Historical European martial arts

The term Western martial arts (WMA) is sometimes used in the United States and in a wider sense including modern and traditional disciplines.

The earliest Western book about the fighting arts currently known (c. 2025), Epitoma rei militaris,[1] was written into Latin by a Roman writer, Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, who lived in Rome between the fourth and fifth centuries.

There are no other known Western martial arts manuals predating the Late Middle Ages (except for fragmentary instructions on Greek wrestling, see Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 466), although medieval literature (e.g., sagas of Icelanders, Eastern Roman Acritic songs, the Digenes Akritas and Middle High German epics) record specific martial deeds and military knowledge; in addition, historical artwork depicts combat and weaponry (e.g., the Bayeux Tapestry, the Synopsis of Histories by John Skylitzes, the Morgan Bible).

Some researchers have attempted to reconstruct older fighting methods such as Pankration, Eastern Roman hoplomachia, Viking swordsmanship and gladiatorial combat by reference to these sources and practical experimentation.

Liechtenauer's Zettel (recital) remains one of the most famous — if cryptic — pieces of European martial arts scholarship to this day, with several translations and interpretations of the poem being put into practice by fencers and scholars around the world.

[3][4] Normally, several modes of combat were taught alongside one another, typically unarmed grappling (Kampfringen or abrazare), dagger (Degen or daga, often of the rondel dagger), long knife (Messer), or Dusack, half- or quarterstaff, polearms, longsword (Langesschwert, spada longa, spadone), and combat in plate armour (Harnischfechten or armazare), both on foot and on horseback.

Three early (before George Silver) natively English swordplay texts exist, but are all very obscure and from uncertain dates; they are generally thought to belong to the latter half of the 15th century.

In the 16th century, compendia of older Fechtbücher techniques were produced, some of them printed, notably by Paulus Hector Mair (in the 1540s) and by Joachim Meyer (in the 1570s).

The treatises of Paulus Hector Mair and Joachim Meyer derived from the teachings of the earlier centuries within the Liechtenauer tradition, but with new and distinctive characteristics.

It opened with the two treatises of Bolognese masters Antonio Manciolino and Achille Marozzo, who described a variation of the eclectic knightly arts of the previous century.

In 1553, Camillo Agrippa was the first to define the prima, seconda, terza, and quarta guards (or hand-positions), which would remain the mainstay of Italian fencing into the next century and beyond.

This ideology was taken to great lengths in Spain in particular, where La Verdadera Destreza 'the true art (of swordsmanship)' was now based on Renaissance humanism and scientific principles, contrasting with the traditional "vulgar" approach to fencing inherited from the medieval period.

In the 17th century, Italian swordsmanship was dominated by Salvator Fabris, whose De lo schermo overo scienza d'arme of 1606 exerted great influence not only in Italy, but also in Germany, where it all but extinguished the native German traditions of fencing.

By 1715, the rapier had been largely replaced by the lighter and handier small sword throughout most of Europe, although treatments of the former continued to be included by authors such as Donald McBane (1728), P. J. F. Girard (1736) and Domenico Angelo (1763).

Notable examples include the methods of Scottish and British Armed Services singlestick, la canne and bâton français, Portuguese jogo do pau, Italian Paranza or Bastone Siciliano, and some styles of Canarian juego del palo.

Attempts at reconstructing the discontinued traditions of European systems of combat began in the late 19th century, with a revival of interest from the Middle Ages.

He delivered numerous practical demonstrations with his colleague Egerton Castle of these systems during the 1890s, both in order to benefit various military charities and to encourage patronage of the contemporary methods of competitive fencing.

Interest in the physical application of historical fencing techniques remained largely dormant during the first half of the 20th century, due to a number of factors.

In Italy, Jacopo Gelli and Francesco Novati published a facsimile of the "Flos Duellatorum" of Fiore dei Liberi, and Giuseppe Cerri's book on the Bastone drew inspiration from the two-handed sword of Achille Marozzo.

[14][15] Dividing their focus between Heavy Armored Fighting, to simulate early medieval warfare, and adapted sport Rapier fencing, to reenact later renaissance styles, the SCA regularly holds large re-creation scenarios throughout the world.

Since the 1980s and 1990s,[20] historical European martial arts communities have emerged in Europe, North America, Australia, and the wider English-speaking world.

Although the focus generally is on the martial arts of medieval and Renaissance masters, 19th- and early 20th-century martial arts teachers are also studied and their systems are reconstructed, including Edward William Barton-Wright, the founder of Bartitsu;[21] combat savate and stick fighting master Pierre Vigny; London-based boxer and fencer Rowland George Allanson-Winn; French journalist and self-defence enthusiast Jean Joseph-Renaud; and British quarterstaff expert Thomas McCarthy.

While research focused on the Marcelli family of fencing masters and their pupils in Rome and abroad (e.g. Mattei, Villardita, Marescalchi, De Greszy, Terracusa), through publication of papers and books on rapier fencing, attention was also paid to the influences of 16th century's masters active in Rome, such as Agrippa, Cavalcabò, Paternoster, or of the early 17th like D'Alessandri.

Within Accademia Romana d'Armi historical research has continuously been carried out also on Fiore de' Liberi's longsword system, publishing the first Italian analysis and transcription of MS.

Central and Southern Italian traditions are also investigated by Accademia Romana d'Armi, through the studies of Francesco Lodà on Spetioli (Marche) and Pagano (Neaples).

Leoni has also authored English translations of all of Fiore de' Liberi's Italian-language manuscripts, as well as Manciolino's Opera Nova and the third book of Viggiani's Lo Schermo.

Other fencing traditions are represented in the scholarship of Stephen Hand and Paul Wagner of Australia's Stoccata School of Defence,[year needed] focusing on a range of systems, ranging from the works of George Silver and the techniques depicted in the Royal Armouries' Manuscript I.33 to the surviving evidence for how large shields were used, rapier according to Saviolo and Swetnam and Scottish Highland broadsword.

Since 2002, Royal Arts Fencing Academy and the Rose & Gold foundation have hosted Ascalon Sword Festival, one of the largest HEMA tournaments in the United States.

[35][36] Since 2006, a Canadian event called Nordschlag has been taking place annually in Edmonton, Alberta, hosted by The Academy of European Swordsmanship (The AES).

[46] In 2012, Ruth García Navarro and Mariana López Rodríguez started Esfinges, an umbrella affinity group for women in or interested in HEMA.