2.3 The World of the Sword Master in Early Modern Europe
In La Garde Ecossaise we are introduced to the world of the sword master through our narrator, Robert Meldrum. In his meeting with Hamilton, Hamilton introduces Meldrum to the weapons which form the basis of swordsmanship in early modern Europe. We learn that this is just a matter of re-familiarisation for Meldrum, as in a previous life Meldrum was a young sword master in Edinburgh before he had an accident. However, at this stage Meldrum does not detail what this accident was but we do know that it was serious enough for him to make a pledge to himself not to go near a sword again. We also know that Hamilton is aware of this but is encouraged by the fact that Meldrum’s eyes light up when he sees the swords on the table. It is clear that Meldrum still had a passion for swordsmanship. Hamilton has an example of each weapon lying on the table as well as a pile of printed military and swordsmanship treatises for Meldrum to read after the meeting.[1]
On the table there were three weapons, firstly a dagger which was to be used alongside the rapier for defence and attack and the two-handed sword, a large heavy sword which as the name suggests was used with both arms. In the latter case, we know that Hamilton would not use his in combat and it has become largely ornamental which was representative of the general trend in early modern warfare for weapons to become lighter and more agile as time progressed. Indeed, we learn that Hamilton’s two-handed sword matched its owner, heavier and larger than average and that Hamilton operated the sword with ease. This feeds into Hamilton’s reputation as this larger-than-life invincible warrior. This was taken straight from the legends that surround the real-life Gaelic warrior Alasdair Maccolla himself. Legend has it that Maccolla had a sword that was as large as the man himself which fed into Maccolla’s reputation as a fierce solider. Indeed, it is no coincidence in La Garde Ecossaise that the islanders of Colonsay, Maccolla’s native island, forged Hamilton’s sword for him in gratitude for his services on the island.[2]
After the basic introduction to some weaponry, we are then briefly introduced to the various schools of swordsmanship in early modern Europe such as the Italian school, the Spanish school and the French school. Each school had different techniques and approaches to sword fighting. I will now introduce the major schools of swordsmanship in early modern Europe and some of their defining features.
The European Schools of Swordsmanship
There were several schools of swordsmanship within Europe, during the early modern period. These schools were run by fencing masters who taught their pupils the art of swordsmanship. Swordsmanship was considered an art form, or a highly acquired skill, that could only be taught by fencing masters. The title fencing master was usually bestowed on someone with many years of experience in addition to passing several examinations and tests. In an English tract called ‘The Third University’ dated 1615 it details how pupils were admitted as scholars, (like today’s undergraduates at university). They aimed to earn their ‘degrees’, as the author argues, as Provosts of Defence (which would be the equivalent of an undergraduate degree). In order to become a Provost, scholars had to show proficiency in their weapons in prize fights in front of hundreds of people. Then, these Provosts could aim to become a ‘master of science of defence’ or the title of ‘Fencing Master’. In order for this title to be bestowed, the provost had to sit a viva, or as the author puts it, ‘public acts and trials’ after which the fencing masters would choose whether or not to elect that person amongst their own company or corporation. Many of these established corporations had Royal assent. Other evidence from Spanish sources suggests that the title ‘Master of the Sword’ was a title of privilege and status. Appointing someone to the corporation was a matter completed after much thought and consideration.[3] Fencing tuition was an international affair and highly competitive. We know that Italians, Spaniards and Frenchmen taught fencing in London. In France, French schools of fencing did not emerge until the seventeenth century. Until that point, Italians dominated the fencing schools in France and there were likely Spanish Masters too who taught swordsmanship to courtiers during the reign of Louis XIII. It was during the reign of Louis XIV in 1656 that the Academie d’ Armes’ were conferred letters of Royal patent and six masters were granted titles and elected to the nobility. The King also stipulated that should one of these six men die they should be replaced by a Master with at least 20 years’ experience, thus ensuring that high levels of experience and professionalism became a hallmark of the institution. Furthermore, no one was allowed to teach fencing within the kingdom of France without having attended the Académie d’armes. [4]
There were several schools or methods of swordsmanship throughout Europe in the early modern period.
The first was the Italian school which emerged in the sixteenth century, although later it was surpassed by the emerging Spanish school and ultimately the French school but the Italian school remained the foundation upon which these later schools rested.[5]
A French school of swordsmanship began to emerge with the publication of ‘Traicé contenant les secrets du premier livre sur l’espėe seule, mere de toutes les armes’.by Henri de Sainct Didier. Indeed, this is one of the texts that Meldrum is given to read by Hamilton for his own interest and instruction. Its importance cannot be overstated, to quote Egerton Castle, ‘This book is looked upon by the French as the first treatise on an art which they consider essentially their own’. However, the book drew heavily from Italian publications on fencing which is unsurprising since Sainct Didier was from Provence. It is also no coincidence that the book was published during the French Wars of Religion, a conflict which had torn France apart, and given the circumstances, this made the publication a huge success. Sainct Didier’s work was illustrated with sixty-four woodcuts, hand carved illustrations created by a wooden block, which would have been expensive to produce but would have allowed both Master and Provost the ability to easily understand the instructions.[6] The courteous salute before all bouts, which you will be familiar with having watched the Three Musketeers was certainly a French invention and the handling of the Rapier in both hands grew popular in France during the second half of the seventeenth century.[7]
The very distinctive school of Spanish swordsmanship emerged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and largely remained unchanged throughout the early modern period. This school of swordsmanship put an emphasis on the science of swordsmanship rather than viewing it as an art. Thus, in the Spanish school the emphasis was the anatomy of your opponent and the various points to strike them with a sword, similar to pressure points for self-defence today. The emphasis was also on geometry and natural philosophy. Angles, arcs, tangents and circles all underpinned Spanish swordplay. Carranza and Narvaez dominate Spanish swordsmanship throughout the seventeenth century and therefore, unlike other European schools of swordsmanship, it evolved little throughout the century, but do not be deceived, as the Spanish were very dangerous and feared swordsmen and had a reputation of keeping a cool head under most immense pressures.[8]
Yet there is another school of swordsmanship to discuss in this context and it is the Hispano-French school of fencing which emerged out of the Spanish Netherlands. The text, ‘The Academy of the Sword,’ was written by Girard Thibaust who was based in Antwerp. Like the Spanish school, it was underpinned by scientific and mathematical principles but also drew upon Italian and French principles. There was a fencing academy in Brussels which, would have been heavily influenced by Spain but within France itself there was also the Academy of Toulouse which due to its proximity to Spain, drew upon Spanish fashions in swordsmanship. [9]
There were also German, English and Scottish schools of fencing, which will be discussed in future podcasts.[10]
We must keep in mind that swords had different functions and purposes in war and peace. There was a division between military swords and those swords that people wore as part of court dress, either as part of their status as a gentleman, or for private defence if need be. Although I must stress that duelling was forbidden under Louis XIV, both for private persons and members of the armed forces.[11]
Now we will also briefly look at some of the key swords of the seventeenth century:
The Two-Handed Sword – Although this sword is more associated with an earlier period and was largely out of fashion as it had been replaced by lighter blades, the two-handed sword was still used in the seventeenth century. Indeed, a printed manual on the two-handed sword was published by Alferi in 1653.[12]
Rapier – To quote Egerton Castle in his superb book on fencing schools and fencing masters he states that the rapier was ‘elegant and vicious’.[13] Alfred Hutton who wrote a short definitive account of Old Swordplay in the nineteenth century stated that the rapier was ‘long and handsome’ and became a favoured weapon in the first half of the seventeenth century. Indeed, as Hamilton was of that generation we are told that the Rapier was his favourite sword. It is described as a long double-edged weapon. Indeed, we are also told that it is Meldrum’s favoured weapon also which is curious given that Meldrum was of a younger generation, one can only assume at this stage that Meldrum was taught swordsmanship from his own father who is the same generation as Hamilton (I’m trying to avoid spoilers here!). The rapier itself went through an evolution between 1625 and 1660 becoming lighter and shorter, allowing it to be easily transferred between the left and right hands in a fight. A rapier was used by the military but it was also used as a sword, worn daily by non-military persons in case of trouble. The Rapier was also associated with the aristocracy. [14]
Broadsword – This was absent from Hamilton’s collection of swords (I am again avoiding spoilers!), nevertheless, the broadsword was used during the seventeenth century. It was short, wide and double-edged and was the standard military weapon.[15]
Dagger – Although daggers became unfashionable during the first half of the seventeenth century it was used alongside the rapier for defence. It was particularly useful in close combat.[16]
The Small Sword – took over from the rapier in the later seventeenth century and was essentially a French weapon taught by French masters.[17]
Swords and Swordsmanship in the armies of Louis XIV
Louis XIVs army like other armies of their time, comprised different regiments with different functions and specialities which called for the use of specific weapons. The fictional La Garde Ecossaise is situated mainly within the Maison le Roi which comprised of a number of regiments which made up the King’s bodyguard. In this context the sword served a ceremonial function, as well as a weapon of defence. It was the duty of the men in the elite Maison Le Roi to carry the King’s food to his table with sword in hand. In addition, the elite bodyguard were also given swords and carbines for defence purposes.[18] Other regiments were known for their use of swords too. The Gendarmes were armed with swords too.[19] A mark of the Grenadiers a’ Cheval de La Garde, which distinguished them from other regiments were their sabre swords which had a curved shape.[20] For the Gendarmerie de La France swords were also a standard issue for all members of the Gendarmerie as well as pistols and rifled carbines.[21]
It should also be no surprise that the sword was standard issue amongst soldiers in Louis XIVs field armies those large-scale armies mobilised to fight for the King both at home and abroad. Interestingly, for some parts of the line infantry, such as those who carried muskets, they also carried a sword on their person and as a means of defence in hand-to-hand combat in battle since they were not issued with body armour.[22] As expected, in common with many other early modern armies, the sword was the dominant weapon of the line cavalry. It was such an important weapon that the army stipulated its length be 89.3 cm long. The guard was to be made of brass and before 1684 it was to be carried on a buff shoulder belt, after 1684 it was carried on a waist belt. Swords were to be worn on the left side of the body.[23] We must also keep in mind that Louis XIVs army contained many men of different nationalities including Scots, Irish, English, German, Swiss and Hungarians to name but a few who brought with them their own national traditions of instruction, sword fighting and equipment experience. Louis XIVs army was an international entity containing some of the best swordsmanship from across Europe, not just France. Louis XIV was interested in investing in and distributing state of the art equipment to his armies. This was facilitated by the creation of a central administration system during the War of Devolution which sought to procure, organise, and distribute weapons and equipment to soldiers. [24]
Regarding specific bladed weapons, the rapier was used to fight single opponents in combat, in other words hand to hand combat and it was often found to be of use in duelling contests. Louis XIV specifically clamped down on such contests seeing them as a symptom of ill-discipline in the army. In the world of La Garde Ecossaise Hamilton indicates that the rapier is used, of course, these men being part of a secret unit akin to modern day special forces where hand to hand combat is a key feature in their ways of fighting.[25] During Louis XIVs reign there were efforts to try and develop the use of the sword by the cavalry, by moving from a straight blade to the curved sabre to allow for more cutting and slashing, rather than the stabbing actions by a straight blade.[26]
Thank you for joining me for another episode of the La Garde Ecossaise podcast. Don’t forget that you can purchase the historical fiction novel from all good bookstores. Next week we will take a look at muskets and the world of a skilled marksman. Until then – au revoir, a bientot.
[1] MacKenzie, La Garde Ecossaise 84.
[2] MacKenzie, La Garde Ecossaise 85.
[3] Egerton Castle, Schools and Masters of Fencing: From the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century (London, 2012) 66.
[4] Castle, Schools and Masters of Fencing 45-46, 51, 97, 201-202, 235, 237.
[5] Castle, Schools and Masters of Fencing 19, 67; Arthur Wise, The Art and History of Personal Combat (New York, 1971) Location 562 [Kindle].
[6] MacKenzie, La Garde Ecossaise 85, 88; Castle, Schools and the Masters of Fencing 99-102, 107-108.
[7] Castle, Schools and the Masters of Fencing 226, 229; Wise, The Art and History of Personal Combat Loc 707.
[8] Castle, Schools and Masters of Fencing 121-122, 125-126, 271; Wise, The Art and History of Personal Combat Loc 747-766, 787.
[9] Castle, Schools and Masters of Fencing 203-205, 238; Wise, The Art and History of Personal Combat Loc 1301.
[10] Castle, Schools and Masters of Fencing 129,
[11] Castle, Schools and the Masters of Fencing 25-26, 282-314.
[12] Sutton, Old Swordplay 3.
[13] Castle, Schools and Masters of Fencing 25.
[14] Alfred Hutton, Old Swordplay (London, 1892) 1, 17; MacKenzie, La Garde Ecossaise 85; Castle, Schools and Masters of Fencing 350, 371, 376; Wise, The Art and History of Personal Combat Loc 1333.
[15] Hutton, Old Swordplay 29, 376.
[16] Hutton, Old Swordplay 17; Castle, Schools and Masters of Fencing 384; Wise, The Art and History of Personal Combat Loc 667..
[17] Castle, Schools and Masters of Fencing 34, 373.
[18] Rene Chartrand, Louis XIVs Army (Oxford, 1988) 13-14.
[19] Chartrand, Louis XIVs Army 14.
[20] Chartrand, Louis XIVs Army 15.
[21] Chartrand, Louis XIVs Army 16-17.
[22] Chartrand, Louis XIVs Army 18.
[23] Chartrand, Louis XIVs Army 33.
[24] Chartrand, Louis XIVs Army 36-37, 42-43; Rene Chartrand, The Armies and Wars of the Sun King 1643-1715: Volume I: The Guard of Louis XIV 35, 38.
[25] John A Lynn, Giant of the Grand Siècle: The French Army 1610-1715 (Cambridge, 1997) 255.
[26] Lynn, Giant of the Grand Siècle 490-491.