Origins of Swordfighting Schools
The oldest surviving handbook on Western swordfighting dates back to the 14th century, though there are historical references to swordfighting schools that go back to the 12th century. These 'schools' are better understood as currents within the study of swordfighting than as actual schools.
The Venetian School of Swordfighting
The Venetian school of swordfighting originated in Venice at the beginning of the 12th century and lasted until the early 19th century.
The basic principles of Venetian swordfighting are laid out in five important works:
Giacomo di Grassi – The Reasons for Successful Handling of Weapons for Attack and Defense (1570)
Francesco Alfieri – The Art of Excellent Sword Handling (1653)
Camillo Agrippa – Treatise on the Science of Weapons with Philosophical Considerations (1553)
Nicoletto Giganti – School of Theater (1606)
Salvator Fabris – Swordfighting or the Science of Weapons (1606)
The Venetians were masters of their craft and shared with their colleagues from Bologna the solid principles known as Bolognese or Venetian swordfighting. For the first time, the sword was described in detail: the properties of different parts of the blade and how they could be used for attack or defense. This also gave rise to the idea of what we now call the "strike zone." The blade was divided into four parts: the first two, close to the hilt, served for defense; the third part, at the middle of the blade, for powerful strikes; and the fourth, at the point, for thrusts.
The German School of Swordfighting
The German school of swordfighting was a combat system that was widespread in the Holy Roman Empire. It existed from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period (from the 14th to the 17th century) and was characterized especially by the use of the longsword. Important masters, such as Johannes Liechtenauer, developed techniques and principles that had great influence on the martial arts of that period.
The oldest document of this tradition is manuscript I.33, written around 1300. This work provides detailed instructions on the use of sword and shield, and forms the basis for later manuals and the further development of European fighting arts.
The Neapolitan School of Swordfighting
The Neapolitan school originated in Naples at the beginning of the 15th century and grew into one of the most powerful fencing schools in Italy. It produced many famous masters and made an important contribution to the development of techniques and teaching methods. The influence of this school extended beyond Italy and helped shape the art of swordfighting throughout Europe during the Renaissance.
Mounted Service School
Until technological innovations after World War I, instructors in the cavalry of the American army still taught swordfighting, both on horseback and on foot. This took place at the Mounted Service School in Fort Riley, Kansas.
Young Lieutenant George S. Patton Jr. was appointed Master of the Sword there, a title for the best instructor. In 1913, he designed the so-called Patton saber, inspired by his studies with M. Cléry L'Adjutant, at the time one of Europe's most prominent swordfighting masters. During his time at Fort Riley, Patton wrote two training manuals for cavalry officers: Saber Exercise 1914 and Diary of the Instructor in Swordsmanship.
The Development of Swordfighting as a Sport
From the Middle Ages onward, swordfighting was not only seen as a way to fight, but also as a means to train safely and compete. In the 18th century, Domenico Angelo brought about a major revolution. He opened a swordfighting school in London in 1763, taught the nobility and royal family, and published an influential instruction book. Angelo laid the foundation for posture and footwork that still apply today and emphasized for the first time the health and sporting benefits of swordfighting over its deadly aspect.
Over the course of the 19th century, the emphasis shifted completely to sport. The first official tournament took place in 1880 in London, after which the first official rules for swordfighting were established in both Great Britain and the United States.
Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA)
Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) are martial arts of European origin. It mainly concerns fighting arts that were formerly practiced but later disappeared or changed into completely different forms.
Of the martial arts from classical antiquity – such as Greek wrestling or gladiatorial combat – little documentation has been preserved. Most manuals and technical treatises come from the late Middle Ages and early modern period. Therefore, HEMA in practice focuses especially on the period between approximately 1300 and 1800. During that time, the German, Italian, and Spanish schools flourished in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance (14th to 16th centuries), followed by the French, English, and Scottish schools of swordfighting in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Martial arts from the 19th century, such as classical swordfighting and early hybrid styles like Bartitsu, are sometimes included under HEMA in a broader sense. Additionally, traditional and folkloristic styles from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are sometimes counted among them, such as forms of folk wrestling and stick fighting traditions.
In the United States, the term Western Martial Arts (WMA) is also sometimes used, which in a broader sense can encompass modern and traditional disciplines. In the late Middle Ages, the longsword held a place of honor within these martial arts. For this reason, the term Historical European Swordsmanship (HES) is sometimes also used, specifically for the techniques of swordfighting.
Early History of European Martial Arts
The earliest known Western book on fighting arts (as of 2025) is the Epitoma rei militaris. This work was written in Latin by the Roman author Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, who lived in Rome between the 4th and 5th centuries. No other Western handbooks on martial arts are known from before the late Middle Ages (except for some fragments on Greek wrestling, such as in Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 466).
Medieval texts do contain – such as the Icelandic sagas, Byzantine Acritic songs, the epic Digenes Akritas, and Middle High German tales – descriptions of combat and martial knowledge. Visual art from that period also provides information, for example the Bayeux Tapestry, the Synopsis of Histories by Johannes Skylitzes, and the Morgan Bible. Based on such sources, combined with practical experimentation, researchers sometimes try to reconstruct older fighting methods, such as pankration, Byzantine hoplomachia, Viking swordfighting, and gladiatorial combat.
The oldest surviving Fechtbuch (combat manual) is the Royal Armouries Ms. I.33, also known as the Walpurgis book or Tower Fechtbuch. This manuscript, written around 1300, covers fighting with sword and shield (buckler).
Fighting Like a Viking
Our knowledge of military technology in the Viking Age (late 8th to mid-11th century) is based on relatively few archaeological finds, depictions, and partly on the stories in Norse sagas and laws recorded in the 12th to 14th centuries. By custom, all free Norsemen had to own weapons and were allowed to carry them at all times. In the Hávamál, a collection of wise advice attributed to Odin, it says for example: "Do not leave your weapons behind your back in the field; you never know when you might suddenly need your spear."
War was the most prestigious occupation in Scandinavia during the Viking Age, and beautifully crafted weapons were an important way for a warrior to display his wealth and status. A wealthy Viking usually had a complete outfit: a spear, a wooden shield, and a battle axe or sword. Battle axes were seen as the "normal weapon" for middle-class Vikings, while swords were especially reserved for the upper class and nobility because of the high cost.
Viking weapons were often celebrated in poetry. The richest sometimes had a helmet and mail shirt, which were presumably limited to the nobility and their professional warriors. Poor warriors wore multiple layers of thick woolen clothing. The average farmer probably had only a spear, a shield, and possibly a common axe or a large knife (seax). Some warriors also brought their hunting bows, usually long bows or flat bows, which could be used in the initial phase of a fight.
Late Medieval Swordfighting
The central figure of late medieval martial arts in Germany is Johannes Liechtenauer. Although no manuscript by him is known to have survived, his lessons were first recorded in the Nuremberg manuscript GNM 3227a from the late 14th century. From the 15th to the 17th century, numerous Fechtbücher (German "sword books") were produced, of which several hundred still exist. Many of these works describe techniques derived from Liechtenauer's teachings. His Zettel (a kind of poem or summary of his techniques) remains one of the most well-known, though cryptic, pieces of European martial arts literature, and is studied and applied worldwide by swordfighters and researchers.
Usually, multiple fighting forms were taught alongside each other, such as: unarmed wrestling (Kampfringen or abrazare), dagger fighting (Degen or daga, often a rondel dagger), long knife (Messer or Dusack), stick, long staff or polearms, longsword (Langesschwert, spada longa, spadone), and armored fighting (Harnischfechten or armazare), both on foot and on horseback. Some Fechtbücher also contain sections on special fighting shields (Stechschild), used in judicial combats.
Important 15th-century German sword masters included Sigmund Ringeck, Peter von Danzig, Hans Talhoffer, and Paulus Kal, who all transmitted Liechtenauer's teachings. From the end of the 15th century, "brotherhoods" of swordfighters (Fechtbruderschaften) emerged, such as the Brotherhood of St. Mark (1474) and the Federfechter.
An early example from Burgundian France is Le jeu de la hache ("The Game of the Axe") around 1400.
The first master to write in Italian was Fiore dei Liberi, commissioned by the marquis of Ferrara. Between 1407 and 1410, he documented extensive fighting techniques in his work Flos Duellatorum, in which he covered wrestling, dagger, weapon handling in armor, longsword, polearms, armored fighting, and fighting on horseback. The Italian school was continued by Filippo Vadi (1482–1487) and Pietro Monte (1492, Latin with Italian and Spanish terms).
There are also three early English texts on swordfighting (predating George Silver), but these are very obscure and of uncertain date. They are usually attributed to the second half of the 15th century.
Early Modern Swordfighting
In the 16th century, compilations of older Fechtbücher techniques were made, some of which were printed, particularly by Paulus Hector Mair (in the 1540s) and Joachim Meyer (in the 1570s). Mair's work is unmatched in scope by any other German master and is considered invaluable by contemporary researchers.
In Germany, swordfighting in the 16th century developed sporting characteristics. The treatises by Mair and Meyer built upon the tradition of Liechtenauer from earlier centuries, but with new and distinctive features. The printed Fechtbuch by Jacob Sutor (1612) is considered one of the last works in the German tradition.
In Italy, the 16th century was a period of great change. It began with the treatises of the
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