Tales of the French duels: not that French
An account of a 1511 duel that, while only tangentially related to French people, shows elements that would become a habit later on.
Secret attacks
A translation of a portion of the Traité d’Escrime Moderne of Jean Joseph-Renaud discussing the concept of “secret attacks”.
Tales of the French duels: Dagger courtesy
Is it always fair to abandon your dagger if your opponent does not have one?
Tales of the French duels: Watch your back
Another account of a duel where the winner was not cautious enough.
Tales of the French duels: Duel des Mignons
The accounts of the famous Duel des Mignons in 1578.
Tales of the French duels: Blame the Italians
An excerpt of Brantôme’s Discours sur les Duels, tracing the origins of the new duelling habits to Naples.
Tales of the French duels
This post is an introduction for a series of contemporary accounts of late 16th century French duels.
Risks and rewards
This post looks at the balance between risks and rewards in fighting situations. This balance is important to keep in mind when analyzing and comparing various modern training modes. For example, it explains the different reactions of period duellists and modern swordsmen when facing a sharp blade.