
The Art of Fencing; Or, The Use of the Small Sword (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Classical Small Sword Manual of French Fencing, Footwork, Parries, Thrusts, and Dueling TechniqueBy Maître d'armes LabatLength3h 7m
About this audiobook
The Art of Fencing; Or, The Use of the Small Sword is a precise manual of eighteenth-century swordplay, devoted to posture, measure, thrusts, parries, feints, tempo, and the disciplined management of the body in combat. Written in the lucid, prescriptive manner of the classical fencing treatise, it belongs to the age in which the small sword became both a gentlemanly accomplishment and a refined science of self-defense, balancing practical violence with elegance, geometry, and decorum. Maître d'armes Labat, a fencing master formed within the French tradition, writes from the authority of the salle rather than the abstraction of the armchair. His concern with method, correction, and orderly progression reflects the professional pedagogy of European masters who taught not merely tricks of attack, but a complete art grounded in judgment, composure, and repeated exercise. The work's later English circulation also testifies to the prestige of French fencing across Britain and the Continent. This volume is recommended to readers interested in martial history, early modern civility, and the technical literature of the body. Fencers will find in it the ancestry of modern foil practice, while historians and literary scholars will appreciate its revealing portrait of honor, discipline, and embodied knowledge.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreOther
Length3 hrs 7 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 24, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The Art of Fencing; Or, The Use of the Small Sword (Annotated)
26The Parades of Seconde.
2PREFACE.
27CHAP. VIII.
3ART of FENCING;
28Of Quart under the Wrist .
4OR THE
297th. Plate.
5USE of the SMALL-SWORD.
30CHAP. IX.
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6CHAP. I.
31Of Flanconnade.
7Of chusing and mounting a Blade.
328th. Plate.
8CHAP. II.
33CHAP. X.
9Of Guard.
34Of Parades .
101st. Plate
35The ripostes.
112d Plate.
36CHAP. XI.
12CHAP. III.
37Of the demarches, or manner of advancing and retiring.
13Of Pushing Quart.
38CHAP. XII.
14Of recovering in Guard.
39Of Disengagements.
15CHAP. IV.
40CHAP. XIII.
16Of the Parade of Quart.
41Of Feints.
173rd Plate.
42CHAP. XIV.
184th. Plate.
43Of cutting over the Point of the Sword.
19CHAP. V.
44CHAP. XV.
20Of pushing Tierce without , or on the Outside of the Sword .
45Of the Reprise, or redoubled Thrust .
21Parade of Tierce.
46The Reprises on the Outside.
225th. Plate.
47CHAP. XVI.
23CHAP. VI.
48Of passing Quarte within the Sword.
24Of pushing Seconde.
499th. Plate.
25CHAP. VII.
5010th. Plate.