It has been a while since I have made any posts here as I have been busy with other things, and searching for suitable subjects for writing about. This is one which came up sometime ago, but I had not written about it as I thought I would leave it for a while. The blog following is about swordplay and the terminologies associated with such. It will also dig a little into the issues of not having a suitable lexicon of swordplay, or indeed having several in different languages.
Now we have all been at an event where we have seen two people get into a discussion about what happened during the fencing that day and often it will result in fingers being pointed in order for the action used to be expressed accurately. This is the result of not having a common language or suitable terms in which to discuss what they are talking about. On the other end one fencer will use an Italian term and the other will look at him strangely because all his study has been in German. In this particular case it comes out as having suitable terms but not a common language both of these can cause issues when expressing an action performed with a weapon.
To give an example of what is being discussed here. A beat is a simple action designed to remove the opponent's blade with force in order to open a line. In French it is called battement, in German it is called Klingenschlag, in Spanish it is called batimiento, and in Italian it is called battuta. Four different languages which is four different words for the same thing, they just happen to be in a different language. Things only get more confusing for the new person when a discussion of cuts comes in.
In order to avoid such confusions, either deliberately or accidentally, some organisations have developed their own language for the various actions with a sword, one example of this is from the armoured combatants of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). Terms have been developed in order to describe the action of delivering a blow against an opponent, for example the snap, and the wrap. To an uninformed audience these would not make particularly much sense, but the same could be said of many early Italian terms such as the Iron Gate Guard. So in some ways the language is
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The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...
It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV
... or direct from the author.
The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...
It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV
... or direct from the author.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI am a new reader of your blog and this is the first post of yours that I have read.
Off hand I can think of two books on fencing terminology that might help the fencer better communicate with others. The first is Dr. William Gaugler's Dictionary Of Fencing Terminology and the second is Nick Evangelista's Encyclopedia Of The Sword. The former book deals exactly with what you are talking about and the latter has fencing terms in it as well as other entries on swords and swordplay.
Good luck.
While my this topic was more aimed at the fencing terminology of the Renaissance period, you will find that even in modern fencing there is a still a similar problem. Even in Evangelista's book you will find terms of the same meaning in two or even three different languages. This of course is then dependent on which school you are more associated, in the same way as the Renaissance schools.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that both of the speakers in a conversation need to have read/heard/learnt the same terminology in order to understand what one another is talking about. One may call it a "demi-volte", the other may call it a "half-inquartata" and a third may call it "a displacement void through the use of the rear foot". All three are referring to the same thing, but they may not realise this. This is where a common language is important, even if it is only negotiated through the conversation as the speakers address one another.
Quite frankly the lexicon (and a singluar one)is most important for teachers of fence in order that they do not confuse their students. However it is useful to other fencers in order that they are able to engage in fruitful conversation. Regardless of the school of fencing or the period from which The school comes.
Cheers,
Henry.