George Silver
George Silver (ca. 1550s–1620s) was a
Fencing
As a
His major objections to the rapier itself and to its pedagogy were expressed in his 1599 work, Paradoxes of Defence. Silver saw the rapier as an incredibly dangerous weapon, which did not offer the user sufficient protection during a fight. Silver also bemoans other weapons that do not offer sufficient protection to the user (such as daggers); the rapier, however bears the brunt of his attention, as it was seemingly quite common in the day. Despite his dislike of the weapon, Silver did claim some familiarity with the rapier, listing it first in the weapons he proposed to use in his challenge to Saviolo.[6]
He later wrote his Bref Instructions on my Paradoxes of Defence in which he explained some of his method for using his preferred weapons (he recommends the shorter
Silver recommends a highly dynamic system which he deemed suitable for duelling, street defence and the battlefield, rather than the purely
A major difference between Silver's system and Italian rapier fencing lies in his not advocating the use of the lunge but rather the use of a gathering step, the normal fencing step in which the feet do not pass, or a full passing step in which they do, to come into range to strike the opponent, followed by instantly "flying out" again. He does not provide specific instructions for the placing of the feet relative to each other or regarding what angle from each other they are placed at, although one illustration in Paradoxes of Defence shows a man measuring the length of his sword standing with his back foot out at a 90-degree angle from his imagined opponent.[7]
One point of similarity with Italian rapier fencing is that Silver advocates the use of the thrust together with the cut; he claims that in the English tradition thrusts were forbidden at sword, while cuts were forbidden with rapiers.[8] He deems this prohibition of thrusting an "evill order or custome"[9] and believes that "there is no fight perfect without both blow and thrust".[10]
See also
Additional Resources
- di Grassi, Giacomo; Saviolo, Vincentio; Silver, George. Three Elizabethan Fencing Manuals. Ed. James Louis Jackson. Scholars Facsimiles & Reprint, 1972. ISBN 978-0820111070
- Silver, George. The Works of George Silver. Ed. Cyril G. R. Matthey. London: George Bell and Sons, 1898.
- Wagner, Paul. Master of Defence: The Works of George Silver. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1581607239
- Hand, Stephen. English Swordsmanship: The True Fight of George Silver, Vol. 1: Single Sword. Highland Village, TX Chivalry Bookshelf,2006. ISBN 1-891448-27-7
References
- ^ J.D. Aylward, The English Master at Arms from the Twelfth to the Twentieth Century. London 1956, p. 62
- ^ J.D. Aylward, The English Master at Arms from the Twelfth to the Twentieth Century, London 1956, p. 62
- ^ S. Hand, Swordplay in the Age of Shakespeare, In Press
- ^ George Silver, Paradoxes of Defence, London 1599 p. 1
- ^ George Silver, Paradoxes of Defence, London 1599, pp. 66–67
- ^ George Silver, Paradoxes of Defence, London 1599, p. 66
- ^ George Silver, Paradoxes of Defence, London 1599, p. 28
- ^ George Silver, Paradoxes of Defence, London 1599, paradox 15, p. 24
- ^ George Silver, Paradoxes of Defence, London 1599, paradox 15, p. 23
- ^ George Silver, Paradoxes of Defence, London 1599, paradox 12, p. 19
External links
- Facsimiles of Paradoxes of Defence
- Paradoxes of Defence - (transcription into modern spelling)
- Brief Instructions Upon My Paradoxes of Defence - (transcription into modern spelling)