Study resources

Below is a list of primary and secondary sources that we recommend should you be looking for material for personal study.

Sources marked (P) are primary. While they are considered to comprise the core of the body of knowledge upon which our modern interpretation of historical fencing is built, they are not necessarily the best place to start your study, especially if they are not accompanied by commentary and if you don't have any previous fencing experience.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Italian Longsword

As longsword is one of the earlier weapons that was used prior to the invention of the printing press, the primary resources are less numerous compared to the other weapons.

Below are the main sources for the Italian longsword tradition.

Greg Mele

Arte Gladiatoria: 15th Century Swordsmanship of Master Filippo Vadi (P)

Guy Windsor

The Swordsman's Companion

Greg Mele & Tom Leoni

Flowers of Battle: The Complete Martial Works of Fiore dei Liberi, Volume III -- The Florius Manuscript

Greg Mele & Tom Leoni

Flowers of Battle: The Complete Martial Works of Fiore dei Liberi - Volume One: The Getty Manuscript and Historical Context

Robert Charette

Fiore dei Liberi’s Armizare

Fiore dei Liberi

The Flower of Battle (P)

Italian Rapier

There are a number of good materials covering Italian rapier school, the following are a few that we like most:

Devon Boorman

Introduction to the Italian Rapier

David Coblentz & Dori Coblentz

Fundamentals of Italian Rapier

Ken Mondschein

Fencing: A Renaissance Treatise by Camillo Agrippa (P)

Tom Leoni

Salvator Fabris - The art of the Italian rapier (P)

Tom Leoni

Venetian Rapier: Nicoletto Giganti's 1606 Rapier Fencing Curriculum (P)

Tom Leoni

Ridolfo Capoferro's the Art and Practice of Fencing: A Practical Translation for the Modern Swordsman (P)

British Napoleonic Sabre

Following are the sources that we use as basis for the British sabre methodology:

Henry Angelo

Infantry Sword Exercise (P)

Charles Roworth

The Art of Defence on Foot with the Broad Sword and Sabre (P)