"This art is a principal member of the Militarie profession,..,Therfore it ought not to be exercised in Braules and Fraies, as men commonlie practise in everie shire, but as honorable Knights"
Giacomo DiGrassi The Arte of defense
The concepts of honour and chivalry are very often tied up with that of the Arthurian Ideal, and in particular the Knights of the Round Table exemplified in myth and legend. The art of rapier, being younger in period (late sixteenth century) than that of heavy fighting, is sometimes viewed as being slightly removed from this chivalric ideal. This need not be so, for honour and chivalry are not bound by time nor place. This article is my own personal opinion, and is designed to cause the reader to think and consider their actions, or those of others, upon the field of combat. The author does not claim to be the one true authority on this matter, and as such feel free to disagree with the contents of this page. Let me begin by telling a story….A young fencer who had trained hard for seven years had saved enough money and was playing his prize to declare himself a fencing master. A local theatre had been hired and opened to the public and heralds had been paid to announce the event to the populace. It was the day of the prize playing and the theatre was thronged with the public, beggars and jongleurs. Four fencing masters had arrived, each dressed in the black of their profession. The young fencer took the stage against the first of these, a slightly greying man, with one eye. With dismay he noted the length of the master's rapier and the ornate hilt, at least half a foot longer than the young fencer's and obviously the work of a master craftsman. However, the master exchanged blades with his assistant now wielding a shorter, plainer blade in his off hand no less. Seeing the young fencer's surprise the master commented " I know what I am capable of boy, we are here to see what you can do". The fight lasted a minute, ending with the master having a small cut on his left hand, and the master's blade at the throat of the younger. Despite the one sided ending, the master was pleased, as his blood had been spilled, and then demonstrated the defence to his attack.
The fights with the other three masters proceeded along similar lines. Then entered a noble who was a noted duellist, dressed in the fashion of the day, with a large ruff. His scabbard held four red ribbons which it was rumoured were cut from the clothing of his opponents' bodies. With hardly a salute he drew his weapons, a case of rapiers, and attacked the young fencer fiercely. The young fencer defended but was driven back, struck on the head with the other man's pommel and left with a savage cut on his right arm and hand. This wound later healed badly so the young fencer could no longer wield a rapier as easily. The next day, this duellist was found dead in an alley, each limb pierced once by a rapier, and it was later rumoured that the four fencing masters were seen each wearing one red ribbon.
This story illustrates a small number of points, rather than spell these out it is clear that the fencing masters acted with chivalry on the day of the prize playing testing the young fencer and each teaching something. Also, the duellist in barely saluting his opponent and attacking with two weapons acted unchivalrously. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but was designed to get the reader thinking.
When a fencer steps out onto the playing field, they would do well to remember that their bearing does not merely reflect upon themselves only. If they bear a favour, then they carry the honour of their consort with them. The behaviour of fencers who do not yet bear a consort's favour still reflects upon their teacher, their household, college, shire or barony. As such, I have compiled a small number of points which may benefit a fencer to know, concerning chivalry. Please excuse the lecturing tone, but I thought it best matched the image of an old one-eyed fencing master passing on wisdom to the younger generation.
Firstly, remember that you do not represent only yourself. By bearing yourself with chivalry in combat, you bring honour to those you represent and by doing this, you bring honour to yourself. Maintain your armour and blade well. Not only does your life depend upon these items, but their care and keeping reflects upon yourself. Comport yourself nobly, being courteous to friend and enemy alike. Do not resort to the use of gutter language to upset your opponent, as a fencer should not need the advantage this brings. Salute your opponent before each fight. Your opponent does you honour by entering the field of combat with you, and it is fitting that you should acknowledge this. The largest honour you can do your opponent is to treat them seriously and fight your best against them, so it is right that you should signal this from the very start of the bought with your salute.
If you earn an advantage over an opponent during a bought, there is no dishonour in keeping this advantage. But beware false chivalry, spurning an advantage for the drama of doing so. If you feel you have not earned the advantage, by all means spurn it, but do not do so for the sake of doing so, but to honour your opponent and to make a better fight for both parties. Be courteous both in victory and defeat. Remember that very often, a portion of the crowd's cheers are for the fencer who acknowledges defeat, not just for the victor. When off the field, comport yourself as you would on the field. Do not pick deliberately quarrels with those who are of lesser skill than yourself. There is no dishonour in rejecting a challenge, but do not let false fear of harm cause you to hesitate from accepting ( that is what marshals are for), but defend the honour of those you represent as best you can. By even taking the field, you do them honour.
This by no means covers the entire subject of chivalry in fencing, but is merely the scraping of the surface, and is by no means limited to practitioners of the art of rapier.
I feel the above list can be best summed by the man himself, William Shakespeare, in saying " to thine own self be true".
Leonhard von Saxonburg.
Leonhard von Saxonburg is a third son from a fiefdom in the Rhineland Principality in the Holy Roman Empire (late 15C). Rather than enter the priesthood, Leonhard left his parents holding, and is trying to learn all he can of the art of the sword so that he can one day catch the eye of nobility and win himself land of his own.At the time of writing Matthew Patterson was in his fourth year at Adelaide University and was studying a Masters of Engineering (IT+T) with AITEC.