Tales of the French duels: Duel des Mignons
The accounts of the famous Duel des Mignons in 1578.
Analysis of historical sources about combat
The accounts of the famous Duel des Mignons in 1578.
An excerpt of Brantôme’s Discours sur les Duels, tracing the origins of the new duelling habits to Naples.
This post is an introduction for a series of contemporary accounts of late 16th century French duels.
Le manuscrit de Lovino est disponible en ligne !
The Lovino manuscript is now online!
Ce court article est une discussion des conseils de Viggiani sur l’entraînement avec des armes tranchantes, focalisé sur les différences entre les contextes historiques et modernes.
The manuscript treatise by Giovan Antonio Lovino does not get the attention that it deserves. The two parts of this richly illuminated 16th century treatise have a number of original features that make it essential for a study of fencing in these times.
In this post, I share a rough plan of Thibault’s huge treatise intended to help navigate it.
This small article is a discussion of Viggiani’s advice on training with sharp swords, focusing on the differences between the modern and the historical context.
This post provides contrasting quotes about the two main modes of perception used in a sword fight, their properties and how they should be used. Comparing two historical approaches also gives some perspective on the tactical variety that can be encountered even in relatively close traditions that operated in the same context.