Brief Instructions upon my Paradoxes of Defence for
the true handling of all manner of weapons together
with the four grounds and the four governors which
governors are left out in my paradoxes without the
knowledge of which no man can fight safe.
Cap. I.
The four grounds or principals of that true fight at all manner of weapons are
these four, viz. 1. judgment, 2. distance, 3. time, 4. place.
The reason whereof these 4 grounds or principals be the first and chief, are
the following, because through judgment, you keep your distance, through
distance you take your time, through time you safely win or gain the place of
your adversary, the place being won or gained you have time safely either to
strike, thrust, ward, close, grip, slip or go back, in which time your enemy is
disappointed to hurt you, or to defend himself, by reason that he has lost his
place, the reason that he has lost his true place is by the length of time through
the numbering of his feet, to which he is out of necessity driven to that will be
agent.
The 4 governors are those that follow
1. The first governor is judgment which is to know when your adversary can
reach you, and when not, and when you can do the like to him, and to know by
the goodness or badness of his lying, what he can do, and when and how he can
perform it.
2. The second governor is measure. Measure is the better to know how to make
your space true to defend yourself, or to offend your enemy.
3. 4. The third and forth governors are a twofold mind when you press in on
your enemy, for as you have a mind to go forward, so must you have at that
instant a mind to fly backward upon any action that shall be offered or done by
your adversary.
Certain general rules which must be observed in that
perfect use of all kind of weapons.
Cap. 2
1. First when you come into the field to encounter with your enemy, observe
well the scope, evenness and unevenness of your ground, put yourself in
readiness with your weapon, before your enemy comes within distance, set the
sun in his face traverse if possible you can, still remembering your governors.
2. Let all your lying be such as shall best like yourself, ever considering out
what fight your enemy charges you, but be sure to keep your distance, so that
neither head, arms, hands, body, nor legs be within his reach, but that he must
first of necessity put in his foot(1) or feet, at which time you have the choice of
3 actions by which you may endanger him & go free yourself.
1. The first is to strike or thrust at him, the instant when he has gained you the
place by his coming in.(2)
2. The second is to ward, & after to strike him or thrust from it,
remembering your governors
3. The third is to slip a little back & to strike or thrust after him.
But ever remember that in the first motion of your adversary towards you, that
you slide a little back so shall you be prepared in due time to perform any of
the 3 actions aforesaid by disappointing him of his true place whereby you shall
safely defend yourself & endanger him.
Remember also that if through fear or policy, he strike or thrust short, &
therewith go back, or not go back, follow him upon your twofold governors, so
shall your ward & slip be performed in like manner as before, & you yourself
still be safe.
3. Keep your distance & suffer not your adversary to win or gain the place(3) of
you, for if he shall so do, he may endanger to hurt or kill you.
Know what the place is, when one may strike or thrust home without putting in
of his foot.
It may be objected against this last ground, that men do often strike & thrust
at the half sword & the same is perfectly defended, where to I answer that the
defence is perfectly made by reason that the warder has true space before the
striker or thruster is in force or entered into his action.
Therefore always do prevent both blow & thrust, the blow by true space(4), &
the thrust by narrow space that is true crossing it before the same come in to
their full force, otherwise the hand of the agent being as swift as the hand of the
patient, the hand of the agent being the first mover, must of necessity strike or
thrust that part of the patient which shall be struck or thrust at because the time
of the hand to the time of the hand, being of like swiftness the first mover has
the advantage.
4. When your enemy shall press upon you, he will be open in one place or
other, both at single & double weapon, or at least he will be to weak in his ward
upon such pressing, then strike or thrust at such open or weakest part that you
shall find nearest.
5. When you attempt to win the place, do it upon guard, remembering your
governors, but when he presses upon you & gains you the place, then strike or
thrust at him in his coming in.(5)
Or if he shall strike or thrust at you, then ward it & strike or thrust at him from
your ward(6), & fly back instantly according to your governors, so shall you
escape safely, for that first motion of the feet backward is more swift, than
the first motion of the feet forward, where by your regression will be more
swift, than his course in progression to annoy you, the reason is, that in the
first motion of his progression his number & weight is greater than yours are,
in your first motion of your regression, nevertheless all men know that the
continual course of the feet forward is more swift than the continual course of
the feet backwards.
6. If your enemy lies in the variable fight, & strikes or thrusts at you then be
sure to keep your distance & strike(7) or thrust at such open part of him as are
nearest unto you, at the hand, arm, head or leg of him, & go back withal.
7. If 2 men fight at the variable fight, & if within distance, they must both be
hurt, for in such fight they cannot make a true cross, not have time truly to
judge, by reason that the swift motion of the hand, being a swifter mover, then
the eye deceives the eye, at what weapon soever you shall fight withal, as in my
paradoxes of defence in the --- chapter thereof does appear.
8. Look to the grip(8) of your enemy, & upon his slip take such ward as shall
best fit your hand, from which ward strike or thrust, still remembering your
governors.
9. If you can indirect(9) your enemy at any kind of weapon, then you have the
advantage, because he must move his feet to direct himself again, & you in
the mean time may strike or thrust at him, & fly out safe, before he can offer
anything at you, his time will be so long.
10. When you shall ward blow & thrust, made at your right or left part, with
any kind of weapon, remember to draw your hind foot a little circularly(10),
from that part to which the same shall be made, whereby you shall stand the
more apt to strike or thrust from it.
[ While George Silver's Paradoxes of Defense was published in 1599, the Brief
Instructions, which is the book which actually explains how to use various
weapons instead of merely lecturing about why rapiers are so bad, was
apparently not published until a copy of the manuscript was discovered in the
British Museum, and was subsequently printed in 1898 by Captain Cyril G.
R. Matthey. The manuscript was not dated, but it mentions Saviolo's book,
which was published in 1595. A useful introduction to this book may be found
in Three Elizabethan Fencing Manuals, by James L. Jackson.
A facsimile of Matthey's book can be found at: http://www.sirwilliamhope.org/
Library/Silver/Silver.php?title=Matthey&plate=4.
A (late) hand-written copy can be found in the KU Leven library; there is also
a partial proof of this book, with corrections by the (anonymous) author.
For information about other primary sources for early fencing, please see:
http://www.musketeer.org/online.html
Also see this Introduction and review of Silver's 2 manuals. A more general
webpage giving primary sources for fighting manuals is at:
http://www.aemma.org/onlineResources/library_H.htm
This is version 1.0 of the on-line version of this book. It was intially typed
in from a facsimile of the Matthey edition by Steve Hick. I have lightly
proofread it, correcting any obvious errors. However, subtle errors and missing
paragraphs probably remain. Please report any errors you discover to me.
Greg Lindahl
lindahl@pbm.com ]
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