English Longsword School

While the majority of surviving sources concerning the use of the two handed Longsword detail the German school of swordsmanship and the Italian school of swordsmanship, there was also a smaller English school with its own techniques (for an example: Half-sword).[1] The body of techniques used in English Longsword use has survived to the modern day in three manuscripts: The Ledall Roll, Man yt Wol ("The Man that Will")/The Harley Manuscripts)[2][3] and the Cotton Titus Manuscript [4][5]

Sources

The three main sources are not widely available. None of the originals has been scanned, however some of them are accessible in the museums in which they reside, for example the Ledall Roll can be seen in the British Library reading room.[6] The sources range in time from the Harleian manuscript (1450) [4] to the Ledall Roll (first half 1600s) [6]

Comparison to German and Italian School

The most obvious comparison is the scarce extent of surviving manuscripts. While there are many Italian and comparatively numerous German manuscripts, there are only three English Longsword treatises. Additionally, the English sources are without illustration, so they are text only. This makes them more difficult to interpret. The last challenging factor is that they have largely not been scanned. Despite this, there are some dedicated HEMA Historical European Martial Arts practitioners, in the United Kingdom, and in Australia (largely associated with the Stoccata School of defence) dedicated to the study of the English longsword form.[7]

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References
  1. Bradak, Benjamin "Casper", and Heslop, Brandon. "Lessons on the English Longsword". Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-58160-734-5
  2. "Man yt Wol (MS Harley 3542) ~ Wiktenauer ~☞ Insquequo omnes gratuiti fiunt". Wiktenauer.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  3. Brown, Terry (27 October 2012). "English Longsword: The Harleian Manuscript". Chivalricfighting.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  4. "English Longsword". Stoccata.org. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  5. Bradak, Benjamin "Casper", and Heslop, Brandon. "A Brief Introduction to the Boon of the English Flourysh." Masters of Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts. Ed. Jeffrey Hull. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58160-668-3
  6. "ROLL containing exercises in the use of the two-handed sword. Beg. " The fir[s]te floryshe. A quarter fayre before you." At the bottom of the recto and top of the verso of..." Searcharchives.bl.uk. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  7. Brown, Terry (2012-10-27). "English Longsword: The Harleian Manuscript |". Chivalricfighting.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
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