The art of fencing : or, the use of the small sword. Translated from the French of the late celebrated Monsieur L'Abbat ; Master of that Art at the Academy of Toulouse. By Andrew Mahon, Professor of the Small Sword.

152 Pages·1735·33.63 MB·English

by  maître d'armes. Labat

HI------------------ II II---- = in
Gift of
CHARLES AND RUTH SCHMITTER
The University Libraries
Michigan State University
The A R T of
»4
F E N C IN G ,
»•
• : ■' . ■ 'Z ' • ' ' ■■■
Or, the USE of the
Small SW O R D -.
Tranflated from the FRENCHof the
late celebrated
Monfieur L ’Abbat
. Mailer of that A R T at the Academy of
T O U L O U SE .
By Andrew Mahon, Profeflor of the
Small Sword in Dublin.
D U B L I N
V
Printed by James Ноет,
of Mercury in Skinner-Rot», 1734-
DEDICATION.
fue for. I fhall omit faying any
Thing, My Lord, of the ihining
Qualities, which tecta Hereditary
in Your Lordihip’s Family, as well
as of the Dignity and Importance
of the Charge with which His
Majefty has beqi pleated to entruii
Your Lordihip’s Moft Noble Father.
Neither will I prefume to trouble
Your Lordihip with thofe Encomi­
ums, which are moft defervcdly due
to the Vertues, whereby Your Lord-
fhip has gained the Admiration and
Efteem of the Polite and Ingeni­
ous
DEDICATION.
ous PerTons r f tfhfe Nation: Be
pleafed then, My Lord, to per- .
mit me to have the Honour of
fohfcribing myfelff
Your Lordihlp’s
Moft devoted, and
Moil humble
Andrew Mabom
P R E F A CE.
I thought it very fuitable to my Bufinefs/
when I met with fa good an Author
as Monfieur L*Mat, on the Art of Fen­
cing id publiih his Rules, which in gene­
ral, will I believe be very ufeful, not only
as they may contribute to the Satisfaction of:
fuch Gentlemen as are already. Proficient*
in the Aft, and to the better Difcipline of
thofe who intend to become fo, but alfo in
regard that the Nicety and Exa&nefs of
his Rufes, for the moil Part, and their great
Confiftency with Reafon, may, and will* lit
all Probability, iay a regular and good
Foundation for future Mailers, who tho'
accuilom’d to any particular Method for­
merly pra&ifed, may rather -chufe to pro­
ceed upon the Authority of an excellent
Mailer, than upon a vain and miftaken
Confidence of their own Perfedion, or up-:
- on an obftinate Refufal to fubmit to Rules
founded on, and demonftrated >by ¡Keaton«.
ii P R E F A C E
For my Part? though I had my In<
ftruftions from the late Mr«- Hillary T&llj
of London, who was (and 1 think with
great Reafon) efteemed a moft eminent
Mailer in his Time, I thought I could
not make too nice a Scrutiny into my Pro-
feflion, by comparing Notes with Monfieur
VAbbot, which improved me in fome.
Points, and confirmed me in others, to my
no fmall Satisfadion, being well perfua-
ded, that,_as ..aJProfeflbr of this Science,
it would have been an unpardonable Fault
in me to deprive our Nations of fuch an
Improvement, either through Prejudice to
bis, or Partiality to my own Opinion.
T H o u o H I have already faid that
Mr. L'Abbot's Rules are nice, reafonable,
and demonftrative i yet I would not have
it inferr’d from thence, that he approves of
them all, as really eflential to the Art of
Fencing i there being fome which he does
not approve of, and which he would not
have mentioned, had they not interfered
with his profeflfon, by the Practice and
Recommendation of fome Mailers, who be­
ing
P R E F A C E . iir
ing more capricious than knowing, were
fonder of the ihewy or fuperficial, than of
the folid Part of the Science,
rUoSIBilhnbnoaAelVfn wfa teb drIoeBtou beyrfjmo ai l ontidthswet igy nen hd , tw ,trieV hf anaanVbeorn pe eetftpBgcha irkan?o,Dtonu hg dvefer,fyeepP efs se,ar ea onost fah oplcflinee fentt,ht, d rg h ii,Sitne snOihw n gpSepa siorapinn ewtrfo udd iwfhai vc inittaohciiLgnboolihtc e,onni hinw ,nObb gogweey pf rM hi iarttnneihnhnrcigaoee­.dh-
cannot produce a vigorous Action,
theNre,o ist aw miotdherns tMaainlerd, iwnhgo afwlohonic ha,s
hrtheepe r heBafedon dtyifne,e gbn evtghoailnst iannBgd,o opBka,if lllain ncgdo, ntahtniend u Aelost wtitteeuardicnehgs­
irfniongrg twhhaeonmwt toouf nhtfhaisef e Spacrnhodopl eardr sa,nO gwpepirtoohfuoistui ottn hc eooynf s aitdrheee­,
Sword when within Meafure,
allO A fg easl,l fiPnrcoef etfhlieoinrs , Inthvaetn toiofn A, rmbese nh aefsl eien-
b med
iv' P R E F A C E ,
med the nobleft and moft neceifary *, it be­
ing by them that the Laws preferve their
Force, that our Dominions are defended
from the Encroachments of our Enemies,
and ill defigning People kept in the Sub­
jection due to their Sovereigns j and of all
Arms, the Swotd is probably the moft
ancient: It is honourable and ufeful, and
upon OcCafiod, caufes a ¿greater Acquisi­
tion of Glory than any otrier : It is like-
wife worn by Kings and Princes, as an
Ornament to Majefty and Grandeur, and
a Mark of their Courage, and diftinguiihes
the Nobility from the lower Rank of Mem
IT is the moft ufeful, having the Advan­
tage of Fire Arms, in that it is as well
defenfive as offenfive, whereas they carry
no Defence with them j and it is far prefe­
rable to Pikes and other long Weapons, not
only becaufe it is more weildy and eafy of
Carriage, but alfo by reafon of the Per­
fection to which Art has brought the Ufe
of the Small Sword; there being no Exer-
cife that conduces fo much as Fencing, to
ftrengthen and fupple the Parts, and to give
the Body an eafy and graceful Appearance.
The
P R E F A C E . V
T he Sxvord, fince it’s firft Invention,
has been ufed in different Manners: Firft,
with a Shield or Buckler ; Secondly, with
a Helmet, and Thirdly, with a Dagger,
which is ftill ufed in Spain and Italy, Mr<
Fatinotrie, who taught at introd tr­
eed, and laid down Rules for the Ufe of
the Small Sword alone, which has fince
been much improved by the French and
our Nations,
A s the Art of Fencing conGfts in attack-
ing and defending with the Sword, it is
neceflary that every Motion and Situation
tend to thefe two principal Points,
In offending to be defended, and in defen­
ding to be in an immediate Condition to
offend.
T h r r. e is no Guard but has it’s Th ruff,**
no Thruft without it’s Parade, no Parade
without it’s Feint, no Feint without it’s
oppofite Time or Motion, no oppofite Time
or Motion but has it’s Counter, and there
is even a Counter to that Counter.
•
b 3 Some
vi' P R E F A C E .
Some injudicious Perlons have objec­
ted to Mr. L'Mat's Manner of Fencing,
that it is too beautiful and nice, without
obferving that if it be beautiful, it cannot
be dangerous, Beauty confining in Rule,
and Rule in the Safety of attacking and de­
fending.
IN Fencing, there are five Figures of
the Wrill, viz. Prime, Seconde, Tierce,
Quitrt and Qmnte. The firft is of very
little Ufe, and the laft of none at all.
Prime is the Figure that the Wrill is in,
, In drawing the Sword. Seconde and Tierce re­
quire one and the fame Figure of the Wrill,
with this Difference only, that in Seconde,
the Wrill mull be raifed higher, in order to
oppofc the Adverfary’s Sword; but in both
thefe Thrulls the Thumb Nail mud be tur­
ned direffly down, and the Edges of tbe
Blade of the Foil of an equal Height.
Q.VAM is the handfomcfl Figure in
Fencing, the Thumb Nail and the Flat of
the Foil being dircdly up, and the Wrill
fup-