These two gentlemen don't seem to realize that you fight with the pointy ends. I guess that's why swordfighting manuals were in such high demand in the Renaissance. At least the dudes in the illustration for Middleton and Rowley's A Faire Quarrell had their rapiers crossed. And honestly, who's fighting with giant broadswords in 1617? That shit was sooo 15th century.
7 comments:
Fun! but why do you call it lol *manuscripts*?
Fantastic!
So help me God, the next person to ask about the manuscripts/woodcuts/frontispiece issue is going to cross swords with me.
In a totally homoerotic way.
Nobody wants to read the mission statement :(
Either that, or everybody wants to be pedantic.
Really, I was just asking why you call it "manuscripts," not trying to be pedantic or picky. I suppose there is simply a lack of an efficient term for early printed books that conveys their "old world" i.e. medieval character. And lol incunabula is too specific.
Um, actually, you *did* fight with the blunt ends --- those great big damn pommels could knock the hell out of some guy's head. More to the point, perhaps, is that high guard like that has the rather marvelous advantage that you can pull hard on the pommel-end hand, using the other hand as a fulcrum, and whip the sharp end around really fast.
This is what comes of spending one's childhood waving wooden swords around.
I love this website; a good laugh is always needed at my work. :)
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