Rossfechten – Mounted Fencing

Two obvious ideas are the idea of a good “seat”, and an appreciation of distance and feeling. An effective seat is essential not only for balance and stability, but also for effectively communicating with the horse. Correct posture and weight shifting keeps us balanced and in control, and gives subtle cues to the horse. The…

Where’s the axe in a poleaxe?

  Few terms used in the study of medieval combat are as often confused or misused as the word “pollaxe.”Partly, this is due to the fact that modern people want to apply modern rules of logic to medieval subjects, something which is not supported by actually reading what medieval men wrote.They also tend to ignore…

Art of Swordmaking by Maciej Kopciuch

I’m an artist craftsman from Poland. My specialisation are medieval swords 10-15th century. I’m also a painter, sculptor, music composer, writer. Interested in medieval Arts, martial arts and crafts. My approach to swords reconstruction is to be as close as possible to this what I can see in museums. I think that the real, original…

Balefire Blades

Bladesmith Chris Adams and leatherworker Alicia Lewis. The offer longswords, arming swords, montante blades, rapiers, sideswords, smallswords, sabres, daggers and all leatherwork connected to them. Website: balefireblades.com Facebook: Balefire Blades

Regenyei Armoury

Péter Regenyei „makes swords as a living history research”. He also learns and teaches in a HEMA school in Hungary. He offers modern weapons, including museum replicas and his own designs, to which the foundations are also historical. The shape and characteristics of these swords are based on historical research. Regenyei makes feders, rapiers, daggers,…

Terrain v. Planche: A brief history of late 19th-century fencing spaces

The original French word for fencing strip, planche (lit., plank or board), encapsulates the nature of the original strip and points at its inherent limitations, which required adaptation of the footwork by the fencers. The planche was initially conceived as an outdoors device: It could easily be placed on sand, gravel, or grass, and provide instant even ground……

Sword and Shield Treatises

In studying the idea of the use of sword and shield in the medieval period there is an issue as there is a large gap in knowledge. Studying the sword and shield in the Renaissance period is not so much of an issue as when the shield left the battlefield it found a place in…