Earliest Records  Carvings in Egypt near 1200 B.C. showed pictures of sword competitions similar to modern fencing The competitors wore masks and used safety tip swords There was also evidence of judges Not organized enough, However, to be called “fencing”

Renaissance  Around the 1400s during the Renaissance swords began being crafter that were lighter and quicker than the bulkier swords of the dark ages  Along with these lighter swords came more technique

Germany  The German academy St. Mark, also known as Maxbruder, was credited as being the first to try to establish a single, organized way of approaching fencing  German fencing guilds began appearing Such as the guild shown in this picture, one of the more famous German guilds “Meyer Freifechter”

Fencing as an Art  The first book created on the topic of fencing was the Treatise on Weapons  It was written by Diego de Valera somewhere between 1458 and 1471  It has been said that the creation and emergence of this book marked the birth of fencing as an art

Emergence of the Rapier  In the 1500s the rapier was developed in Spain  It spread to Italy, France, and all over the rest of Europe  It was one of the most popular swords used for self defense and duels  Roughly 40,000 French nobles were killed between 1600 and 1780 due to the effectiveness of the rapier as a weapon

Rapiers

France and Italy  Two main fencing schools emerged The Italian and French schools  The French school Focused itself mostly on academic and Strategic techniques  The Italian school Emphasized the importance of physical strength  The two schools became rivals and traces of the rivalry, though minimal, still remain even today

Emergence of the Foil  The foil became popular in the 1700s  The blade of the foil is flexible, blunt tipped, and thin  It is used for practice matches and in training  The foil is one of the main things that began the usage of fencing as a sport rather than as a form of self defense (what it previously was)

Foils

Fencers in Cyrano’s Time  Francesco Antonio Marchelli who lived in Italy around the time of 1660 was a sword master who created the “Passata Soto”, a famous way to lunge he also wrote "Regole Della Scherma“ which was published in 1686  Camillo Agrippa, who was alive from 1590 to 1650, was an Italian master who wrote the book "Trattato di Scienza d'Arme" in He also created the four main fencing positions  Andre De Liancour lived somewhere around 1680 in France he wrote the book "Le Maistre d’Armes” in 1686 and also is credited with being one of the first ever to teach the fencing move known as the "coupe"

Modern Fencing  Today, fencing is a combat sport between two people using blunt tipped swords  The official sport is divided into three weapons The foil The sabre The epée  Fencing is even in the Olympics epée sabre foil

Olympic Fencing

Work Cited  "A Short History of Fencing." A History of Fencing. Web. 20 Feb  "The History of Fencing |." Los Angeles International Fencing Center. Web. 20 Feb  "The History of Fencing." Fencing Classes in Winchester VA, Frederick MD, and the Panhandle of WV. Web. 20 Feb

Work Cited  "A History of Fencing." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 20 Feb  "Rapier." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Feb Web. 20 Feb  "Great Fencing Masters Of History." ACFA. Web. 21 Feb  "Fencing." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Feb Web. 20 Feb