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Schools and Masters of Fencing: From the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century | 
 enlarge | Author: Egerton Castle
Publisher: Dover Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 174349
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0486428265
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.86
EAN: 9780486428260
ASIN: 0486428265
Publication Date: May 20, 2003
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Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
The standard reference on historical swordsmanship since its 1885 publication. The author traces fencing from its roots in the unschooled brawling of the Middle Ages to its latter-day precision and refinement, focusing primarily on the 16th-century development of the rapier and its popularity in Renaissance Italy. 150 black-and-white illustration.
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| Customer Reviews:
 An outstanding history of the sword November 2, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Egerton Castle lays out a roadmap of European swords, schools and masters of the sword, and fencing texts from the middle ages to the early 1800s. Despite an original publication date of 1885, this is the best overview of the subjects covered. It is generally laid out in chronological order, with a few detours to follow specific schools of fencing, but flows well and logically. Castle describes the last days of armor and twohanded swords, and as gunpowder made medieval armor obsolete, he progresses through the development of the rapier and smallsword.
I found the sections on Spanish and English schools of thought most useful, as these are most removed from modern sport fencing, and least accesible through modern authors (who have been heavily influenced by Asian, Pacific Islander, and other edged weapons arts, and their own theories). For example, Ramon Martinez is absolutely brilliant at explaining the Spanish school of fencing as he interpretes it, but he tends to gloss over shortcomings of Spanish Fencing, or John Clements, whose books make reference to parrying with the flat of the sword rather than the edge, which is without practical or historical basis.
Castle's vignettes of personalities and events of fencing history add a charming 'gossipy' air to the work that make it very readable, when it easily could have devolved into an arid scholarly listing of unadorned facts and dates. The discussion of Domenico Angelo in England was a delightful snapshot of life among the upper class of England in that period.
In a word, brilliant. "Schools and Masters of Fencing" does not claim to be a text on the management of l'arme blanche, but an overview of the history of the weapon. But with this disclaimer, Castle procedes to offer insights into the techniques and evolution of techniques that have become modern sport fencing. Although Castle does not dwell on it, this work offers great insight into the interrelationship of armor, muscle powered weapons, and firearms. The book neatly frames out the golden age of edged and pointed weapons from the time when the obsolescence of armor in the face of firearms made way for the most subtle and refined swordsmanship to the point where reliable repeating handguns made the sword a relic of a more refined but less democratic era.
Absolutly top shelf; a 'must read' for a serious classical fencer or student of the history of arms.
E. M. Van Court
 Dated, but yet to be surpassed July 13, 2005
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
Although this history of fencing is over a century old, and some of its conclusions are deeply flawed, it is still the most complete and accurate book on the subject. Castle's dismissal of early works on swordsmanship as "The rough untutored fighting of the Middle Ages" is unfortunate. I defy anyone to examine Sigmund Ringeck's Fechtbuch (as translated and interpreted by Christian Tobler in Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship) or the anonymous Manuscript I.33 from 1300 (translated by Jeff Forgeng in The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship and analysed by myself and Paul Wagner in Medieval Sword and Shield)and conclude that medieval fencing lacked system and sophistication.
Also unfortunate is Castle's evident belief that the history of fencing is a process of steady improvement to the perfection of fencing in his day. It was a good thing for Castle and his contemporaries that they never had to face the trained killers of the middle ages and see their "rough untutored" fighting for themselves.
But, quaint 19th century notions of superiority aside, in his description of the fencing masters of the 16th-18th centuries, Castle is unsurpassed. He possessed the rare ability to separate observation from opinion. So, while his opinions may be...interesting, his observations, unsullied by opinion are for the most part accurate. He examined about a hundred different fencing masters and their systems in analyses that are sometimes deep and sometimes quite superficial.
Other authors have attempted to write histories of fencing, but none have managed to separate their observations of the old masters from their personal opinions. Hence none are as useful as Castle. As old and as dated as this work is, it still deserves a place on the shelf of anyone interested in the history of swordsmanship.
Stephen Hand
Author, Spada, Spada II,
Medieval Sword and Shield
A MUST HAVE FOR FENCERS February 15, 2004
10 out of 16 found this review helpful
A REVIEW BY NICK EVANGELISTA:This book is a must for all fencers. It is a font of fencing knowledge, and although much criticized by members of the modern historical fencing movement, it is nevertheless a valuable resource. As the author of "The Art and Science of Fencing," "The Inner Game of Fencing," and "The Encyclopedia of the Sword," and the editor/publisher of FENCERS QUARTERLY MAGAZINE, I recommend this book highly.
Flawed; but a classic none the less... July 25, 2003
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is a very readable and enjoyable history of the evolution of the various "schools"(or philosophies)of self defence with the sword, expressed with a detailed look at their main proponents, the salon masters of years ago. Castle's personal sketches of the masters are enlightening and full of anecdotal material. The accompanying illustrations are mostly reproductions of period wookcuts which are invaluable in themselves. However, the poorly reproduced photographic addenda reveal that Castle was as much as a century off in his ability to identify and date sword types. This of course was not the purpose of his work. Even given this small flaw, I wholeheartedly recommend this for the fencer or martial artist of any level who is interested in the roots of the art. We are fortunate that Mr Castle provided us with such a good, solid history.
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