Pinargenti. 

[Portrait of the author and 49 copperplates in the text.] 

1569 Mora (Domenico) [gentilhuomo grisone]. — 11 soldato, nel quale si 
tratta di tutto quello che ad un soldato convien saper. 8vo. Venezia Grififio. 

1570 Grassi (Giacomo di) [da Modena. Some copies bear da Corregio 
Ragione di adoprar sicuramente 1' arme si da offesa come da difesa con un 
trattato dell' inganno et con un modo di esercitarsi da se stesso per acquistare 
forza, giudicio et prestezza. 4to. Venetia Appresso Giorgio de' Cavalli. 

[Some copies bear the indication appresso Giordano Ziletti. Portrait 
of Grassi and copperplates in the text.] 

1572 Agocchie (M. Giovanni dall') [Bolognese]. — Del Arte di scrimia 
libri tre. Ne' quali brevemente si tratta dello Schermire, della Giostra, del- 
1' ordinar battaglie. Opera necessaria a Capitani, Soldati et a qual si voglia 
Gentil'huomo. 4to. Venetia Appresso G. Tamborino. 

1575 ViGGlANi (Angelo) [Bolognese]. — Lo Schermo. Nel quale, per 
via di dialogo si discorre intorno all' eccelenza dell' Armi et delle lettere, et 
intorno all' offesa et difesa. Et insegna uno Schermo di Spada sola sicuro e 
singolare con una tavola copiosissima. 4to. Venetia Appresso Giorgio 
Angelieri. [9 copperplates in the text.] 

1584 Fallopia (Alfonso) [Lucchese. Alfiere nella fortezza di Bergamo]. 
Nuovo et breve modo di schermire. 4to. Bergamo Appresso Comin 
Ventura. 

1587 Ghisliero (Federico) [da Alessandria]. — Regole di molti cavagliereschi esercitii. 4to. Parma. 

1588 Viz AN I (Angelo) [Bolognese]. — Lo wSchermo &c. (see Viggiani, 15751. 2nd edition. All' illustrissimo signore, il sig. conte Pirro Malvezzi. 4to. Bologna Gio. Rossi. 

[The text is slightly altered from the ist edition, and a portrait of the 
author added to the plates.] 

1601 DocciOLTNi (Marco) [Florentino]. — Trattato in materia di scherma. 
Nel quale si contiene il modo e regola d' adoperar la spada cosi sola come 
accompagnata. 4to. Firenze Nella stamperia di Michelangiolo Serniatelli. 

1603 Cassani (Giovanni Alberto) [di Frasinello di Monserrato]. — 
Kssercitio Militare, il quale dispone 1' huomo a vera cognitione del Scrimire di 
Spada et dell' ordinare 1' Essercito a battagha &c, &c. 4to. Napoli. 

1604 Agripa (Camillo). — Trattato di Scienza d' Arme &c. Third 
edition. 4to. Venetia. 

1606 Fabrts (Salvator) [Capo del ordine dei sette cori]. — De lo Schermo, 
overo scienza d' arme. Fol. Copenhassen Henrico Waltkirch. 

[Frontispiece. Portraits of Christian IV. of Denmark and of the 
author. 190 copperplates in the text.] 

t6o6 Giganti (Nicoletto) [Vinitiano]. — Teatro nel qual sono rappresen- 

tate diverse maniere e modi di parare et di ferire di spada sola, e di spada e 

pusrnale dove ogni studioso potra essercitarsi e farsi prattico nella proflessione 

deir Armi. Obi. 4to. Venetia Appresso Gio. Ant. et G. de Franceschi. 

[Frontispiece with the Medici arms, portrait of the master, and 42 

copperplates, out of the text.] 

1608 Giganti (Nicoletto).— Teatro &c. 2nd edition. Obi. 4to. 
Venegia. 

1609 Alessandri (Torquato d').— 11 cavalierecompito dialogonel quale 
si discorre a' ogni scienza e del modo d' imparare a schermir con spada bianca, 
e d fendersi senz' armi. 8vo. Viterbo. 

1610 Capo Ferro (Ridolfo) 
alemanna nell' inclita citt4 di Siena 

"da Cagli. Maestro dell' eccelsa natione 
 — Gran simulacro dell' arte e dell' uso della 
scherma. Dedicato al serenissimo Sig. don Federigo Feltrio della Rovere, 
principe dello stato d' Urbino. Obi. 4to. Siena Apresso Saluestro Marchetti 
e Camillo Turi. 

[Portraits of the Duke d* Urbino and of Capo Ferro. 13 copperplates 
out of text.] 
1610 Sereno (B. ) — Trattato dell' uso della lancia a cavallo, del combattere 
a piede, alia sbarra et dell' imprese et inventioni cavaleresche. 4to. Napoli. 

16 10 Alessandri (Torquato E. d'). — Precetti sulla Scherma. Bvo. Roma. 

1613 BoTCCio (G. ) [Edited by Antonio Quintino]. — Gioelo di sapienza, 
nel quale si contengono mirabili secreti e necessarii avertimenti per difendersi 
dagli huomini e da molti animali &c. Nuovamente dato in luce da me 
Antonio Quintino, ad Instanza d' ogni spirito gentile. i2mo. Stampata in 
Milano et ristampata in Genova per Pandolfo Malatesta. 

[Portrait of the author and 15 woodcuts in the text.] 

16 r5 Marozzo (Achille). — Arte dell' Armi &c. 5th edition. 4to. 
Verona. 

1618 LoMBARDELLi (Orazio). — Giocello di sapienza, nel quale si contengono gli av'si d' arme, con 1' inclinazione dei dodici segni celesti et il memorial 
deir arte del puntar gli scritti. 8vo. Firenze, alle scale di Badia. 

[8 woodcuts.] 

1619 Gaiani (A. G. B. ) — Discorso del tornear a piedi. 4to. Genova. 

1619 Gaiani (Gio. Battista) [Alfiero].— Arte di maneggiar la Spada a 
p'edi et a cavallo. Opera per le nuove osservationi gia desiderata. 4to. 1-oano 
Appresso Francesco Castello. 

1621 PiSTOFiLO (Bonaventura). Oplomachia, nePa quale &c. si 
tratta per via di Teoria et di Practica del maneggio e dell' uso delle armi. 4to. 
Sienna. 

1624 Fabris (Salvator). — Delia vera practica e scienza d' armi &c. 
Opera di Salvator Fabris. Folio. Padova Per Pietro Paolo Tozzi. 

1627 PiSTOFiLO (Bonaventura) [Ferrarese]. — II Torneo. ^to. Bologna 
Per il Ferrone. [Frontispiece and 114 copperplates, no text.] 

1628 Giganti (Nicoletto). — Teatro &c. 2nd edition. Obi. 4to. 
Padua Per Paolo Frambotto. 

1628 Alfieri (Fiancesco Ferdinando) [Maestro d' arme dell' illustrissima 

accademia Delia in Padova]. — La Bandiera. Obi. 410. Padova Presso S. 
Sardi. [Numerous copperplates.] 

1628 Vezzani (Antonio). — L' Esercizio accademico di Picca. 8vo. Parma. 
[Portrait and copperplates.] 

1640 Alfieri (Francesco) [Maestro d' arme dell' ill'"''^ accademia Delia 
in Padova]. — La Scherma. Dove con nuove Ragioni e con Figure, si mostra 
la perfezione di quest' arte, e in che modo secondo 1' arme e il sito, possa il 
Cavaliere restar al suo nemico superiore. Obi. 40. Padova Per Seb. Sardi. 

[Portrait of author and 37 copperplates.] 

1641 Cere>A (Terenziano) [Parmegiano, detto 1' Eremita]. — L' esercizio 
della spada regulato con la perfetta idea della scherma. Opera utile e necessiria a chiunque desidera usjire vittorioso dalli colpi della spada nemica. 4to. 
Ancona M. Salvioni. 

1643 GaALDO (Galeazzo). — II maneggio delle armi. 8vo (?). Bologna 
Per Tebaldini. 

1644 (?) Alfieri (Antonio). — Quesiti del cavaliero instrutto nell' arte dello 
schermo, con le risposte del suo maestro. 8va. Padova. 

1645 Alfieri (Francesco). — La Scherma &c. 2nd edition. 4to. 
Ancona. 

1653 Alfieri (F.) [Maestro d'arme dell' ill^f^ academiaDel ain Padova]. 
Lo Spadone. Dove si mostra per via di figura il maneggio e 1' uso di esse. 
4to. Padova: S. Sardi. [Numerous copperplates.] 

1653 Alfieri (Francesco). — L' arte di ben maneggiare la spada. 4to. 
Padova. [Copperplates.] 

1654 Jacobilli (Frances :o) [da Foligno]. — Compendio del giuoco moderno di ben maneggiare la spada. 8vo. Padova. 

1655 Alferi (Antonio) [da Aquila]. — Pentateuco politico, owero cinque 
d'singanni spada, tamburo, piffero, scudo, tromba al duca di Guisa per 
r invasione del regno di Napoli 1' anno 1654. 4to. Aquila. 

[Published under the anagrammatic pseudonym, Arenif Atonoli.] 

1660 Senesio (Alessandro) [gentil' huomo Bolognese]. — II vero maneggio 
della spada. Folio. Bologna: L'Herede di Benacci. 
[14 copperplates, out of text] 
1664 Quesiti del cavaliere instrutto nell' arte della scherma. 8vo. Padova. 

1668 Bresciani (Marin) [maestro d' armi Ferrarese]. — Li trastulli guerrieri. 
8vo. Brescia. [With figures.] 

1669 Mattei (Francesco Antonio). — Delia scherma napoletana, discorso 
prlmo, dove, sotto il titolo dell' impossibile possibile, si prova che la scherma 
sia scienza e non arte si danno le vere norme di spada e pugnale discor o 
secondo, dove si danno le vere norme di spada sola. 4to. Foggia Novelio de 
Bonis. 

1670 Pallavijini (G useppe Morsicato) [Maestro di scherma Palermitano]. —La Scherma illustrata, per la di cui teorica e prattica si puo arriva'^e 
con facilt^ alia difesa ed offesa necessaria nel occasion! d' assalti nemici. 
Opera utilissima alle persone che si dilettanodi questa professione, con le figure 
della scienza prattica dichiarate coi 1 )ro discorsi. Folio. Palermo Domenico 
d' Ansel mo. Frontispiece and 31 copperplates.] 

1671 Gessi (B.) — La spada di honore, libro I. (unico) delle osservazioni 
cavaleresche. 4to. Bologna. 

1672 Gessi (B.) — La spada di honore, libro I. (unico) delle osservazioni 
cavaleresche. 8vo. Milano. 

1673 Marzioli (Fr.) [Bresciano]. Precetti militari. Folio. Bologna. 

[Numerous plates.] 

1673 Pallavicini (Giuseppe Morsicato). — La seconda parte della scherma 

illustrata, ove si dimostra il vero maneggio della spada e pugnale et anco il 

modo come si adopera la cappa, il brochiero e la rotelladi notte, le quali regole 

non sono state intese da nessuno autore. Folio. Palermo Domenico d' Anselmo. 

[Frontispiece and 36 copperplates.] 

1673 ViLLARDiTA (Giuseppe). — Trattato di scherma Siciliana, ove si 
monstra di seconda intentione, con mia linea retta difendersi di qual si voglia 
operatione di resolutione, che operata per ferire a qualnnque, o di punta, o 
taglio, che accadesse in accidente di questionarsi. Con expressione di tutte le 
regole che nascono di seconda operatione. i2mo. Palermo Carlo Adamo. 

1678 ToRELLT (Carlo).— Lo splendore della nobilta napoletana, giuoco. 
d' arme esposto a somiglianza di quello intitolato le chemin de I'honneur. 
4to. Napoli. 

1680 Monica (Francesco della). — La scherma napolitana, discorso due. 
4to. Parma. 

1682 GoRio (Gio. Pietro) [Milanese]. — Arte di adoprar la spada per 
sicuramente ferire e perfettamente diffendersi. Dedicata e consegrata al noma 
e merito dell' illustriss"^^ Sig Conte Pirro Visconti Borromeo Aresi. bvo. 
Milano Federico Francesco Maietta. [Portrait of the author.] 

1683 Alfieri (Francesco). — Arte di ben maneggiare la Spada &c. 
2nd edition. Obi. 4to. Padova. 

1686 Marcelli (Francesco Antonio) [Maestro di scherma in Roma]. — 
Regole della scherma insegnate da Lelio e Titta Marcelli, scritte da Francesco 
Antonio Marcelli, figlio e nipote, e maestro di scherma in Roma. Opera non 
meno utile che necessaria a chiunque desidera far profitto in questa professione. 
Dedicata alia sacra real Maesta di Christina Alessandra regina di Suetia. 
Parte prima Regole della spada sola. Parte seconda Regole della scherma. 
Nella quale si spiegano le regole della spada e del pugnale insegnate da Titta 
Marcelli con le regole di maneggiar la Spada col brochiere, targa, rotella, 
cappa, lanterna col moHo di giocar la spada contro la sciabola. In 2 parts. 
4to. Roma. [Frontispiece. Copperplates in the text.] 

i6d8 Vezzani (Antonio). — L' Esercizio Accademicodi Picca. 8vo. Parma. 

1696 Mazo (Bondi di) [da Venetia]. — La spada maestra. Libro dove si 
trattano i vantaggi della nobilissima professione della scherma, si del caminare, 
girare e ritirarsi, come del ferire sicuramente e difendersi. Obi. 4to. Venetia 
Dominico Lovisa. [80 copperplates. 

171 1 Alessandro (Giuseppe d'). — Pietra paragone de' Cavalieri di D. 
Giuseppe d' Alessandro Duca di Pescolanciano, divisain cinque hbri. 8vo (?). 
Napoli. 

1714 Calarone (Costantino) [detto 1' Anghiel maestro di scherma Messine>e]. — Scienza prattica necessaria all' huomo overo modo per superare la 
fo! za coir uso regolato della spada parte prima. 4to. Roma Luca Antonio 
Chracas. [Portraits, woodcuts in the text.] 

1758 Marco (Alessandro di) [pro'essore di scherma Napoletano]. — Ragionamenti accademici intorno all' arte della scherma. 8vo. Napoli. 

1759 Marco (Alessandro di).— Discorsi instruttivi ne' quaU si tratta in 
particolare intorno all' arte della scherma. 8vo. Napoli. 

1761 Marco (Alessandro di) [professore di scherma napoletano, maestro 
de' due coUegj Capece e Macedonio e d' altri cavalieri]. — Riflessioni fisiche e 
geometriche circa la misura del tempo ed equilibrio di quello e della natural 
disposizione ed agilta dei competitori in materia di scherma e regolamenti 
essenziah per saggiamente munirsi da ogni inconsiderato periglio sul cimento 
della spada nuda. i2mo. Napoli. 

BIBLIOTHECA ARTIS DJMICATORI.E 285 

T775 Bremond (A. Picard). — Trattato suHa scherma, aggiunta la notizia 
de' professori nonche de' dilettanti che si distinguono in quest' arte medesima 
nelle principal! citt^ d' Europa, trad, dalla franc, nella lingua toscana. 8vo. 
Milano. [Portrait of Saint-Georges.] 

178 1 Mangano (Guido Antonio del) [Pavese]. — Riflessioni filosofiche 
sopra r arte della scherma. 8vo. Pavia. 

1782 Bremond (Picard Alessandro). — Trat tatosuUa scherma traduzione 
dalla francese nella hngua toscana. 8yo. Milano Pirola. 

1783 Gennaro (Nicola di) [dottore awoccato]. — Compnnimento I. 
della scherma e de' Gladiatori. Componimento II. di aggiunta al primo, 
suUa lode della scherma e de' gladiatori, &c. 8vo (?). Venezia. 

1798 MiCHELi (Michele). — Trattato in lode della nobile e cavalleresca 
arte della scherma. Diretto ai nobili e cittadini Toscani. 8vo. Firenze 
Nella stamperia granducale. 

1800 Bertelli (Paolo). — Trattato di Scherma. 8vo. Bologna. 

1803 Rossaroll (Scorza) [capitano de' zappatori] Grisetti (Pietro) 
[capitano di artiglieria]. — La scienza della scherma. 4to. Milano. 

[10 folding plates. J 

i8ti Rossaroll (Scorza) e Grisetti (Pietro). — La scienza della scherma 
 &c. 2nd edition. 4to. Napoli. 

18 18 Rossaroll (Scorza). — Trattato della spadancia o sia della spada 
larga. 8vo. Napoli. 

1818 Rossaroll (Scorza). — Scherma della baionetta astata. 8vo. Napoli. 

1820 FroRio (Blasco). — Di risposta ad alcune dimande di scherma, lettere 
di Blasco Florio &c. 8vo. Catania. 

1825 Florio (Blasco). — Discorso sull' utilita della scherma. 4to, Messina: 
G. Fiumara. 

1828 Florio (Blasco). — Discorso sull' utilita della scherma. 2nd edition. 
4to. Catania. 

1829 Weiss (Giuseppe). — Istruzione sulla scherma a cavallo. Napoli. 

1830 Weiss (Giuseppe). Scherma della baionetta. 4to. Napoli. 

1835 MuLLER (Alessandro). — II maneggio della baionetta all' attacco ed 
alia difesa &c. con 53 figure. Traduzione italiana dalla 2* francese del 

1837 Gambogi (conte Michele). — Trattato sulla scherma. Adorna di 
figure incise da Giuseppe Rados. Obi. 4to. Milano R. Fanfani. 
[56 hthographed plates.] 

1840 Maneggio della sciabola per uso della brigata lancieri, redatta di 
una guardia di ufficiali della stessa arma. Napoli. 

1842 Bertolini (Bartolomeo). — Trattato di sciabola, con 10 tavole. 8vo. 
Trieste 

1844 Florio (Blasco). — La scienza della scherma. Catania. 

1846 Abbondati (Niccolo). — Istituzione di arte ginnastica per le truppe 
di fanteria di wS. M. Sicilia.na, compilata sulle teorie de' piu accurati scrittori 
antichi e moderni. 2 vols. 8vo. Napoli. 

1847 Marchionni (Alberto). — Trattato di scherma sopra il nuovo sistema 
di giuoco misto di scuola italiana e francese. 8vo. Firenze. 

[5 lithographed folding plates and woodcuts in the text.] 

1850 Blengini (Cristoforo). — Teoria della soherma. 

1850 Giuliani (Bolognini Giuseppe). — Sul maneggio della sciabola. 
Ferrara. 

1851 Spinazzi (Pietro). — 11 bersagliere in campagna ed istruzione sulla 
scherma della baionetta, corrtdato di tavole dimostrative. Geneva. 

1852 ScALZi (Paolo de'). — La scherma esposta in lezioni. Svo. Genova. 

1853 ScALZi (Paolo de'). — La scuola della spada. 8vo. Genova. 

1853 Caccia (Ma-similiano).—Trattatodi scherma ad uso del R. esercito. 
Svo. Torino. jWith plates.] 

1856 Giuliani (Bolognini Giuseppe). — Teorie sulla sciabola per una 
scuola di contropunta di genere misto. Ferrara. 

1856 Florio (Blasco).— Osservazioni critico-apologetiche all' opera intitolata Istituzione di arte ginnastica,' dirette aiprofessori di scherma in Napoh. 
8vo. Catania. 

1858 Florio (Blasco). — Blasco Florio ai professori di scherma. Catania. 

1861 Cerri (Giuseppe). — Trattato teorico-pratico della scherma per 
sciabola. Milano. 

1862 Tambormm (Carlo). — Trattato di scherma alia sciabola. Genova. 

1864 Blengini (Cesare Alberto). — Trattato teorico-pratico di spada e 
sciabola, e varie paratedi quest' ult.mo contro la baionetta e la lancia. Operetta 
illustiata da 30 figure incise, con ritratto dell' autore. Svo. Bologna. 

1864 Istruzione per la scherma del bastone ad uso dei bersaglieri. Livorno. 

1864 ViTi (Giovanni Battista) [avvocato]. — Brcve trattato di scherma alia 
sciabola. Svo. Genova. 

1868 ScALZi (Paolo de'). — La scuola della spada. Seconda edizione con 
aggiunte. Svo. Firenze. [With figures.] 

1868 Mendieti a-Maglioco (Salvatore) [Furiere maestro di scherma 

alia scuola normale di fanteria 
Parma. 

 — Manuale della scherma di sciabola. i2mo. 
With plates.] 

7 868 Ferrero (Gio. Battista). — Traitato di scherma sul maneggio della 
sciabola. Torino. 

1868 Radaelli (Giuseppe). — Istruzione pel maneggio della sciabola, 
pubblicata dal capitano S. del Frate. Firenze. 

186S Cerri (Giuseppe). — Trattato teorico-pratico della scherma di bastone, col modo di difendersi contro varie altre armi sia di punta che di taglia 
Milano. 

1S70 Falciani (Alberto). — La scherma della sciabola o del bastone a due 
mani, brevemente insegnata nella lingua del popolo. i2mo. Pisa. 

1870 Strada (Enrico) [generale di cavalleria]. — Scherma e tiro. Napoli. 

1870 LaviBERTINI (Viitorio) [Maestro d' ?rmi]. — Trattato di scherma 
teorico-pratico illustrato della moderna scuola italiana di spada e sciabola. Svo. 
Bologna. [Frontispiece and 29 hthographed plates.] 

1871 Enrichetti (Cesare) [Maestro-capo e direttore di scherma alia 
scuola centrale di Parma]. — Trattato elementare teorico-practico di scherma. 
Svo. Paima. [6 hthographs.] 

1874 Cesar ANO (Federico) [di Napoli]. — Trattato teorico-pratico di 
scherma della sciabola, con appendice di tutti i regolamenti cavallereschi 
riguardanti la scherma. Milano. 

1875-6 Doux. — II maneggio della sciabola secondo il metodo di scherma 
Radaelli. Roma. 

1876 Radaelli (Giuseppe). — Istruzione per la scherma di sciabola e di 
spada del Prof. Giuseppe RadaeUi, scritta d' ordine del Ministero della Guerra 
dal Capitano S. del Frate. 4to. Milano. [lo folded lithographs.] 

1^76 Gandolfi (Giovanni). — Metodo teorico-pratico per la scuola di 
sciabola. tvo. Torino Borgarelii. 

1S77 Angelini (Achille). — Osservazioni sul maneggio della sciabola 
secondo il metodo Radaelli. Firenze. 

1878 Perez (G.) — II sistema di spada Radaelli, giudicato dall' arte della 
scherma. 4to. Verona Tip. di Gaetano Franchini. 
[7 folded lithographed plates.] 

1878 Forte (capitano Luigi). — Sul metodo di scherma Radaelh, lettere 
critica. Catania. 

1880 Pagliuca (Giovanni). — Cenni di critica sul sistema di scherma 
Radaelh. Torino. 

1881 RosARi [con Cariolato e Belmonte]. — Torneo internazionale tenuto 
in Milano. 8vo. Napoli Ferrante. 

1884 Parise (Masaniello). — Trattato teorico-pratico della scherma di 
spada e sciabola. Preceduto da un cenno storico sulla scherma e sul duello. 
8vo. Roma. [Numerous figures in the text.] 

1885 Frate (Settimo del) [capitano J. — Istruzione per la scherma di punta 
di Giuseppe Radaelli, professore di scherma e ginnastica, scritta d' ordine del 
ministero della guerra. 8vo. Milano. [10 lithographed plates.] 

1885 Rossi (Giordano). — Scherma di spada e sciabola. Manuale teoricopratico, con cenni storici sulle armi e sulla scherma, e principah regole del 
duello. 8vo. Milano. [54 figures in the text.] 

1888 Gelli (Cavaliere Jacopo). — Resurrtctio. Critica alle osservazioni sul 
maneggio della sciabola secondo il metodo Radaelli dtl Generale Achille Angelini. 8vo. Firenze Tipografia Niccolai. 

1888 Masiello (Ferdinando). — La scherma italiana di spada e di sciabola. 8vo. Firenze G. Cjioelli. 

[Numerous plates and figures in the text.] 

1888 (periodical) Cappa e spada. Giornale di scherma, ginnastica &c. 
diretto da Luigi Sertini. (Monthly review chiefly devoted to the interests of 
Italian swordsmanship.) 4to. Firenze, Via Nazionale 14. 

1889 Gelli (J.) [Cavaliere]. — La scherma collettiva quale mezzo di educazione fisica. Con 32 tavole dimostrative. 8vo. Tipografia Niccolai. 

[Figures in the text.] 

1550 (?) Altoni (PVancesco di Lorenzo). — Monomachia ovvero arte di 
scherma, cui segue un trattato del Giuoco della spada sola. Firenze. 

1590 (?) Palladini (Camillo) [Bolognese]. — Discorso sopra 1' arte della 
Scherma come 1' arte della scherma e neccssaria a chi si diletta d' Arme. Ob:. 
4to. 

[42 drawings in red cha^k, imitated from the plates of Agrippa's work. 
In M. Vigeant's collection, Paris.] 
Fiore Furlan [de Civida]. 

[Vellum MS. with pen and ink and gold sketches. See N. and Q. 
LoviNO (Giovanni Antonio) [Milanese]. — Opera into: no alia Practica e 
Theoria del ben adoperare tutte le sorti di arme overo la Scienza dell' Arme. 
4to. Vellum. [In the Bibhotheque Nationale, Paris.] 

British Museum. Additional, No. 23223. A treatise on fencing in 
Italian. 47 folios. [Date, end of 17th century.] 

1678 (?) Texedo (Don Pedro) [de Taruel. Sicilia].— Escuela en la berdadera destreza de las armas. (Dedicated to Don Fern. Joach. Faxardo de 
Requesens y Zuniga.) Sm. 4to. Palermo (?) 

[Portrait of the author, and figures.] 

LATIN. 

1579 GUNTERRODT (Henri a). — De veris principiis artis dimicatorias tractatus brevis. 4to. Witebergae. 

1604 LiPSius (Justus). — Ivsti Lipsi SaturnaHvm sermonum libri duo qui 
de Gladiatoribus. Editio ultima et castigatissima. Cum aeneis Figuris. Antverpias, ex officina Plantiniana, apud Joannem Moretum. 4to. 

Manuscript. 

DtJRER (Albert).— Oplodidaskalia, sive armorum tractandorum meditatio. 

[MS. in the Magdalenenbibliothek, Breslau. Quoted by Lenz in his 
 Zusammenstellung v. Schriften liber Leibesiibungen.'] 

PORTUGUESE. 

1685 I.uis (Thomas). — Tratado das li9oes da Espada preta, e destreza 
com que hao de usar os jugadores della. Foho, 29 pag. i lamina. Lisboa. 

1744 Martins Firmr (Manuel) — Espada firme o firme. Tractado para o 
jogo de espada preta e branca. Bvo, fol. xxxvi-86. Evora. 

1804 Carvalho (Rodriguez de). — Resumo breve do jogo de florete em 
dialogo para qualquer curioso se applicar ao serio estudio desta brilhante arte. 
Traduzido dos melhores auctores Franceses. 8vo. Lisboa. 

183Q Mello Pacheco de Resende (Jos6 de). — Instruc9ao do jogo 
d'espada a pe e a cavallo para ser posto em pratica na eschola militar, e nos 
corpos de cavallaria e artilheria montada do exercito do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro 
Brasileira. 

1842 OsORiO Y Gomez (don Pedro 1. — Tractado de esgrima a p^ e a cavallo, 
em que se ensina por principios o manejo do -florete ou o jogo da espada que 
se usa hoje. Large 8vo. Lisboa Typ. Commercial. [24 plates.] 

RUSSIAN. 

1817 Valville. — Traits sur la contre-pointe. Obi. 4to. St. Petersbourg: 
Charles Kray. [24 copperplates. In French and in Russian.] 

1843 Nachertarich Pravil Fechtovaljnavo iskoostva risoonkami v pyakti 
tchnactyahkh. Sochinenich Pomoshtchnika glavnavo. Fekhtovaljnavo 
Ootchitelyah Otdyailjnavo Gvardeickavo Korpoosa. 4to. Sanktpeterboorg 
Sokolova. 

SPANISH. 

1474 Pons [or Pona] (Jayme) [Jaume or Jacobus]. A treatise on the art 
of the sword. Perpinan. 

1474 (?) Torre (Pedro de la) [Petrus de Turri]. 

[Mentioned by Narvaez, Pallavicini, and MarceUi, but without sufficient 
data.l 

T532 Roman (Francisco).— Tratado de Esgrima, con figuras. 410 (?). 
Sevilla Bartolome Perez. 

1569 Carranza (Jeronimo de). — De la filosofia de las armas, de su destreza 
y de la agresion y defension Christiana. 4to. Luciferi Fano (vulgo San Lucar). 

1582 Carranza (Jeronimo de). — Libro que trata de la filosofia de las 
armas y de su destreza y de la agresion y defension Christiana. 410. Lisbon 
and San Lucar de Barrameda. [Portrait of Carranza.] 

T599-1600 NarvAEZ (D. Luis Pacheco de). — Libro de las grandezas de 
a Espada, en que se declaran muchos secretos del que compuso el comendador 
Geronimo de Carranza. En el cual cada uno ?e podra licionar y deprender 
a solas, sin tener necesidad de maestro que lo ensefie. 4to (80 pliegos). Madrid 
J. Iniquez de Lequerica. 

[Portrait of Don Luis, 2 figures and 155 diagram woodcuts in the 
text.] 

1600 Carranza (Jeronimo de). — De la filosofia de las armas &'C. 
2nd edition. 4to. Madrid. 

1608 Narvaez (D. Luis Pacheco de). — Cien conclusiones, o formas de 
saber, de la verdadera destreza. fundada en ciencia, y diez y ocho contradicclones a las de la comun. Folio. Madrid Luis Sanchez, 

1602 Narvaez (Don Luis Pacheco de). — Compendio de la filosofia y 
destreza de las armas de Geronimo de Carran9a. 4to. Madrid Luis Sanchez, 

t6i6 Ayala (Don Atanasio de).— El bisofio instruido en la disciplina 
mihtar. 8vo. Madrid. 

t6i8 Narvaez (Don Luis Pacheco). — Carta al Duque de Cea diciendo su 
pnrecer acerca del libro de Geronimo de Carranfa. De Madrid en quatro de 
Mayo. 8vo. Madrid. 

1623 PizARRO (D. Juan Fernando). — Apologia de la destreza de las armas. 
Defensa del libro de Carranza sobre ello. 8vo. Trujillo. 

1625 Narvaez (Don Luis Pacheco de) [Maestro del Rey]. — Modo facil v 
nuevo para examinarse los Maestros en la destreza de las armas ventender sus 
cien conclusiones o formas de saber. 8vo. Madrid Luis Sanchez. 

163c; Narvaez (D. Luis Pacheco de). — En?ai1o y desengaiio de los errores 
que se han querido introducir en la destreza de las armas. 4to. Madrid. 

1636 ToBAR (Don Pedro Mexia de). — Engano y desengano de los errores 
en la dest'-eza de las armas. 4to. Madrid. 

1639 Narvaez (Don Luis Pacheco de). — Advertencias para la ensenanza 
de la destreza de las armas, asi a pie como a cavallo. 4to. Madrid. 

1639 Vfedma (Diaz de). — Epitome de la ensenanza de la filosofia y destreza 
matematica de las armas. 8vo. Cadiz. 

1640 Carmona (Luis Mend^z de). — Compendio en defensa de la doctrina 
y destreza de Carranza. 4to. Sevilla. 

1642 Cala (Cristobal de). — Desengano de la Espada y Norte de diestros. 
4to. Cadiz. 

1658 Narvaez (D. Luis Pacheco de). — Modo facil para examinarse 
Src. 2nd edition, to which is often added Adicion a la filosofia de las armas. 
Las diez y ocho contradicciones de la comun destreza, por el mismo autor. Ano 
M.DC.LX. 8vo. Zarago9a Pedro Lanaja. 

1 665 Mendoza (Don Miguel Perez de). — Defensa de la doctrina y destreza 
de las armas. 4to. Madrid. 

1667 PoRRES (D. Gomez Arrias de). — Resumen de la verdadera destreza 
en el manejo de la Espada. 4to. Salamanca Melchor Estevez. 

U 

1672 Narvaez (D. Luis Pacheco de) [Maestro del Rey]. — Nueva ciencia 
y iilosofia de la destreza de las armas, su "teorica y practica. 8vo. Madrid. 

1672 Mendoza y Quixada (Don Miguel Perez de). — Principles de los 
cinco sujetos principales de que se compone la filosofia y matematica de las 
armas, practica y especulativa. 8vo. Pamplona. 

1675 Mendoza y Quixada (Don Miguel Perez de) [Maestro de la destreza]. — Resumen de la verdadera destreza de las armas, en treinta y ocho 
asserciones resumidas y advertidas con demonstraciones practicas, deducidas 
de las obras principales que tiene. 4to. Madrid. 

1675 Lara (D. Caspar Agostin de). — Cornucopia numerosa. Alfabeto 
breve de principios de la verdadera destreza y filosofia de las armas colegidos 
de las obras de Luis Pacheco de Narvaez. 4to. Madrid. 

1675 Ettenhard (Don Francisco Antonio) [Cavallero del Orden de 
Calitrava]. — Compendio de los fundamentos de la verdadera destreza y filosofia 
de las armas. Dedicado a la Sacra y Real Magestad del Rey Nuestro Sefior 
Don Carlos Segundo, Monarca de E'>pana y de las Indias. 4to. Madrid 
Antonio de Zafra. [16 copperplates.] 

To the above is generally found a smaller w^ork entitled Siguese el papel 
de Juan Caro, en que impugna la obra con Quince Oiepciones, y la respuesta 
de el Autor a ellos. [i copperplate,] 

1688 Aranda y Morentin (Antonio Arrieta). — Resumen de la verdadera 
destreza para saber los caminos verdaderos de la batalla. 8vo. Pamplona. 

1695 Rada (Lorenz de). — Respuesta filosofica y matematica en la cual se 
satisfece a los argumentos y proposiciones que a los profesores de la verdadera 
destreza y filosofia de las armas se han propuesto por un papel expedido sin 
nombre d'autor. 4to. Madrid Diego Martinez, Abad. 

1697 Ettenhard y Abarca (Don Francisco Antonio de). — Diestro Italiano y Espanol. Explican sus doctrinas con evidencias mathematicas conforme 
a los preceptos de la verdadera destreza y filosofia de las armas. 4to. Madrid 
Manuel Ruiz de Murga. [4 copperplates.] 

1697 Sylva (D. Diego Rejon de). — Definiciones de la ciencia de las armas. 
8vo. Orihuela. 

1732 Cruzada y Peralta (Manuel). — Las tretas de la vulgar y comun 
esgrima de espada, y con armas dobles, que aprobo don Luis Pacheco de Narvaez. y las oposieiones que dispuso en verdadera destreza de ella. 4to. Zaragoza. 

1705 Rada (Lorenz de), — Nobleza de la espada, cuyo resplendor se 
expresa en tres libros, segun ciencia, arte y experiencia. Folio. Madr d Diego 
Martinez, Abad. [16 copperplates.] 

1712 La Paz (Santos de). — llustracion de la destreza Indiana epistola 
oficiosa al Maestro de campo Don F. Lorenz de Rada &c. &c. sobre 
varios discursos publica'ios por el en la que intitulo defensa de la verdadera 
destreza de las armas. Sacola a luz el Capitan Diego Rodriguez de Guzman 
 &c. 4to. Lima. 

1724 Aznar de Polanco (Juan Claudio). — Carta, de la destreza de las 
armas, respuesta a un papel de titulo destreza vulgar &c. 4to. Madrid. 

1731 NovELi (D. Nicolas Rodrigo). — Crisol especulativo de la destreza 
de las armas. 8vo. Madrid. 

1758 Perinat (D. Juan Nicolas) [Maestro de esgrima en la real academia 
de Cavalleros Guardias Marinas]. — Arte de esgrimir florete y sable por los 
principios mas seguros, faciles y intelligibles. Oblong 4to. Cadix. 

1805 Brea (Don Manuel Antonio de). — Principios universales y reglas 
generales de la verdadera destreza del espadin, segun la doctrina mixta de 
irancesa, italiana y espanola. Madrid Imp. Real. 4to. [18 plates.] 

1819 P. (J. V. M. de). — Manejo del sable. Coleccion de cuarenta disenos 
que representan las diversas posiciones de este exercicio a caballo. Once cuad. 
[40 figures by Horace Vernet.] 

1823 Thomase (Eudaldo). — Tratado de esgrima d pi^ y a caballo, en que 
se ensena por principios el manejo del florete, 6 el juego de la espada que se usa 
en el dia, adornado con diez y seis laminas grabadas en cobre. 4to. Barcelona N. Dorca. [16 plates.] 

1826 Rolando (Guzman) [de la academia de armas]. — Nuevo arte de 
esgrima. conforme a la practica de los mejores maestros de Europa. Aumentado 
y corregido por J. S. Forsyth, y traducido del ingles por un Militar Espanol. 
i2mo. Londres Ackermann. 

1830 Esgrima de la bayoneta armada, trad, del italiano pon un Oficial de 
Milicias Provinciales. Madrid Leon Amarita. 8vo. 

1832 PoBLACiON Perez (Don Cayetano). — Esgrima, 6 sea la destreza 
del florete. Valladolid. 4to. [7 plates.] 

1832 Laborde y Navarro (Don Angel). Ejercicio del sable. Habana. 
4to. 

1832 Martinez (Don Juan Jos^). — Ejercicio del sable, traducido del 
ingles. Habana. 4to. [i plate.] 

1841 Laffargere (F.) [Lafaugere, J. (?)]. — Tratado completo de esgrima 
compuesto por el celebre profesor maestro Mr. F. L. adoptado ultimamente 
en Francia, y traducido al Espanol por el profesor D. Antonio Marin. 8vo. 
Madrid Alegria y Chastain. 

1849 Manual del baratero 6 arte de manejar la navaja, el cuchillo y la 
tijera de los gitanos. 8vo. iv. 54. Madrid. [Engravings in the text.] 

1851 CoRxfis (Don Balbino). — El palo y el sable, 6 teori'a para el perfeccionamiento del manejo del sable por la esgrima del palo corto en 25 lecciones. 
Obi. i2mo. Madrid (Publicidad). [37 lithographs.] 

1854 Cucala y Brun (D. Jos^) [Caballero Teniente Mayor del Reino y 
examinador en la ciencia filos6fica y matematica de la destreza de las armas en 
todos los dominios de Espafia]. — Tratado de esgrima. Comprende la esgrima 
del florete, tres guardias de sable de in^anteria &c. &c. 4to. Madrid": 
J. Pena. [24 plates.] 

1855 Galvez de Zea (Don Francisco). — Esgrima de la bayoneta. 8vo. 
Valencia. [16 figures.] 

1858 Merelo y Casademunt (D. Jaime) [Profesor de esgrima en el 
colegio de infanteria]. — Tratado de la verdadera esgrima del fusil 6 carabina 
armados de bayoneta. 4to. Toledo: J. Lopez Fando. [2 plates.] 

1859 Marin (Don Antonio). — Esgrima a la bayoneta, 6 manejo de dicha 
armaaplicado a los ejercicios y maniobras de la infanteria aprobado por S. M. 
y mandado observar por Real 6rden de 13 de setiembre de 1859. I'raducido 
del francos de Th. Pinette. Cadiz. [3 plates. 

1862 Merelo y Casademunt (Don Jaime).— Tratado completo de la 
esgrima del sable espailol. Toledo Lopez Fando. 8vo. 

1864 Heraud y Clavijo (D. A., di Soria). — Manual de esgrima, en el 
que se trata de la esgrima de la espada, espada y daga, del sable y del florete, 
i2mo. Paris. [A few figures in the text.] 

1865 Merelo y Casademunt (Don Jaime). — Elementos de esgrima para 
instruir al soldado de infanteria en la verdadera destreza del fusil 6 carabina 
armados de bayoneta. Toledo Fando. 8vo. [i plate.] 

1877 Gerona y Ensena (D, Federico) [Oficial de caballeria],— Esgrima 
del sable. 8vo. Madrid. [19 plates.] 

1878 Merelo y CasaDemunt (D. Jose) [Profesor de esgrima].— Manual 
de esgrima, recapitulacion de las tretas mas principales que^onStituyen la verdadera esgrima del sable espaiiol y del florete. Oblong 8vo, Madrid R. 
Labajos. 

1 88 1 DuenAS (D. Gregorio) [Profesor de esgrima de la academia de 
infanteria]. — Ensayo de un tratado de esgrima de florete. 8vo. Toledo. 

i832 Leave (D. Pedro de la). — Grabados y temas de armas blancas 
seguido de algunas consideraciones sobre el mismo asunto por Martinez (D. 
Guillermo). 4to. Madrid Gregorio Hernan. 

1885 Leguina (Don Enrique de), — La espada. Apuntes para su historia 
en Espana. 8vo. Seville E, Rasco. 

MiLLA (Francisco). — Uso de la espada en todas las naciones. 

(?) SosA (Don Manuel). — ^Nueva ciencia de la destreza de las armas. 

Labra (Rafael M.) — Las armas en Madrid observaciones sobre la 
esgrma. [See La Ilustracion Gallega y Asturiana/ tom. ii. p. 81.] 

Rodriguez del Canto (D. Diego).— El discipuloinstruidoydiestro aprovechado en la ciencia philosophica y mathematica de la destreza de las armas. 
[T7th century.] 

Ejercicios de las armas. [i6th century. In Bibliot. del Escorial (iv. a. 23)]. 

Garcia (F. Francisco). — Verdadera intelligencia de la destreza de las 
annas del comendador Geronymo Sanchez Carranza de Barreda. 
[17th century.] 

Carranza (Jeronimo Sanchez de). — Los cinco libros sobre la ley de la 
lujuria, de palabra 6 de obra, en que ss incluyen las verdaderas resoluciones de 
la honra, y los medios con que se satrsfacen las afrentas. |to. Sevilla, p. 300, 

1616 Carranza (G. S. de). — Discurso de armas yletras, sobre las pa^abras 
del proemio de la instituta del Emperador Justiniano &c, 4to, p. 28. 
Sevilla. 

SiLVA (Gonzalvo de) [Capitan]. — Compendio de la verdadera destreza de 
las armas. 4to. (In Villaumbrosara bibliotheca. ) 

1750-60 (?) A. C. O. Un afficionado — Libro de armas y doctrina para 
el resguardo de los afficionados de dicha ciencia con contras y explicaciones de 
toda la arte que se encierra en la espada, hecho por un afficionado. 

[No date or place, bound 8vo form, with engraved title-pages and 
12 copperplates by A. Sant Croos. In the possession of Captain A. 
Hutton.J 

1837 Oliver (don Antonio). — Historia de la esgrima y de los desafios 
MS. 4to. [In the library of D, Joaquin Maria Bover.] 

SWEDISH 

1693 PoR ATH (Diederich). — Palaestra Suecana, eller den adelige Fachtare- 
Konster &c. &c. Folio. Stockholm. [24 copperplates in the text.] 

1843 Mentzer (T. a. v.).— Svenska Kavalleriets faktning, enligt Generalen m. m. Grefve G. Lowenhjelm's method. 8vo. Stockholm. 

1843 StjerNSVARD (G. M. ) — Handbok uti Gymnastik och Bajonett 
Faktning. 2 pi. 24mo. Stockholm. 

1857 Stromborg(N.) — Gymhastik-lara, efter P. H. Ling och G. Branting 
!» Haftet, Faktlara. 8vo. Stockholm Ostlund & Berlingska. 

BIBLIOTHECA ARTIS DIMICATORIJE: 293 

1876 Balck (V.) — Tabeller i sabelfaktning. Tvar 8vo. Stockholm 
Loostrom & Komp. 

1876 Nybl^.us (G.) — Allman gymnastik, faktlara. 3 figuren. 8vo. 
Stockholm Norstedt & Soner. 

1882 Instruktioni faktning och gymnastik for svenskakavaleriet. [Utdrag 
ur Handbok lor Kavaleriet. 8vo, Stockholm Norstedt & Soner. 

1882 ToRNGREN (L. M.) — Reglemente i bajonett- och sabelfaktning for 
kongk flottan. Enligt nddigt uppdrag utarbetadt. 21 pi. i2mo. Stockholm 
Norstedt & Soner. 

1882 ToRNGREN (L. M.). — Tillaggsblad for reglemente i bajonett och 
sabelfaktning. [Omslagstitel Supplement for Atlas till gymnastik reglemente 
for kongl flottan.] 6 pi. Folio. Stockholm Norstedt & Soner. 

INDEX 

AMA 

Amateur Athletic Club, 
its encouragement of glovefighting, 146 

 A MeryGeste of Robyn Hode,' 
quoted, on wrestling, 180 

Assault, the, in fencing, 103 

Attacks, simple, in fencing: — 
the straight thrust, 48 the 
disengage, 48; to disengage 
in the upper lines, 48 to 
disengage from high to low, 
49 coupe or cut-over, 49 
to make the coupe, 49 the 
counter -disengage, 49; to 
counter-disengage on a change 
from quarte to tierce, 49 
simple parries as against, 50 
on the sword — attack by 
pressure, 52 the beat, 52 
the scrape, 52 the twist, 53 
twist and lunge, 53 to avoid 
and to parry, 54 to parry the 
flanconnade, 54;— false attacks, 88 attacks on preparations, 89 renewed attack, 90 

Attitude in fencing, 2 

Authorities on fencing, see Appendix 

BOX 

Bazancourt, Baron de, quoted, 

Beat, the, in fencing, 52 
Belt, the, in boxing, 125 
Beranger's verse, on boxing in 

England, 146 
Bertrand, his skill, energy, and 

Betting on boxing, 137 
Bibliotheca Artis Dimicatoriae, 
Boxers see under Pugilists 
Boxing, history of, 117 primaeval practice, 120; necessary preliminaries to its establishment, 120 wrestling 
in conjunction with, 1 20- 122 
classical and other illustrations, 123-132 first authentic account of a merry mill, 
125 a Virgilian maul, 128- 
130 use of the caestus or 
glove, 131 in the middle 
ages, 133 Missot's account 
of its popularity in the time 
of George I., 133 the old 
school, 135; number of pugilistic battles, 136; Slack and 
Pettit's encounter, 136; heavy 
betting in the last century, 

INDEX 

BOX 

137 rarity of deaths in 
prizefights, 137 duration of 
battles, 137 the silver age 
of the prize ring, 138 Lord 
Byron's proficiency, 139 
George IV.'s admiration of 
the prize ring, 139 Tom 
Sayers, his courage, skill, and 
method, 140 decadence of 
pugilism, 143 the only true 
and correct style, 144 glove 
fights under the Queensberry 
rules, 145 Beranger's verse, 
146 influence of amateur 
clubs, 146, 147 instructions 
in the art — use of the feet, 
148 pose of the body and 
position of the arms, 150; 
methods of defence :— the 
stop by countering, 152 the 
retreat in good order, 153 
ducking, 153 side step, 154 
slipping, 154; guard w^ith 
the arm, 155 methods of 
attack — the lead-off with the 
left, 157-160; leading off 
with the right, 160 in-lighting, 157, 161 combinations of 
attack and defence, 162 
difference between a lead-off 
and a counter, 163 a device 
with a telling effect, 163 the 
giant amateur and Nat Langham, 164 cross-counters, 
165, i66 feinting and drawing, 166 judging distance 
and timing, 167 warnings 
and maxims for those with 
short memories and small 
opportunities, 168 important 
duties of judges and referees, 
169 amateur competitions, 
EXT 

Byron, Lord, quoted, on boxing, 

Carew, quoted, on wrestling, 183 

Castle, Egerton, quoted, 4, 21, 

Chaucer, quoted, on wrestling, 

Clerkenwell, as a trysting place 
for London wrestlers, 181 

'Cold Steel' (Captain Hutton's), III note 

Cornish wrestling, 184, 185, 

Counter disengage, the, in 

Coup d'arret, 28, 91 

Coup de temps, 28 

Coupe, or cut-over, 49 

Cumberland, Duke of, his interest in prize-fighting, 137 

DilVELOPPEMENT, the, in fencing, 39 

Devonshire wrestling, 184, 185, 

Dickens, Charles, quoted, on 

Disengage, the, in fencing, 48 

Doigte, or finger-play, 51 

Donnelly, Professor, his book 
on boxing, 148 

 Druid,' quoted, on wrestling, 
Ducking, in boxing, 153 

Engagement, the, in fencing, 
43 change of, and double, 47 
Extension, the, in fencing, 40 

INDEX 
FEI 

Feints, 54 

Fencers, celebrated — 

Bagger, Austen, 18 

Bazancourt, Baron de, 3, 29, 

Besnard of Rennes, 12 
Capo Ferro, Ridolfo, 1 1 
Chiefe, 18 
Cordelois, 28 
Danet, 14 

De' Grassi, Giacomo, 9 
De la Torre, Pedro, 8, 243 
De la Touche, 13 
De Liancourt, 13 
Docciolini, 11 
Ducoudray, 12 
Fabris of Bologna, 1 1 
Giganti, Nicoletto, 11 
Grisier, 28 
Labat, 13 
Manciolino, Antonio, 9 
Marozzo, Achille, 9, 31 
Meyer, 10 

Moncio, Pietro, 8, 243 
Pacheco de Narvaez, Luis, 16 
Pona de Majorca, Jayme, 8 
Possellier (Gomard), 28, 244 
Prevost, Pierre, 26, 28 
Rocko, 17 

Rocko, Jeronymo, 18 
Roman, Francisco, 8, 243 
St. Didier, 12 
Saviolo, Vincentio, 11, 18 
Silver, Toby, 18 
Viggiani, 10 
{See also Appendix.) 

FEN 

Fencing, development of, i 
perfection of the attitude, 2 
effect of the introduction of 
firearms, 4 pre-eminence of 
Italian and Spanish swordsmen, 6 the rapier, 6 defects 
of the early Italian method, 7 
literature, 8 value of the 
point, 9 Viggiani's punta 
sopramano,' 10; the lunge, ii 
rise of the French school, 12 
the riposte de pied ferme,' 13 
use of the left hand, 13 the 
German and Spanish schools, 
15, 16 introduction into England, 17 treatment of Italian swordsmen in England, 
19 on a platform, 20 masks, 
23 pedantry, 24 advent of 
Bertrand, 25 the coup de 
temps and cotip (Tarret^ 28 
practical instructions in — 
explanation of technical 
terms, 35, 36 how to hold 
the foil or sword, 36 the 
lunge or extension, 40 the 
lines, 43 engagement, 43 
simple parries, 44 change of 
engagement and double engagement, 47 simple attacks, 
48 simple parries as against 
simple attacks, 50 fingerplay or doigte, 51 attacks 
on the sword, 52; feints, 54 
counter-parries, 56 reversed 
counter-parries (contre-opposes), 58 how to nullify 
or avoid simple parries, 59 
and to meet these attacks, 
61 how to nullify or avoid 
counter-parries, 62 and to 
meet these attacks, 62 how 
INDEX 

FEN 

to frustrate a change of engagement and avoid a simple 
parry in the upper lines, 

63 meeting these attacks, 

64 various manners of nullifying two simple parries, 

65 meeting these attacks, 
66 methods of nullifying a 
counter and simple parry, 

66 defences against these 
attacks, 68 various ways of 
nullifying reversed counterparries, 69 modes of meeting these attacks, 69 methods 
of avoiding a reversed counter 
and simple parry, 70 meeting these attacks, 71 the 
riposte, 74 methods of meeting forms of the riposte, ^'j 
ripostes with a change of line, 
or with a feint or other previous movement, 79 ripostes 
with a pause (ripostes a temps 
perdu), 85 the counterriposte, 86 quitting blades, 
'^% false attack, 88 attacks 
on preparations, 89 renewed 
attack, 90 the stop-thrust 
(coup d'arret), 91 timethrusts, 91 time-parries, 93 
the remise, 95 redoubling, 
assault, 103 left-handed 
fencers, 108 see also under 
Attacks, Parries, Ripostes 

Finger play, 51 
Flanconnade, the, 53, 54, ^% 
Foil, the, how to hold, 36 
French wrestling, 235 
Froisse, the, 52 

Glove-fighting, 144 

LUN 

Godfrey, Captain, quoted, iii, 
Grecian wrestling, 176 
Guard, the, in fencing, 37, 39, 
Hamming, 198 

Heenan, his fight with Sayers, 

Hentzner's Itinerary, quoted, on 

Hogg, James, quoted, on wrestling, 192 

Hope, Sir William, quoted, 20 

Hutton, Captain, quoted, 114 

Judges of boxing, 169 

Lancashire wrestling, 230- 
 L'Ecole des Amies,' story concerning, 20 see Appendix 
 Le9ons d'Armes,' Cordelois', 

28 see Appendix 
Left-handed fencers, 108 
Legouve, M., quoted, 26, 30 
 Les Secrets de I'Epee,' Bazan- 

court's, 29 see Appendix 
 Lessons in Sabre, Singlestick, 

Liement d'octave, 53 
Lines, the, in fencing, 43 
Litt, William, his treatise on 

London, the, Cumberland and 
Westmoreland Wrestling Society, 217 
 Lo Schermo,' 10 
Lunge, the, in fencing, 37, 40, 
INDEX 
MAS 

Milo of Croton, 176 
Missot, quoted, 133 

Opposition, in fencing, 36 

 Paradoxe of Defence,' the, 
Parries — eight simple, 44 the 
four which may be abandoned, 
45 manner in which the four 
essential are made — from 
engagement in quarte, tierce, 
and seconde, 46 in septime, 
47 simple, as against simple 
attacks, 50 counter, 56 
engaged in quarte to parry 
counter- quarte, 57 ;from tierce 
to parry counter tierce, 57 
from seconde to parry counterseconde, 57 from septime 
to parry counter septime, 57 
reversed counter, 58 how 
to nullify or avoid simple — 
engaged in quarte to nullify 
parry in quarte, 59 from engagement in quarte, 59 from 
engagement in tierce, 60 
from engagement in seconde, 
60 from engagement in septime, 60 for meeting attacks 
described — with engagement 
in quarte, 61 engaged in 
tierce, 61 how to nullify or 
avoid counter-parries — engaged in quarte to avoid 
counter-quarte, 62 engaged 
in tierce to avoid countertierce, 62 how to meet these 
attacks — engaged in quarte, 
62 engaged in tierce, 62 

PAR 

how to frustrate a change of 
engagement, and avoid a 
simple parry in the upper 
lines — engaged in quarte, 
63 engaged in tierce, 63 
how to meet these attacks :— 
engaged in quarte, 64 
engaged in tierce, 64 — 
to frustrate a double engage 
and avoid a simple parry, 64 
to frustrate a change from one 
high line to the other, and 
nullify a counter-parry, 64 
various manners of nullifying 
two simple parries — engaged 
in quarte, to avoid tierce and 
quarte, 65 from engagement 
in seconde to nullify septime 
and seconde, 65 to avoid 
septime and seconde from 
septime, 65 how to meet 
these attacks — from engagement in quarte to meet onetwo-three, 66 from engagement in tierce, 66 from 
seconde and septime, 66 
methods of nullifying a counter 
and simple parry — engaged 
in quarte, 66 engaged in 
tierce, 67 defence against 
these attacks — engaged in 
quarte, 68 engaged in tierce, 
68 ways of nullifying reversed counter-parries — engaged in quarte, 69 engaged 
in tierce, 69 methods of 
meeting these attacks — engaged in quarte, 69 engaged 
in tierce, 70 methods of 
avoiding a reversed counter 
and simple parry — engaged 
in quarte, 70 — engaged in 
tierce, 71 — how to meet 

^PO 

INDEX 

POS 

these attacks — engaged in 
qiiarte, 71 engaged in tierce, 
72 time-parries, 93 
Positions, the, in fencing first, 

Preparations in fencing, attacks 

Pronation, in fencing, 35 
Atkinson, Robert (Sleagill 

Atkinson, Thomas, 220 
Avery, 228 
Baldwin, 143 
Batstone, 228 
Blair, William, of Solport 

Broome, Harry, 140 
Broughton, Jack, 135, 138 
Brown, Rev. Abraham, of 

Egremont, 191 
Brunskill, George, 218 
Canadus, Albert, 216 
Cannon, Tom, 235 
Carkeck, 229 
Carmichael, 192 
Cass, William, of Loweswater, 

Caunt, Ben, 140 
Chapman, Dick, of Patterdale, 

Clargoe, 227 

PUG 

Cocks, 228 

Cooper, Ben, of Carlisle, 194, 

Cooper, Tom, 229 

Coulthard, Richard, 220 

Cribb, Tom, 139 

Daltrey, Abe, 170 

Davidson, Thomas, of Castleside, 212 

Dixon, John, of King's Meaburn, 219 

Donald, William, 219 

Donaldson, George, of Patterdale, .215 

Dubois, 235 

Elliot, James, of Cumrew, 198 

Evans, Tom, 171 

Ewbank, of Bampton, 215 

Finney, 227 

Ford, Thomas, of Egren.ont, 
Foster, Jack (Mr. George 

Tinniswood), 219 
Goss, Joe, 144 
Graham, John, of Carlisle, 

Graham, Mr. William, 218 
Gretting, 135 
Gully, 138 
Haig, Jemmy, 218 
Hawksworth, of Shap, 191 
Hurst, Sam (Staleybridge 

Irving,- Geordie, of Bolton 

Irving, John, 220 

INDEX 
PUG 

Ivison, Harry, of Carlisle, 

Jackson, William, of Kennie-^ 
Jameson, William, of Penrith, 

Jordan, 227 

Kennedy, Tom, of Egremont, 

Kerslake, 228 
Kitto, 230 

 Langham, Nat, 164 
Le Boeuf, 235 
Littledale, Rev. Osborne, of 

Buttermere, 191 

McLauchlin, 214 
Margetson, Mr. Richard, 209, 
Mendoza, 138 
Miller, 235 

Mullins, Bat, 170 
Nicholson, Thomas, of Threl- 

Otterway, Trooper, 170 
Palmer, John, of Bewcastle, 
Palmer, Walter, of Bewcastle, 
Parish, 227 
Pattison, James, of Weardale, 
PUG 
Pearce (the Game Chicken), 
Perrins, 137 
Perry, 228 
Perry (Tipton Slasher), 138, 
Pettit, 136 
Pipes, 135 

Polkinhorne, 221, 222 
Pollard, W., 229 
Polmood, 192 
Pooley, Tom, of Longlands, 
Richardson, William, of Cald- 

Rickerby, William, 194, 203, 
Ridley (the Glutton), 213 
Ritson, 209 
Robinson, John, of Cocker- 

Robson, 209 
Roper, Thomas, of Lamonby, 
Rowntree, Robert, 213 
Rundle, Sam, 229 
Sanderson, George, 219, 220 
Saunders, George, 227, 228 

Scott, J., of Canonbie, 213 
Scott, Jim, of Carlisle, 194, 

Slack, 136 
Smith, Jack, 229 
Snape, 234 
Spring, Tom, 139 
Stamper, Isaac, 220 
Standing, 228 

INDEX 

PUG 

Steadman, George, 194, 195, 

Steers, 228 
Stevens, 137 
Stone, James, 227 
Tiffin, John, of Dearham, 219 
Trewick, 228 
Ward, Jem, 139 
Weightman, John, of Hayton, 
Whitehead, Jonathan, of 

Wills (Major), 218 
Wormald, 143 
Wrexford, 227 
Wright, Dick, of Longtown, 

{See also list of Devon and Cornish wrestlers, pp. 229, 230) 

QuARTE, meaning of the word, 
Queensberry, Marquess of, his 

rules for glove fights, 145 
Quitting blades, 88 

TWr 

ripostes, 77 ripostes with a 
change of line, or with a feint 
or other previous movement, 

79 after a parry in quarte, 

80 after a parry in tierce, 
82 after a parry in seconde, 
84 after a parry in septime, 
84 ripostes with a pause 
(ripostes a temps perdu), 85 
the counter-riposte, 86 

Sabre, the, 112 

Salute, the, in fencing, 98 

 Saturday Review on boxing, 
Savate, the, 132 

 Schools and Masters of Fence, 

from the Middle Ages to the 
Eighteenth Century,' 4, no, 
241 see Appendix 
Scrape, the, 52 

 Secrets de I'Epee,' 3 
Siamese boxing, 131 
Singlestick, iro 
Sparring, 146 
Stop-thrust, the, 91 
Stow, quoted, 181 
Supination, in fencing, 35 
Sword, the, how to hold, 36 

Rapiers, 6 

Redoubling, in fencing, 97 
Remise, the, in fencing, 95 
Reprise d'attaque, 90 
Ripostes: — the direct riposte, 

75 the Bertrand riposte (tacau-tac) from quarte, 75 the 
same, after parryipig tierce, 

76 the same, from seconde, 

77 the same, from septime, 
77 —method of meeting these 

Tac-au-tac, the, 75-78 

 Theorie de I'Escrime,' 28 see 

Thrust, the straight, 48 
Tierce, explanation ofthe term, 35 
Time-parries, 93 
Time-thrusts, 91 

 Tom Brown's Schooldays,' in 
Tromper une parade, -^d 
Twist, the, 53 

Twist and lunge, 53 

INDEX 
USE 

UsET^UL Science of Defence 
(Captain Godfrey's), III 

Waite, J. M., quoted, 112 

Waster, the, no, in 

Wilson, Professor, quoted, on 
wrestling, 207, 208 his encounter with Ritson, 209 

Works on fencing Dutch, 248 
English and American, 248 
Latin, 288 Portuguese, 288 
Russian, 288 Spanish, 288 
Swedish, 292 

Wrestlers see under Pugilists 
and wrestlers 

Wrestling Society, the, 217 

Wrestling, definition of ihe 
term, 175 its golden age, 
176 honours accorded to 
the wrestler in ancient Greece, 
Homer's account of the 
match between Ajax and 
Ulysses, 177 in the Roman 
amphitheatre, 178 early 
modes in England, 179 
prizes usually given, 180 
competitions in London in 
the time of the Plantagenets, 
181 matches at Clerkenwell, 
183 the contest in As You 
Like It,' 182 an anecdote 
in connection therewith, 182; 
its decadence, 183 o.t wakes 
and fairs, 183 the revival of 
the art, 183 West-country 
methods, 184, 185 the loose, 
or catch as catch can,' mode, 
185 attitude before the hold. 

WRE 

186; falls, 186; the crossbuttock, 186 the German 
fashion, 187 Swiss swinging,' 188 the art in Japan, 
188 localisation of, in England, 190 popularity in the 
Northern counties, 190; the 
Ettrick Shepherd's account of 
the contest between Polmood 
and Carmichael, 192 decline 
of buttocking, 194 rules observed in contests in the 
Cumberland and Westmoreland style, 195 chips :— the 
back-heel, 197 the hank, 
cross-buttock, 199 outside 
stroke, 200 inside click, 201 
cross click, 201 outside 
click, 201 chest stroke, 202 
the hipe, 202 the swinging 
hipe, 204 the hitch over, 
204 the hold, 204 Professor Wilson's account of 
contests at Carlisle and Ambleside, 207, 208 and his encounter with Ritson, 209 
Charles Dickens's description 
of a contest at Windermere, 
210, 211 healthfulness of 
the sport, 21 1 the first recorded gathering at Carlisle, 
213 prominent country 
wrestlers, 213-216 metropolitan exponents of the art, 
217-220 establishment of 
the Cumberland and Westmoreland Society in London, 
217 its rules and places of 
meeting, 218; near assimilation of Devon and Cornwall 
styles, 221 match between 
Cann and Polkinhorne, 222 
INDEX 

WRE 

Western Counties methods, 
223 results of unsatisfactory 
judging, 224 chief differences 
in the Devon and Cornish 
systems, 225 what constitutes 
a fair back fall, 226 the 
heroes of thepast, 227 lists of 
renowned Western wrestlers, 
229, 230 the principal Cornish and Devon chips, 230 

WRE 

a description of the Lancashire method, 230-234 
throttling, 232 the Double 
Nelson, 233 account of Acton 
and Bibby's contest in New 
York, 233 rules of the French 
system, 235 various orders 
of fall, 237 the catch-hold 
first down to lose style, 
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