Fencing London The Revival of Elizabethan Fencing in Victorian London
Fencing L Ancient Swordplay: The Revival of Elizabethan Fencing in Victorian London Paperback – January 30, 2010
In late Victorian England, even as the sword was being rendered useless
on the battlefield, swordsmanship was experiencing a unique revival.
Captain Alfred Hutton and Egerton Castle, both devoted fencers and
amateur historians, led a systematic study and reconstruction of combat
with all the weapons of the Elizabethan arsenal - the elegant rapier,
deadly sword and buckler, and the massive two-handed sword. Their work
found practical expression in classes, exhibitions, academic lectures
and theatrical combat, for audiences as diverse as school children,
soldiers and the Prince of Wales.
Yet for all of their efforts, Hutton and Castle did not establish a
tradition of historical swordsmanship that survived their own
generation. Instead, their books and essays were largely forgotten until
the second revival of ancient swordplay in the late 20th century, and
today's researchers often view these early efforts with a cavalier or
dismissive eye. In Ancient Swordplay: the Revival of Elizabethan
Swordplay in Victorian England, 19th c martial arts scholar, theatrical
fight director and martial artist Tony Wolf reexamines Hutton and
Castle's work, both through their own words and those of their
enthusiasts, students and critics . Rather than earnest but misguided
amateur scholars, they are revealed to be the inventors of a systematic
study and practice of lost fighting arts that has only been exceeded in
recent years, worthy of being celebrated as the true pioneers in the
field.
This is a much overdue study of the first 'modern' revival of historical
European martial arts, which happened in the late-Victorian and
Edwardian period.
Whilst there have been many books in recent
years dedicated to the earliest documented European martial arts, from
the medieval period, what has been neglected is a published study of the
first people who sought to revive and recreate these ancient martial
arts; the likes of Captain Alfred Hutton, Egerton Castle and their
contemporaries.
Check out The Book Review, our editors' fresh new blog featuring
interviews with authors, book reviews, quirky essays on book trends, and
regular columns by our editors. Explore now
Fencing London The Revival of Elizabethan Fencing in Victorian London
