The Art of Fencing; Or, The Use of the Small Sword (Annotated)

The Art of Fencing; Or, The Use of the Small Sword is a precise manual of eighteenth-century swordplay, devoted to posture, measure, thrusts, parries, feints, tempo, and the disciplined management of the body in combat. Written in the lucid, prescriptive manner of the classical fencing treatise, it belongs to the age in which the small sword became both a gentlemanly accomplishment and a refined science of self-defense, balancing practical violence with elegance, geometry, and decorum. Maître d'armes Labat, a fencing master formed within the French tradition, writes from the authority of the salle rather than the abstraction of the armchair. His concern with method, correction, and orderly progression reflects the professional pedagogy of European masters who taught not merely tricks of attack, but a complete art grounded in judgment, composure, and repeated exercise. The work's later English circulation also testifies to the prestige of French fencing across Britain and the Continent. This volume is recommended to readers interested in martial history, early modern civility, and the technical literature of the body. Fencers will find in it the ancestry of modern foil practice, while historians and literary scholars will appreciate its revealing portrait of honor, discipline, and embodied knowledge.This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.