Swordplay in the Age of Shakespeare

A detailed analysis of the four fencing manuals published in England during the period that William Shakespeare was writing his famous plays. Giacomo Di Grassi's True Arte of Defence, Vincentio Saviolo's His Practice, George Silver's Paradoxes of Defence (and his unpublished manuscript Bref Instructions Upon my Paradoxes of Defence) and Joseph Swetnam's Schoole of the Noble and Worthy Science of Defence were all published at the time Shakespeare was working and show the type of swordplay that he was exposed to. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare plays on anecdotes mentioned by Silver, as well as describing a fencing sequence that is move for move out of Saviolo. This volume is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in recreating the systems of swordsmanship in use in Shakespeare's day, whether they are recreating the systems as martial arts, historical re-enactment or as fight choreography in Shakespearean plays.