Reviewed by Jen Mcstonhel & P. Dudley

For a long time a book as useful and comprehensive as Renaissance Swordsmanship: The Illustrated Use of Rapiers and Cut-and-Thrust Swords has been overdue. The result is not disappointing. While it claims not to be any kind of instructional manual, surprisingly it achieves this result to a high degree. In fact, one would assume this is the purpose for what it was intended. No book as detailed or instructive for the reconstruction of historical European swordsmanship. This is the only work of its kind to present an in depth look at the use and handling of renaissance swords. Through the use of literally hundreds of very well done illustrations, a variety of sword techniques are described. The artwork is clean and easy to follow. On the down side, some of the grey drawings have a smudgy, cheap, grainy print to them which really weakens their effect. Among the most valuable aspects of the work is the way in which it takes the leading historical manuals of renaissance sword instruction and condenses their major ideas. Rather than give a detailed examination of any one manual, it instead combines their principles with modern hands-on study from a martial-arts perspective. At one point though, the information starts to become a little overwhelming. It goes well beyond any casual study of the subject and instead describes renaissance sword fighting in a detailed and methodical manner. The book presents Western swordsmanship as a true martial art. It makes the point of quickly distinguishing rapier play from modern fencing. Sport fencing it states, has more in common with the 18th century small-sword than with the rapier. The rapier on the other hand, has much in common with the cut & thrust sword form. It also brings to light that, while the modern version of fencing has value for recreating the historical form, it does so only as a starting place. The material on the cut & thrust sword was especially interesting. I must admit that while I thought I was knowledgeable on renaissance swords, I realized I was sorely deficient when it came to understanding cut & thrust swords. This is an overlooked and unappreciated area which the book covers in great, if somewhat choppy, detail. Renaissance Swordsmanship is sure to raise controversy as it brings up many elements that are not generally heard. It will undoubtedly give some people second thoughts about the reconstruction of historical fencing. Although no other effort comes close to doing more to aid those interested in renaissance swordsmanship than this, it is not without its problems and does raise questions. Some of the terminology used is unorthodox and many of the opinions are perplexing. Throughout, practice with actual swords is advocated, although the majority of techniques seem to be described from the pont of view of friendly sparring. This can be confusing since a good number of techniques included would be impossibly dangerous or lethal for sparring. At times it s hard to tell if the author is advocating contact-sparring as he terms it, or trying to give us his interpretation of historical sword fighting techniques. Nevertheless, it is fascinating reading for anyone interested in sword fighting and offers considerable things to study. The many interesting insights are too numerous to list. This is not light weekend reading. It s also not free from its share of typos. Those new to historical fencing will find it as challenging as it is educational. Those with more experience will likely feel the same, but for different reasons. Renaissance Swordsmanship: The Illustrated Use of Rapiers and Cut-and-Thrust Swords is an unusually impressive compendium on swordsmanship that anyone practicing historical fencing or living history will find an invaluable reference.