The 'Prize' meant promotion and the respect and acceptance of one's peers. The fight itself consisted of those traditional English weapons as taught in the “Schole” and dating back to the early Middle Ages. For the challenged Scholar, the weapons to be judged on were fixed at Longsword and Backsword. For the Free Scholar, there was a choice of any three weapons (usually longsword, backsword, and sword & buckler).
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From around the early 14th century the backsword became the first type of European sword to be fitted with a knuckle guard. The term "backsword" can also refer to the singlestick, which is used to train for fighting with the backsword, or to the sport or art of fighting in this fashion. Being easier and cheaper to make than double-edged swords, backswords became the favored sidearm of common infantry, including irregulars such as the Highland Scots, which in Scottish Gaelic were called the claidheamh cuil (back sword), after one of several terms for the distinct types of weapons they used. Backswords were often the secondary weapons of European cavalrymen beginning in the 17th century.
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By the first quarter of the 17th century wasters had become simple clubs known as cudgels with the addition of a sword guard. When the basket hilt came into general use about twenty five years later, a wicker one was added to the singlestick, replacing the heavy metal hilt of the backsword. The guards, cuts and parries in singlestick play were at first identical with those of backsword play, no thrusts being allowed.
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A type of military backsword - a British 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sword purchased by Sweden in 1808. A backsword is a type of sword characterised by having a single-edged blade and a hilt with a single-handed grip. It is so called because the triangular cross section gives a flat back edge opposite the cutting edge. Later examples often have a "false edge" on the back near the tip, which was in many cases sharpened to make an actual edge and facilitate thrusting attacks.
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Various forms of basket-hilt were mounted on both broadsword and backsword blades.Martyn, pp. 6, 29 One of the weapon types in the modern German dueling sport of ("academic fencing") is the basket-hilted .see Korbschläger article in German Wikipedia.
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The singlestick itself is a slender, round wooden rod, traditionally of ash, with a basket hilt. Singlesticks are typically around in length, and in diameter , and thicker at one end than the other, used as a weapon of attack and defence, the thicker end being thrust through a cup- shaped hilt of basket-work to protect the hand. It bears approximately the same to the backsword as the foil to the small sword in being a sporting version of the weapon for safe practice. The original form of the singlestick was the waster, which appeared in the 16th century and was merely a wooden sword used in practice for the backsword, and of the same general shape.
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A Caucasian/Circassian shashka The shashka (, – long-knife) () or shasqua, is a kind of sabre; single-edged, single-handed, and guardless backsword. In appearance, the shashka is midway between a typically curved sabre and a straight sword. It has a slightly curved blade, and can be effective for both cutting and thrusting.
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Typical firangi sword The firangi sword characteristically had a long, , straight blade of either broadsword (two edged) or, more commonly, backsword (single edged) form. The blade often incorporated one, two, or three fullers (grooves) and had a spear-tip shaped point. The sword could be used to both cut and thrust. Examples with narrow rapier blades have survived, though in small numbers.
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Original sharp examples and replicas perform well in cutting tests, easily equalling other backsword and sabre types. During the period of the 1845 blades use on infantry officers' swords, from 1845 to 1892, it has been observed that blades tended to get straighter. This is a general tendency, but was not universal. One can find early examples with straighter blades and later examples with more curved blades.
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Katana is a heavy metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden established in 2005. The 5-member includes Johan Bernspång on vocals, Patrik Essén (guitar), Susanna Salminen (bass guitar), Tobias Karlsson (guitar) and Anders Persson (drums). The name of the band Katana comes from Japanese katana, a backsword, because of Japanese influences on the band's music.Metal Archives: Katana They were signed with Listenable Records / Sony Music and managed by Gain / Magnus Lundbäck.
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The military importance of swordsmanship rapidly diminished with the advent of firearms. The last prominent battlefield sword to be used was the backsword. Although it was not a new invention, it managed to outlast other forms of war swords, being used by cavalry units and officers. The power, accuracy, and reliability of firearms continued to improve, however, and soon swords had little place on the battlefield aside from ceremonial purposes.
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The Bearkillers' military is noted for its use of pikes and horse archers, but are most feared for their skill with the backsword. The Bearkillers are governed by a leader, titled Lord Bear, and a democratic council. The heraldic symbol of the Bearkillers is a red or crimson snarling bear's head on brown. Bearkillers celebrate the day of the Change (March 17) as a holiday known as Gunpowder Day.
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The > Catholic religion is the faith of all ages, I fear not death." One of them > beat him down to the ground by a stroke on the head with his backsword. > Fidelis rose again on his knees, and stretching forth his arms in the form > of a cross, said with a feeble voice "Pardon my enemies, O Lord: blinded by > passion they know not what they do. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me.
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A sabre (sometimes spelt saber in American English), is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as the hussars, the sabre became widespread in Western Europe in the Thirty Years' War. Lighter sabres also became popular with infantry of the late 17th century. In the 19th century, models with less curving blades became common and were also used by heavy cavalry.
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An off-hand weapon is rarely used in modern sport competition. In fact, the use of the off-hand as a defensive measure is often prohibited by the rules of many sport fighting styles that are common in the Western world today. However, in HEMA (historical European martial arts) Rapier and Dagger is a common sparring method, and backsword and dagger is also practised. Another exception is kendo where the use of two shinai of different size is allowed but uncommon; this style is known as nito-ryu (literally "two sword-style").
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These rules are in use today by the Association for Historical Fencing. Historically, the target area has varied, with bouts sometimes only being decided by the drawing of blood from the head of one of the contestants, in the manner of the Mensur. Under Kings George I and George II, backsword play with sticks was immensely popular under the names cudgel-play and singlesticking, not only in the cities but in the countryside as well, wrestling being its only rival. Towards the end of the 18th century the play became very restricted.
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Technically the 1796 heavy cavalry sword was a backsword, that is a sword with a straight blade with one cutting edge and the opposite edge of the blade (the "back") thickened for most of its length to give added strength. The blade was in length, with a single broad fuller each side. The grip was of ribbed wood, or wood bound with cord to resemble the same, and covered in leather. The iron backpiece of the grip had ears which were riveted through the tang of the blade to give the hilt and blade a very secure connection.
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The blade designs of falchions varied widely across the continent and over time. They almost always included a single edge with a slight curve on the blade towards the point on the end and most were also affixed with a quilloned crossguard for the hilt in the manner of the contemporary arming swords. Unlike the double- edged swords of Europe, few actual swords of this type have survived to the present day; fewer than a dozen specimens are currently known. A number of weapons superficially similar to the falchion existed in Western Europe, including the Messer, hanger and the backsword.
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Within HEMA in Australia, there is a wide variety of weapons and martial styles practiced. The 20 or so clubs in Australia have a wide area of focus and practice, using various particular weapons and practicing various styles. Some focus on one weapon and the use of it, while others will focus on a number of weapons in the same period, and others will focus on different periods. Early clubs in Australia focused primarily on rapier, sidesword and backsword, largely because of the interest of the practitioners, and the limited availability of English language or translated manuals at the time.
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True guard for rapier and dagger as described by Swetnam. In his 1617 fencing treatise, The Schoole of the Noble and Worthy Science of Defence, Joseph Swetnam represents himself as the fencing instructor for the then-deceased Prince Henry, who, after having read the treatise, urged Swetnam to print it—according to Swetnam. There is no record of his employment in Henry's service. The treatise itself is a manual detailing the use of the rapier, rapier and dagger, backsword, sword and dagger, and quarterstaff, prefaced with eleven chapters of moral and social advice relating to fencing, self-defence, and honour.
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After returning from India in 1865, Hutton focused on the study and revival of older fencing systems and schools. He began tutoring groups of students in the art of 'ancient swordplay' at a club attached to the London Rifle Brigade School of Arms in the 1880s. In 1889, Hutton published his most influential work Cold Steel: A Practical Treatise on the Sabre, which presented the historical method of military sabre use on foot, combining the 18th century English backsword with modern Italian duelling sabre. Hutton's pioneering advocacy and practice of historical fencing included reconstructions of the fencing systems of several historical masters including George Silver and Achille Marozzo.
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Krabi-krabong practitioners with Thai daab Sword dance of banshay performed with a pair of dha The broad use and diffusion of the dha across Southeast Asia makes it difficult to attribute a definitive origin. The Burmese moved into Southeast Asia from the northwest (present day India), passing through Assam and Nagaland. The dha and its variants were possibly derived from the Assamese and Naga dao, a broadsword used by both the Assamese people and Naga people of northeast India for digging as well as killing. The Naga weapon was a thick, heavy, eighteen-inch long backsword with a bevel instead of a point, and this form of blade is found on some dha.
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Sources in the V&A; Museum's library After returning from India in 1865, Hutton focused on the study and revival of older fencing systems and schools. He began tutoring groups of students in the art of 'ancient swordplay' at a club attached to the London Rifle Brigade School of Arms in the 1880s. In 1889 Hutton published his most influential work Cold Steel: A Practical Treatise on the Sabre, which presented the historical method of military sabre use on foot, combining the 18th century English backsword with modern Italian duelling sabre. Hutton's pioneering advocacy and practice of historical fencing included reconstructions of the fencing systems of several historical masters including George Silver and Achille Marozzo.
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Infantry Sword Exercise,1845 After returning from India in 1865, Hutton had become the pupil and friend of William McTurk, Henry Charles Angelo's successor at the school of arms in St James' Street. On leaving the army he focused on practicing modern fencing with foil, sabre, and bayonet, but mainly on the study and revival of older fencing systems and schools. In 1889 Hutton published his most influential work, Cold Steel: A Practical Treatise on the Sabre, which presented an original method of military sabre use on foot, combining the 18th century English backsword with modern Italian duelling sabre. The treatise also offered self-defense techniques based on constable's truncheon and short sword-bayonet, as well as exercise material from 16th century texts, including Marozzo.
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Another defining element of the account is the pause for effect, visually marked by the ellipsis and possibly originating from oral tradition, where it may also have allowed narrators to rest their voices. According to French academic Michel Moner, "Harap Alb" is one of the tales illustrating such techniques "to perfection". Among the elements which localize the narrative landscape, the collection of objects handled by the destitute prince throughout his quest is seen by Bădărău as an essence of "archaic civilization" and "forgotten tradition", culminating in the grant of a backsword, the "symbol of knightly valor". In Mircea Braga's view, many of them are means to a goal, which "can be 'lost' without consequence for the later development of the narrative, as happens, for instance, with the helmet and sword of Statu-Palmă-Barbă-Cot".
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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.George Silver, Paradoxes of Defence, London 1599, p. 66 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 backsword as being more versatile and offering better defence than the rapier). The manuscript is undated but refers to the "nation of Great Britain" and so must have been written after James I's introduction of that term in late 1604.
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40 While tacksmen and urban volunteers from the professions might carry a backsword, or a broadsword if they were officers,Pittock (2016), p.42 in reality it appears that most men carried firelocks, and were drilled in accordance with up to date military practises. At the start many of the Highland levies were poorly armed: one Edinburgh resident reported that the Jacobites carried a mixture of antiquated guns, agricultural tools like pitchforks and scythes and a few Lochaber axes and swords.Reid (2009), 1078 Many officers and cavalrymen had pistols of local manufacture, the trade being centred in Doune. At the start of the Rising Charles managed to procure a shipment of broadswords made cheaply in Germany (famously carrying the inscription "Prosperity to Schotland and no Union") and 2,000 targes. However, following the victory at Prestonpans and subsequent shipments of French and Spanish pattern 17.5 mm muskets into Montrose and Stonehaven, the army had access to modern firelocks fitted with bayonets, which formed the main weaponry of the rank and file.
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In 1845, the pipe backed blade was replaced by Henry Wilkinson's design. This was a slightly curved cut-and-thrust blade, generally of the same length of the previous pattern, however the new blade featured a single, wide fuller and a flat back, rather than the pipe back, with a symmetrical spear-point rather than the quill-point. In essence it was a curved backsword blade with an improved point. It was a slightly heavier and more robust blade than the 1822 pipe-back. This new blade was also carried over onto cavalry, engineers and artillery officer's swords in 1845 and to naval officer's swords in 1846. The hilt remained essentially unchanged from the 1822 pattern, although there was a tendency for brass guards after 1845 to be made somewhat thicker and more robust than previously. The hinged guard flap, which had been standard (if not universal) from 1822, started to disappear in the 1850s, to be replaced by a solid brass guard almost universally after around 1860. This change to the hilt is sometimes referred to as the '1854 pattern', but it was not technically a 'pattern' and the change seems to have happened at the end of the 1850s generally.
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