Avignus: The Elven Dynasties

The elves of Avignus divide their history into three dynasties.

The Lunar Dynasty

The First Dynasty, called by some scholars the Lunar Dynasty, is defined by the rise of the first High King, Graen Viera. He took eleven wives, one from each of the Lesser Tribes, to incorporate the Lesser Tribes into his own, creating one Royal Tribe. He established the Court of the Moon, a council of sorcerers who communed with power being from Beyond. They gained magical power and expanded their knowledge of the universe from the Outsiders. Eventually, Graen Viera took to communing with the Outsiders on his own, who tempted him with knowledge of more powerful magics that could help him control nature itself. His own Court of the Moon turned against him when they discovered his intention to rise to godhood. In a great battle, Graen Viera fought the entire Court of the Moon. The battle lasted for an entire month, until he was eventually defeated and cast down into the earth.

The Royal Dynasty

The Second Dynasty saw the severing of the Royal Tribe back into dozens of smaller families and tribes. Some became nomadic, traveling across the world and never finding a single place to rest. Others claimed some land for their own, and established the first Caers (fortified communities). The Second Dynasty would never know a single High King. The leader of each tribe held the title of King, and his sons Princes and Princesses. Those children often started their own smaller tribes and kept roving across the lands Non-elves began to spread stories that all elves were royalty.

The final members of the lineage of Graen Viera formed a roving clan that they called the First Tribe; their sole purpose was to uncover Graen Viera’s magics and rule the earth. They were exiled by the combined might of the other tribes. The First Tribe went eastward, and was never heard from again.

The Dynasty of the Empty Throne

The Third Dynasty began when the kings of the roving tribes and the Lords of the Caers united to declare Ionis, hero of the Battle of the First Tribe, as the new High King. Elven-kind prospered under his rule. However, Ionis was troubled by a prophecy transcribed by an elder druid: The entirety of the elven people would be struck with a death-blow if the Amber Throne were to be occupied on the Lost Day. So after a three hundred years of peaceful rule, Ionis abdicated his throne.

While away from the Royal Court, Ionis attempted to make peace with the exiled First Tribe, who had traveled far to the East. Aeolinus, High Prince of the Exiled, deceived the High King and struck him down with infernal magics. The Academy, a collection of wizards who traveled with the High King, struck down Aeolinus and magically imprisoned him far below Caer Daerna, the seat of the High King.

Powerful magics keep Caer Daerna hidden, until the coming of the next High King, who will bring about the Fourth Dynasty.

GM’s Notes

The Exiled Tribe became wanderers of the Eastern Desert. Their High Princess uncovered ancient druidic magic that was to help fortify them and protect them from the harsh envirnment. The magic transformed the elves into something almost unrecognizable. Their attacks on border settlements ignited the Crusade of the Rooks. The Western kings reported back that they were battling a Goblyn Queen and an army of minions. Unknown to them, they are battling a tribe of Exiled Elves and their allies.

Graen Viera is the father of the Dark Elves, a race of elves who lived underground. He trafficked with infernal beings, whom he’d communed with for the sake of survival. The communities they’d built were allied with the Infernal.

Avignus: Religion and Spirituality

Although the average subjects of the King of Avignus may never see a spell cast, they are well-aware of the existence of magic. Spell-casting wizards, druids and clerics are all visible and practice their trades out in the open. The knowledge of magic’s existence and the uncertainty and fear of living in a land under constant threat of orc attack (and other more mundane, but just as serious threats) creates a superstitious outlook among the lower, less-educated classes. Myths and stories are just as important to the spirituality of Avignus subjects as the spells cast by high-wizards and chief priests.

Stories about the actions of the gods and the creation of the world are more than mere myths. Wizards and clerics commune directly with the supernatural world, and, as a result, relate creation stories more like epic tales or recordings of ancient histories. Despite the opportunities for direct communion with spiritual beings, not all wizards or clerics are able to adequately or fully accurately translate the messages from these divine entities. Their understandings and interpretations of spiritual messages are gathered together among ancient prophecies and other revelations to help build religions texts for the people of Avignus.

Prophets and sooth-sayers have a special, trusted place in the Young Kingdoms. Anyone with the ability to interpret signs or portents from the divine or nature are expected to give guidance or assistance to the lost or those in need. Clerics and wizards are often taken as advisors to royalty or even local leaders. They inspect the skies or summon spirits for warnings about the future. Farmers far from civilization trust the advice of local druids about planting and harvest times, for example. Unscrupulous spiritualists who try to spread false prophecy are harshly punished.

Divine instruction, such as spiritual laws which are supposed to aid the growth and prosperity of civilization, are tended by the clergy. Meanings of signs and prophecies are seriously debated, with their potential value to civilization seriously considered. Some sages take a literal approach to the messages; they are not seriously considered as academicians, and potentially ruled by emotion. In recent times, more paladins have come from the more literal-interpretation sects of the church.

Creation myths and other divine messages carry a heavy weight in Avignus and the other Young Kingdoms. The creation stories themselves are treated like epic history, and not merely allegory or speculation. Not all of the prophecies or messages were simple to interpret, and many sages had different translations or interpretations of the creation stories. The most trusted and accepted translation of the creation of the world, and the will of the gods, was collected by the Imperial Archivist 2000 years ago. The collection, titled Logos, was the first formal recording of the stories and instructions in the history of the civilized world. Although many of these stories weren’t at all new and were already well-known, the Archivist’s text was the first fully-compiled, complete, trusted volume.

“It has always been, and it will always be.”

This is the first line of Logos, revealed to the Imperial Archivist. Its most commonly accepted meaning is that all of creation is infinite, with no true beginning and no true end. The life and times of all creation has always existed, and will always exist…as will man, his troubles, and his way of life. Some scholars claim that the real translation should be, “She has always been, and She shall always be.” These scholars believe that “She” refers to the life-giving and nurturing earth, and that mankind and its troubles are no concern, when considering the whole of creation. Many sages consider that interpretation based on artistic license, a result of a play with ancient language. There are no other references to “She” in the text of Logos, and they point out the lack of matriarchal religions or cults throughout imperial history1. There is, though, a cult of scholars who believe “She” refers to the Conqueror Wurm, and ancient aspect and personification of cosmic, elemental Chaos.

Regardless of the phrase’s meaning, most people take some comfort from it. Should everything they know pass away, some aspect of it will continue on.

That Which Endures

The creator-god is sometimes called Aded, or is represented in writing by the old runic first letter of the alphabet. Its also known as “That Which Endures.” Aded is thought to be without consciousness, but with a will. Aded is never personified; there are never icons or statues made to represent “his likeness.” Alef is that will which put order to chaos. The world was created by Aded imposing Will and Order.

Philosophers debate how it is possible to have Will without Consciousness or Self-Awareness. Some sages resign themselves to belief that order is a manifestation of the Will. Therefore, the Divine Will is simply one of the two natural conditions of the universe: Law and Chaos.

A very few fear that the Divine Will is merely a tool for a greater consciousness that cannot affect reality without some intermediary force. The Divine Will, then, is potentially a tool used by an entity that cannot have meaning in reality.

To some others, the Divine Will is a cosmic set of instructions, set in place by nature. Reality is woven in the nature of the Divine Will, and the universe cannot help but follow the path set forth in those instructions.

One thing scholars agree upon is that Aded does not answer prayer, does not have a conscious desire for worshipers or supplication. The desires and beliefs of the people of creation do not alter the course of the Divine Will. Alef is a spiritual monolith, respected but never supplicated.

The Innumerable Saints

Most people venerate, in some way, the saints of their ancestors. Some ancestors may be remembered for their crafting skills, their wisdom, their battle-prowess, or just for their personalities and influence. Living family members may venerate and celebrate their ancestral spirits for that aspect they remember and, by remembering, that spirit becomes associated as a type of household god representing that aspect. Ancestor worship is a very personal belief structure. A home is likely to have a shrine to their particular patron or patrons (an ancestor or ancestors the family remembers and has taken on as a symbol for their prosperity, strength, or courage). Small tokens representing the spirits would be carried, or left around the home. No temples or shrines would be built in public for these uniquely personal saints.

The spirits and divine entities that inhabit the world, who came as a result of the creation of Nature, are without number. Some answer to prayer, or ritual. Some display godlike properties. They do not name themselves, or reveal their names (except in extraordinary circumstances), but take names from the people of the world. One entity may be known by a dozen names. Temples are built in their honor. Religious rites are perfected and designed to please them. Feast days are celebrated in their honor. The spirits answer prayers, grant powers, perform miracles, and are revered as gods.

No one has successfully counted the number of gods who are active in the world. So many take on different names and different aspects. A god known as a protector of travelers and roads to one tribe or culture may be known as a saint of thieves in another. The gods’ mysterious natures keep their true natures somewhat secretive as well. The god a cleric reveres as a patron of growth and home may, as well, be a spirit of the harvest that a druid would revere. The god may be known by different names, even different aspects, and may well be the same spirit.

Religions in the Young Kingdoms also tend to have animistic tendencies. People acknowledge that there may be spirits of particular places or aspects. Though these lesser spirits may not be worshiped, they’re acknowledged and revered, in the same manner as ancestral spirits.

This collection of saints, demigods and magical spirits is collectively known as the Rolls Sable. The name is taken from a tradition held by the high priests of the empire, who attempted to collect the names and aspects of all the multitudinous gods and spirits. They were kept on a black scroll, penned with silver or gold ink. The scrolls were transported and stored at the Amber Tower, shortly after it was built.

1 Neither the Anavaren of Avignus, nor the Witch Cult of Vinlund, nor the Sisterhood of Bretta of the Mistlands were ever acknowledged by churches nor the leadership of the empire. Imperial religious and social leaders expected such cults to simply die off quietly. They didn’t.

The Old Religions of the Western Kingdoms

The current religions of the Western Kingdoms are an amalgamation of the imperial religions that focused on venerating the Vital Gods (the ancient founders of the old empire, who were raised to godhood), and the animistic faith of the western lands. In those western territories, all people, from common folk to chieftains, paid homage to both the spirits of ancestors, as well as the spirits that they believed to give vitality to the world around them. They eschewed large temples and cathedrals, in favor of small household shrines dedicated to their ancestors, and shrines constructed in nature, in areas designated as holy or blessed due to the presence of supernatural activity.

Without fixed places of public worship, there was little need for cloistered or fixed clergy for a particular community. Families worshipped in their homes, or in small, intimate congregations of extended family and close family acquaintances. Occasionally, on particular holy days, a community may come together at one of the blessed locations for ceremonies officiated by travelling druids or wise-folk.

In the current time of the Western Kingdoms, those druids still continue to assist communities in supplication and petitioning the spirits of the natural world, those that contribute to the vitality of life. They maintain old traditions, remember old rituals, and carry the history of the land. They also continue to serve as advisors and oracles for local communities, lords of the land, and royalty.

Avignus: the Youngest of the New Kingdoms

The most successful of the Young Kingdoms is Avignus, a fertile land with temperate winters, moderate summers, a long growing season, and hearty people. 

Avignus is divided into four parts: the Lowlands to the west, which reaches out to the shore, the Valley, nestled between the Vitus, a great river and mountain range to the east, The North County, a new acquisition from Old Vitare, and the Grant, an old Imperial territory to the southeast. Although all of the regions are bound under the rule of the King of Avignus, and may call themselves Avignoin (a name taken to mean “people of the apple-strewn land”), each region maintains some independent cultural traits. In the broadest of ways, for example, people from the Grant may be considered the most cosmopolitan, as the region contains several cities that were created by the old Empire. People of the Lowlands are accustomed to a strict hierarchy, as the knights who serve as landlords answer directly to a council of barons, who answer directly to the King. The Valley contains the most pious subjects of the kingdom, as the seat of the church was once found there. The North County, despite being settled by Old Vitare centuries ago, is considered a barbaric and mostly-untamed frontier.  

There are commonalities throughout the kingdom. There is a common motif that runs through the kingdom of the new being built upon the old. Builders will add onto ruins of Imperial fixtures whenever possible. The old Imperial roads are still maintained, to the best of the Crown’s ability. Millenia-old road-markers and ancient architectural features dot the landscape, and are still used as fixtures for navigation and defining the borders of land.

Devotion to a Friend, Inspired by 13th Century Legal Text

My friend Engracia de Madrigal was inducted yesterday into the East Kingdom’s Order of the Silver Crescent for all of the work she’s done through the years. I was honored to be able to write the text for her award scroll. I wanted to find something inspired by Spanish medieval texts…a casual search through inspiring Spanish writings, and I found some reference to  Alfonso X the Learned of Castile and his 13th-century legal writings, Las Siete Partidas (the Seven Divisions). In his First Division, he describes the foundation a lawmaker should have.

Part I, Title I, Law xi: What the Law-Maker Should Be

The law-maker should love God and keep Him before his eyes when he makes the laws, in order that they may be just and perfect. He should moreover love justice and the common benefit of all. He should be learned, in order to know how to distinguish right from wrong, and he should not be ashamed to change and amend his laws, whenever he thinks or a reason given him, that he should do so; for it is especially just that he who has to set others right and correct them should know how to do this in his own case, whenever he is wrong.

I modified the text to make it SCA-centric, and to exemplify some of the qualities that I admire in Engracia. I substituted “lawmaker” with “servant,” and kept the focus on the goodwill that comes as a result of faithful service.

The qualities of the Faithful Servant: The servant of the Kingdom should love the Kingdom and keep it before her eyes when she goes forward with her labour, so that her results are just and perfect. She should moreover love the common benefit of all. She should be wise, in order to distinguish what is helpful from what is a hinderance; for it is expecially wise that she who serves sets a right and just example to others.

As Engracia de Madrigal satisfies the aforementioned qualifications, we, Ivan, King, and Matilde, Queen, command she be admitted into the Order of the Silver Crescent on this day.

In medieval and renaissance texts, God may be implored or invoked the ultimate monarch, being absolute in His authority, judgment, wrath, or love. I’ve made references to Divine Providence in works before, but in this case, I decided to substitute God from the original text with Kingdom. My rationale being that this award is being given for work to the Kingdom and its people, so the focus will move away from the ephemeral divine authority to the terrestrial authority of the Kingdom and its people that has directly benefited from her work.

Probably one of the happiest moments I had yesterday, after Engracia received the scroll, was her coming over to me to thank me for writing the text. I told her I was happy to do it, which was really an understatement.

Congratulations, sis! It was an honor to be able to contribute to your great day!

 

I’d like to recite this to some friends

I dedicate this to the scholars, dreamers, and those who take it upon themselves to bring comfort to the wounded:

Most high and puissant prince and most excellent sovereign lord, I pray God to grant you a most honorable and long life, and preserve you in His most excellent keeping and give entire joy and gladness as much as your gentle and most noble heart would choose or desire.

The closing of a letter from Joanna, Countess of Westmorland, to King Henry IV (her brother). 1406. From French.

From The Voice of the Middle Ages. Catherine Moriarty, ed. Peter Bedrick Books. 1989.

Its Who You Know

So I’m glancing through the London Archives, trying to find information about the specific locations of fencing schools within the city limits, and I come across this interesting little blurb:

Letter from, Sir Walter Raleigh to Sir William More. He requests More to allow Rocco Bonetti, a fencing master who has erected a structure on the grounds of Blackfriars without his consent, time to adjust matters.

Rocco Bonetti was the first Italian fencing masters who took up business in London. His first school, opened in 1576, was on Warwicke Lane, near Saint Paul’s. In 1584, he took residence in Blackfriars (the same part of the city that housed both Blackfriars Theatre and the Globe Theatre), and poured over two-hundred pounds into renovating a building into a new school.

Bonetti would eventually run into money problems, and needed the aid of influential friends to keep his lease to the property extended. The list of friends included Peregrine Bertie, Lord Willoughby (who, according to his memoirs, had a hand in some of the most influential incidents during the reign of Queen Elizabeth), Sir John North (a noted scholar), and Sir Walter Raleigh (explorer, courtier, spy, etc.). Over time, his friends convinced Sir William More to extend Bonetti’s lease on the property.

In case you’re interested, properties in Blackfriars today apparently go from c. 500-900,000 pounds.  I don’t have friends like Raleigh to help negotiate a lease there.

 

Martial Arts and Sciences in June

Greetings!

 

I’m the coordinator for Arts and Sciences Martial at Artisan’s Village this year (June 16 to June 18). I’m looking for people to join me in demonstrating historical arms and armor, and discussing and displaying the value of our studies.

 

Are you an armorer and have pieces you would like to display? Or have you crafted accessories and accouterments for weapons? Would you like to discuss your craft? Do you interpret historical fighting manuals? Would you like to display and discuss your findings?

 

Part of our day will involve test-cutting tatami mats, and instruction on safe means of test-cutting.

 

If you are interested in participating in the day’s displays, please feel free to contact me at mikewgoodman (at) gmail (dot) com.

The Weight of the Clothes

Jas. Townsend and Son, Inc., a retailer who specializes in 18th and 19th century reenactment gear, produces fantastic videos that cover 18th century cooking, to product videos, to lessons about how to enter the reenacting hobby. I’m a fan; I’ve subscribed to their “how to start reenacting” videos (even though I’ve been in the SCA for 25 years, its cool to see someone else’s perspective on how to get started in something new), and enjoy watching Jon Townsend ramble on about any subject relating to his products, or history, or the hobby.

They posted a new video today. Take a few minutes and watch.

 

Yesterday, I had a small conversation on Facebook about how much we, as reenactors, can acknowledge the impact of those people we’re portraying. More to the point, is it a disservice to not acknowledge the gravity of what we’re portraying?

To me, if I’m taking on the clothes of a period in history, and participating in a demonstration for the public, I’m taking the opportunity to bring that point of history into the public eye. Sometimes, its just to share my enthusiasm about things I find really cool (seriously…I fight with a sword…how freaking cool is that, right?!). Other times, I’m sharing the things I’ve learned about how things in history and today aren’t so different. England in the Elizabethan era was facing some of the same kinds of questions we face in modern America, like questions about immigration, and the right to publicly bear arms. I always go back to the culture of the period I’m portraying. Being in public in the clothes feels like a responsibility sometimes.

D.A. Saguto, the one-time master shoemaker of Colonial Williamsburg, said in an article for the CW Journal:

Reenactors live history as experiential, individualistic, sensory, and immersive moments—why just read about the past when you can dress, eat, sleep, and smell like it? Above all is the desire is to personally connect with an authentic past and roll around in it.

It took me years to find that as a source of happiness. There are some events that I’m just there for the aesthetic, for the chance to hang out with friends and ignore the modern world for a few hours. Other times, I’m connecting with history by using a sword, or enjoying a meal, or listening to a performance.

There are some things that people find problematic. Schola Gladiatoria shows some criticism about some historical reenactors claiming historical accuracy in their combat.In The Myth of the Eastern Front: the Nazi-Soviet War in Popular Culture, Ronald Smelser and Edward Davies II said of reenactors, “[they] rarely move beyond the detail of the war or the dress and weapons of individual soldiers.”

Back in 2011, Glenn W. LaFantasie (professor of Civil War History at Western Kentucky University) said of reenactors celebrating the onset of the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War:

…the entire idea of commemorating the Civil War strikes me as perverse, including bloodless battle reenactments. Why would anyone want to replicate one of the worst episodes in American history? Why would anyone want to pretend to be fighting a battle that resulted in lost and smashed lives on the field and utter grief among the soldiers’ loved ones back home?

He recommends, to recognize the impact of the war, to recognize the solemnity of the war in a quiet, sober manner. Read books, honor the dead, research one’s own history if their family may have participated in the conflict. All valid things to do. And all things I’ve known reenactors to do.

Is it true that, for many reenactors, the details obfuscate the cultural impact of their portrayal? There are participants in every group who may be in it just for the costuming, or the socializing, or just to participate in activities they love. But there are those who can’t put on the clothes without changing their head-space, and try to look at the world through the eyes of the person they’re portraying. Maybe, for those military reenactors, they appreciate the weight of the pack, the coat, the armor, and understand something more about those who fought.

Interested in living history? Jas. Townsend and Son has some great tips for starting out. If you like the medieval/renaissance era, look at the SCA Newcomer’s Portal.

 

 

 

Classes at Barren Sands Winter Schola

Hi, all. I’m teaching a class on the fundamentals of historical arms practice and research at the Barren Sands Schola on Saturday. The class touches on how to use a fighting manual, the value of studying with a dedicated group, and how to avoid the most common mistakes of students of historical arms study (its an expansion of my KQAS paper and presentation).

I’m also doing a class on Fiore dei Liberi’s two-handed sword.

A&S studies class starts at 10:00AM, the Fiore class is at 2:00PM.

Come on by!

Useful Reason and Discipline: How to Approach the Historical Study of Arms

I’ve been compiling my notes for a small instruction book, geared to helping new students as they begin their studies in historical swordsmanship. The work below includes portions of other papers I’ve done. The eventual final work (hopefully completed at the end of this year, will be a full instruction manual.

The intent behind this publication is to give the modern student of historical arms the basic tools to help introduce them to the study.

The study of historical arms involves learning the social context in which they were used, the intentions and prejudices of the author, as well as the practical use of the weapons themselves. A fight book, to the modern interpreter, offers different resources about their period of history. The study of the fight goes hand in hand with the author’s personal philosophy, which is born from the author’s social experiences.

A Critical Approach to the Manuals

A complete analysis of a fighting manual can be done with a “New Historicism” style of analysis. The New Historicism is style of literary criticism, forwarded by Stephen Greenblatt, in which the critic looks at the historical context of a literary work. The literary value of the work has to be looked at through the lens of history. In this sam way, we can investigate the text of a fighting manual by looking at its historical and social context.

Look at the time period in which the manual was written. What particular aspect of culture had an impact on the wearing of arms? Who was allowed to use that particular type of weapon? At the time the manual was written, was there a war? What are the intentions and prejudices of the author? Was there an agenda in the publication?  All of these factors are going to have an impact with the author.

For example, consider the time period in which the rapier holds popularity. Was there anything about the laws, the people, or the culture that contributed to the weapon’s popularity? And when we talk about the popularity of the rapier, are we talking about the weapon itself, or are we talking about the popularity of violence, of dueling, of schools of defense, or even the popularity of the sword as fashion?

By Elizabeth’s era, the study of arms among civilians had become part of daily fashion and culture. When Rocco Bonetti opened his fencing school in London in the 1570′s, he decorated it “lavishly, clearly attempting to attract the fashion-conscious,” according to Stephen Hand’s background of George Silver’s works (published in Paul Wagner’s collection, Master of Defense. The Works of George Silver). According to Neil MacGregor’s, Shakespeare’s Restless World, ”To be fashionable in the sixteenth century you needed to carry a sword.”

If we know that swords were a part of fashion, then does that influence how the sword may have been used? What can we find in the text of fighting manuals that shows that the fashion of the rapier had an impact in the fight?

Can we surmise that, since masters such as DiGrassi, Capo Ferro, and Fabris showed how to defend oneself with a sword and cloak, that the defender wa expected to be a civilian in a social environment?

Does the fact that “prime,” the first position in Italian rapier, is so named because it is the first position the sword comes to upon being drawn from the scabbard (CapoFerro 42), or that the following plate from the same manual shows fighters, upon meeting, in clothes of an upper class?     

 

Read as well about what George Silver said of fencing in England, at the time of his authoring of Paradoxes of Defense: “…is like our fashions, everie day a change, resembling the Camelion, who altereth himself into all colours save white: so Fencing changeth into all wards save the right.” (202) Silver was criticizing how the styles of fighting in England were affected much like fashion was at the time.

So, by examining some of these pieces of evidence from those few manuals, we can find some evidence that there was some relation between fashion (or at least, some type of class identification) and the use of the weapon.

Antonio Manciolino’s intention can be interpreted in Book Five of his Opera Nova. He asserts that his instruction is for the purpose of defense, as opposed to plain philosophy or legality of dueling. “There is one regard in which fencing is similar to medicine; medicine starts where philosophy ends, just as fencing begins where jurisprudence ends” (131). He intends to produce a practical volume for the duelist, as a tool to defend oneself.  Talk of philosophy or law is left to those who are experts of those disciplines. “It is clear that the subject of our art is nothing more than the knowledge of fencing actions.” (132)

Compare this with Joachim Meyer’s treatise, in which he discusses “knightly art” of war, as opposed to the use of “the ignoble gun.” He writes about the value of arms and armor, and especially their practice. “For daily experience shows that for many a man his armor, weaponry, and arms are more detrimental than helpful in protecting his body and life, no matter how well equipped he is, if he does not know how to conduct himself in it, nor to defend himself judiciously with it” (37) He later goes on to describe the single combat as a microcosm of greater conflicts, “…single combat is a fine image in miniature of how a war leader should conduct himself against the enemy” (43).

Both authors write about the practical value of their art. Manciolino eschews philosophical discussion in favor of teaching about surviving a duel. Meyer takes a practical approach to the instruction as well, but keeps referencing the military. He does not reference the duel as Manciolino, but refers to combat. It is a “knightly art.” Meyer can be seen to elevate his study as something greater than the style of combat being put forward in his time. Manciolino offers his art plainly. “To hell with your laws; leave those to lawyers! If you know what fencing is, speak only of what pertains to our art…” (130)

A person looking for a plain, practical approach to civilian arms may be more interested in looking towards the Manciolino text. Someone looking for instruction in a technique that elevates military arms may choose to look into Meyer. Their initial decisions can be made by not yet investigating the technique, but by reviewing what each author says about their study.

A Practical Approach to the Study

The first thing to understand, and it may sound ironic…you cannot learn to fight by reading a book.

The book is a voice from the past. It is more than just the steps of a dance. The manual contains the philosophy of the author, reflects the values of both the time and the community of fighters it is meant to serve.

Understanding a manual’s text is a collaborative process.  The actions depicted in the plates involve at least two figures. The descriptions of the plays involve a give-and-take from the opponents; very often a series of “if/than” statements that can create long strings of actions and counter-actions. Armed combat cannot be learned in a static environment without an opponent. Studying plates involves an exchange of postures and actions.

Working directly from manuals was best done in teams of three: two actors and one director. The director, with manual in hand, describes the actions of each play, and each actor performs based on the provided description. The actors are the fighters represented in the plates. One is the active agent (the one who will win the exchange), and the other will be the receiving agent (the one who will lose). At the director’s instruction, each actor performs their part (as described in the text and plate). After several attempts, the group rotates (the director becomes the acting agent, the acting agent becomes the receiving agent, the receiving agent becomes the director). The same play is performed again. Then they rotate again. Each student should experience each role at least once. Now, each student has experienced the set of actions from each others’ perspectives.

The Practice of Arms

In Renaissance Swordsmanship, western martial artist John Clements wrote, “It is only through contact sparring and live-weapon test-cutting, not costumed theorizing and playing, that we can speculate on what appear to be practical defense and offense with a sword” (2).  The best way of learning how a weapon works is to use the weapon as it was intended. Clements’ comment was in relation to different weapon analogues used by practitioners at the time (boffer, rattan, foils and epees, for example). The practical value of a weapon is discovered in its proper use.

One assumes that a fighting manual, by its very nature, will show the weapon’s use in a practical, martial manner. This is another time in which the purpose of the manual should be examined. Joachim Meÿer’s manual’s purpose, for example, was to show an academic form of swordfighting that could be done in the academies. The techniques eschewed thrusts as too dangerous.

One truth that can be difficult to face is that much of the art being taught in these manuals is for the specific purpose of ending a fight with the death of the opponent. It is not uncommon for those in the reenactment communities that have a “sport” component may forget that fact as they try to interpret historical swordsmanship. Joel Thompson of the Virginia Medieval Arts Association talks about his early experiences with reenactment arms study, that emphasis on either safety or theatrics, encouraging grand flourishes with weapons or making grunting sounds on contact (for the crowds), or teaching techniques such as “pulling blows” or attempts to lessen contact (for safety). He takes away from these experiences that this is not the study of a martial art. “But all these re-enactments of fighting can be grouped together as “something other” than a martial art. The European martial art of fencing or Medieval and Renaissance swordsmanship is a completely different entity. The martial art may have had a mock combat or sparring component, but its purpose and method of practice was very different. The two methods can be mixed together for authenticity, but when done the practice of the martial art should come first.”

A martial sport’s objective is not the recreation of the historical fight, as outlined in the manuals. A martial sport contains rules to prevent injury. The rules include safeguards such as a limited choice of weapon analogue (blades that pass a specific flexibility requirement, or made of a specific material), and limitations on how to strike one’s opponent (delivering only light contact, or “positive pressure”). The Italian master Antonio Manciolino pointed out the differences between sport and self defense in his Opera Nova, “Just as striking the opponent’s hand is not counted as a hit in a friendly match (as the hand is just the foremost exposed limb), in a real encounter this type of strike would be most effective” (73).

Modern interpreters of historical swordsmanship are aware of some of the techniques that reenactment groups do to stay safe. In The Duelist’s Companion, Guy Windsor warns against those techniques when studying the rapier. “A common mistake is to allow the wrist to “break.” Or the hilt to lift. The point of the lunge is to drive the sword through the target.” The technique that is designed to keep an opponent from getting hurt (breaking the wrist or raising the hilt on a lunge, in order to mitigate the amount of force being transferred from the weapon into the opponent, and instead transfer that energy back into the attacker’s arm) encourages poor technique (70).

The practical value of the weapon and its proper instruction should be done outside of a sports setting, where victory by assignment of a point by a referee or by touch is the main objective. The objective of the student of historical arms in this context should be an understanding of the historical, practical use of the weapon, as exemplified by the author of the manual.

An Example of the Practice

A practical example: a study group attempted to interpret and recreate this plate from Salvator Fabris’ Art of Dueling:

                                     

We established our objective: use Fabris’ instruction to defeat the opponent..  One fighter served as the aggressor, the person doomed to die in our experiment. The defender would strike the killing blow with the appropriate technique (I initially had that honor).  One person was the director, a choreographer who, using clues from the plates and the texts, put us into our positions and guided our movements.  The three of us became a cooperative troupe, each discovering the validity (or lack thereof) of each action from our unique perspective.  We each communicated with each other, and shared what we learned through our own eyes of aggressor, defender, and director.

The first thing I did as defender was to go into position and sit there, like it was a passive guard.  The contortion felt ludicrous. It wasn’t stable.  There didn’t appear to be any more value in this guard as opposed to an upright guard. I didn’t feel particularly vulnerable, just uncomfortable. I couldn’t imagine that this was a position I’d want to maintain in a fight.

And that was just it…it wasn’t.  The plates are snapshots that serve a particular purpose.  In this case, the movement described on the plate is the position one would put oneself in shortly before one strikes.  The text helped with that discovery:

“Begin forming this guard as you are still upright.  As you see your opponent approaching, gradually lower your body and withdraw your sword; once your opponent is within the measures, he will find your body as low as possible and your sword as withdrawn as you can possibly keep it without taking it out of line.” (p. 38)

So we followed that advice.  I started upright, in a second guard (knuckles upward, sword straight out at almost shoulder-height).  As the aggressor slowly stepped forward, I slowly pulled my body down into a crouched position, elbow up, sword forward, until my opponent was close enough for me to strike. I made myself look as much like the figure in the plate as I could.

It still felt like something was lacking.  Would my opponent advance slowly?  Would I, slowly and deliberately, draw myself down and contort myself into position, and wait for a moment to strike?  According to the text, once my opponent was in range, I would, “quickly unleash an attack to the inside in fourth.”  It seemed possible, but seemed like a long way to go for the action.  It felt contrived…like a bad self-defense class that would teach, “Okay, if I grab you just like this, then you do this…”

“What if they don’t grab me just like this?”

“Well, I have another technique for that…”

It didn’t seem right, that a fencing manual that has survived this long, that has been interpreted, shared, and copied for the last four-hundred years would be reduced to plain, black-and-white instructions.  There should be movements that would be familiar to anyone who was learning to fight.  We should be able to identify the value in the guard and the actions, just from entering into the positions from the plates. Fabris was teaching students how to fight for their lives in a time when young men armed with both sword and ego travelled together in the same social circles.

So we did it again, and looked for more clues in the text or the art. The director wondered why, “cuts are more easily parried from this guard” (a line from near the end of the description of the guard).  The aggressor then changed her attack.  As I coiled down, she moved forward as if she were delivering a cut downward to my head.  We found that, if the timing was right, the attack was thwarted by my “withdrawn” blade and my head was out of the way of the attack.  From there, I could deliver a killing retaliatory blow (precisely in fourth, with my arm crossed across my body, palm up…just like the text said I should).

It all came together when we decided to move at greater speed, delivering our attacks with more sincere intent.  The aggressor rushed me, swinging her sword down to the top of my head.

I reacted appropriately, by yelling in fear and ducking.  It seemed like the most rational reaction.

Look back at the plate.  Imagine yourself in the position of the fighter presented in the artwork.  Imagine someone swinging a sword down on your head.  The subject there is ducking out of the way, voiding the body, parrying the downward-striking attack with the outstretched blade. From that position, it seems like the most natural action to stretch your arm forward, like a spring-driven trap, and thrust in fourth to kill your opponent.

It was like we’d just unlocked some arcane secret.  We switched roles, over and over, so each of us in our little study group could see the action from their own perspective.  Each of us agreed that, when done full speed, with intent, this technique seemed not just effective, but natural.  One could even say it seemed like the most rational thing to do.

We could not have deciphered the value of the plate without several key elements.  We each had to see the action from our own perspective.  We each had to know the basics of how to fight…our guards, footwork and bladework.  We had to trust the author and his material.  We had to believe in its value.

In Closing

Approaching the study of arms does not involve trying to impersonate plates or wood-cuts. The fight book is a tool that shows not only how one could fight, but also why they fought. Investigating the text is vital to knowing how to use the manual. The authors of these manuals wanted the readers to value everything that was published, both the practical instruction and their intent behind making their technique available to the public.

The modern practitioner should surround oneself with like-minded individuals. Interpreting the instructions that surround the plates involves multiple perspectives. A complete understanding is best accomplished by all of the practitioners sharing their perspectives. Understanding a weapon and its use involves having to use it as it was intended. This involves test cutting, and practicing with the weapon as it was intended.

Studying historical arms is a means of showing respect to the practitioners of arms that came before. The best purpose for their use may have been described by George Silver in his introduction to his Paradoxes of Defense:

…for as Divinitie preserveth the sould from hell and the divell, so doth this noble Science defend the bodie from wounds & slaughter. And moreover, the exercising of weapons putteth away aches, griefs, and diseases, it increaseth strength, and sharpneth the wits, it giveth a perfect judgement, it expelleth melancholy, cholericke and evill conceits, it keepeth a man in breath, perfect health, and long life. It is unto him that hath the perfection thereof, a most friendly and comfortable companion when he is alone, having but only his weapon about him, it putteth him out of feare, & in the warres and places of most danger it maketh him bold, hardie and valiant.

Works Cited

“Approved Rulers for the Study and Education of Historical Combat Techniques within the SCA”. A and S Martial Rules.moas.eastkingdom.org/docs/a_and_s_martial_rules.htm

Capoferro, Ridolfo, and Jared Kirby. Italian Rapier Combat: Ridolfo Capo Ferro. London:                                   Greenhill, 2004. Print.

Fabris, Salvator, and Tommaso Leoni. Art of Dueling: Salvator Fabris’ Rapier Fencing Treatise of 1606. Highland Village, TX: Chivalry helf, 2005. Print.

“Introduction to Stephen Greenblatt, Module on History.” Introduction to Stephen Greenblatt, Module on History. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.

Leoni, Tommaso. Complete Renaissance Swordsman: Antonio Manciolinos Opera Nova 1531. Wheaton, IL: Freelance Academy, 2010. Print.

Meyer, Joachim, and Jeffrey L. Forgeng. The Art of Combat. London: Frontline, 2015. Print.

Thompson, Joel. “Historical Fencing and Re-Enacting.” Association for Renaissance Martial Arts. Association for Renaissance Martial Arts, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.

Wagner, Paul, and George Silver. Master of Defence: The Works of George Silver. Boulder, CO: Paladin, 2003. Print.

Windsor, Guy. The Duellists’s Companion: A Training Manual for 17th Century Italian Rapier. Highland Village, TX: Chivalry helf, 2006. Print.