The School of Fencing

The School of Fencing was first presented in 1763 by Domenico Angelo in French as L'Ecole des Armes. It remained the most popular book on fencing for more than fifty years, being translated and republished five times in two decades. Before taking the throne as King George III, a young Edward, Duke of York and his brother, George the Prince of Wales, were both students of Domenico Angelo. His text was so influential that it was chosen to appear under the subject of Fencing in the famous Encyclopedie edited by Diderot and d'Alembert. Angelo opens the treatise by discussing how to choose an appropriate blade and gives advice on mounting it. He then goes into his system of fencing, starting with drawing the sword then teaching the guards before going into the attacks. He covers the smallsword as well as smallsword and dagger, smallsword vs. smallsword and dagger, smallsword and lantern, and finally smallsword vs. broadsword. He covers how to fence against the German, Italian and Spanish guards.
The School of Fencing is essential reading for any historical swordfighter or student of martial arts or military history as it allows the reader to access the knowledge of one of the masters of the art. The book is also sure to give the modern fencer new insights in technique and a greater appreciation of the history of this exciting art.