The Free Master of Arms

Published in 1653, Charles Besnard's Le maistre d'arme liberal (The Free Master of Arms) was the fencing master's "treatise of the theory of the art and practice of the single sword or the foil", in which he also discussed the contemporary matter of duelling. Although apparently little known in its time, by the 19th century, the treatise was accorded considerable prestige by fencing historians as the first known work of the modern French school of fencing. This modern edition sees Besnard's treatise transcribed and translated in full, complete with the original pictures, as well as a detailed historical background.