Swordsmanship
Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman. It is a modern term mainly used to refer to small sword fencing. But it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword. The English word "swordsman" is parallel to the Latin word gladiator.[1] This was a professional fighter who fought against other fighters and others for the entertainment of spectators in the Roman Colosseum. The word gladiator itself comes from the Latin word gladius, meaning "sword".[1]
Noted swordsmen
Japan's greatest swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi won sixty duels.[2] His classic book on swordsmanship is called the Book of Five Rings, written about 1645.[2]
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke was called "the greatest knight who ever lived". He was one of England's greatest swordsmen.[3]
Guy Chabot, Seigneur de Jarnac was famous as France's finest swordsman. He won by a slashing blow to his opponent's buttocks so he could no longer stand. Winning a duel using this method has since been called a coup de Jarnac.[4]
Italo Santelli was a great Italian fencing master (teacher).[5] His fencing styles made Italians the best swordsmen in Europe by the end of the 19th century.[5] He established and taught fencing in Hungary for over fifty years. By the 20th century his Hungarian fencers were the best in Europe.[5] He was given a knighthood for his contributions to the sport in Hungary.[5]
Swordsmanship Media
Depiction of Chinese swordsman wielding a single-edged sword, from the Dan Dao Fa Xuan, c. 1626
Roman gladius, type Pompeii:*Photographed by myself during a show of Legio XV from Pram, Austria
Sherden guards with double-edge swords
A Chinese dao and scabbard of the 18th century
Kendo at an agricultural school in Japan around 1920
An excerpt from the Muyedobotongji: mounted double-sword (마상쌍검; 馬上雙劍)
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Related pages
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Douglas Harper, Etymology Online (2014), accessed 3 August 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nick Evangelista, The Encyclopedia of the Sword (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995), p. 318
- ↑ "Famous Swordsmen in History". Famous Things, People and Events. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ↑ Nick Evangelista, The Encyclopedia of the Sword (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995), p. 320
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Nick Evangelista, The Encyclopedia of the Sword (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995), p. 527