Fencing In The Elizabethan Era

The Elizabethan ages were very dark, and very violent. War was a common occurrence during Queen Elizabeth’s rule, and it was often quite bloody. slightly before the Elizabethan times, war was only fought with swords and shields. To teach soldiers how to handle these weapons, especially a sword, fencing was a necessity for winning battles and eventually for winning wars. But as guns were being introduced into warfare during Queen Elizabeth’s rule, fencing became more recreational (Elizabethan 1). Even though fencing was becoming more obsolete in warfare, it was still used to train knights, and was also used to keep the people of England entertained.
Scholars have dated the first sword fighting schools in the 12th century (Elizabeth 1). The

teachers who taught at the schools were later paid by patrons to write books about their knowledge of fencing, which were called treatises (Steps 1). In medieval times, these fencing schools schools were banned in England and France and they still continued to operate illegally under these circumstances. The art of fencing was very popular amongst knights in the elizabethan era (Olson 27). It was an art of self-defence that allowed for knights to be able to practice battle without legitimate hazardous combat.
The earliest surviving treatise originates from Germany.

It was written in latin and consisted of an advanced system. The mastery of fencing took time with the sword, effort, and immense emphasis on practice. In the Elizabethan era a boy spent 14 years to become a knight. he would start at 7 and then at 21 he would officially become a knight and begin his formal entry into Knighthood (Elizabeth 1) It was their job to fight, master the sword, and most importantly to honor the Code of Chivalry (1). Fencing In total, 14 years of practice and training would result in the final status of knighthood. A big plus to becoming a knight was also the ability of automatic entrance into tournaments during the Elizabethan era (Steps

34-38).
Fencing was a way of learning the art of defence in the late 15th and 16th centuries (1). Masters taught and studied the art of fencing and the most famous of these masters came from Italy. The French later progressed into the world of fencing, with their advancements of the smallsword and their own fencing schools (Olsen 45). The Spanish teachers were the most popular teachers and most desired because of their superior knowledge and ability over the other teachers; although the best instructors were usually Italian. In fact Diego de Valera, a Spanish writer, wrote the very first manual of Fencing practice (Steps 67). The Germans also had very respected schools and is the origin of the oldest existing fencing manuals. In Germany it was considered that it is the birthplace of systematic swordsmanship, Fencing The teachers of defence had formed themselves into guilds as early as the 15th century (1) . One of the more famous gilds were the Marxbriider also known as Associates of St Marcus of Lawenberg which were stationed in Frankfort, and reached into more important towns around them (1). It was also very common in Italy and Spain for teachers to now associate themselves with groups that recognized them for who they were, swordsmen (1). In 1540, the rapier sword made its first appearance in england (1). During the 16th century, the Italian masters Agrippa, Capo ferro, di Grassi, Fabris, Giganti, Marozzo, and Viggiani wrote treatises which established Italy as the originator of modern fencing (1). There were many famous fencing schools and instructors. Fencing was one of the most common recreational activities during the Elizabethan times, and was still used to train knights. Men were very eager to fence even at such an early age because it displayed manly characteristics and all boys wanted to be knights just like americans today in their youth wanted to become astronauts when they grew up
Fencing in the Elizabethan age was a very popular and important part in Europe’s defense (Olson 75). It is because of fencing that strong armies were able to become stronger and it left a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience written down in the books for future generations like us to be able to read and learn from them just as they were intended for. Fencing as a sport today has come a long way from what its original intention was meant to be. It is now solely a sport and form of entertainment rather than still being a form of defense.
To become a knight during the Elizabethan times, a boy would spend about 14 years to train (Steps 1). He would began as a page at age 7, where he would begin learning to fight on horseback by being taught how to tilt a lance and they would learn how to fight on foot, by fencing with a wooden sword and shield (1). When the pages become 14, they will become squires (1). It is at this point when the boy would learn how to fight with real weapons and learn advanced sword-fighting skills (1). A squire would even act as a servant to a knight in battle, tending the knight's’ horse and helping the knight with his armour. Once the squire reached the age of twenty one and completed his combat training, he would be “knighted” by an individual of nobility or another knight (Steps 1). Fencing was an important method for training knights to succeed in combat.
Different types of swords and fencing techniques were introduced during the Elizabethan age.

The first sword used for fencing during this time was the broadsword. The broadsword was a large, double-bladed sword that was hard to use due to it’s heavyweight (Andrew 53). With the broadsword, came the sword-and-buckler technique. The sword-and-buckler technique involved using large, powerful slashes with the broadsword, and blocking with the buckler (a small shield strapped onto the forearm (Olsen 34). In the beginning of the 16th century, the rapier was introduced to fencing (Andrew 53). Unlike the thick and large broadsword, the rapier was thin light, long and maneuverable. With the rapier, a dagger was used for parrying and the rapier was used for attacking (Olsen 35). Later in the century, the dagger was replaced with a gauntlet due to gauntlet’s effectiveness in

combat.
During the Elizabethan ages, tournaments were used for fencing showcases and other events. The main combat sports in the Elizabethan tournaments included, Jousting, melee fighting, and fighting on foot (Elizabethan Tournaments 1). One of these tournaments included the Joust a Plaisance Tournament, which was a number of jousts, where the loser was eliminated and the winner advanced (1). Another tournament was the Pas D’armes (1). In this tournament, a knight would send a proclamation which stated that he would take on all challengers (1). Another tournament was the Melee a Pied, which included a group of knights fighting each other on foot (1). The last tournament was the Melee a Cheval, which consisted of knights sword-fighting on horseback (1). These tournaments were often sponsored by wealthy nobles and they would often last for days (1). Tournaments were often the best way for knights to flaunt their fencing skills and swordsmanship.
Fencing was an important activity for entertainment and for the training of knights and soldiers during the Elizabethan age. Fencing helped keep knights’ skills sharpened and proficient. Fencing also served as a sport to help keep citizens active and it served as a show, to keep the people of England entertained. Fencing was also a very well studied subject, with famous writers studying the art of fencing from around the world. Fencing was an important part of Elizabethan society