Fencing Timeline
The oldest surviving manual of western swordsmanship dates back to the fourteenth century and is German in origin. It was written around the 1320s in what is currently modern day Germany. It is a book that may or likely was part of a larger work, the piece contains guidance on…
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In the 16th century several Italian masters wrote treatises on fencing making Italy the origin place of modern fencing. Also the expanding middle classes meant that more men could afford swords leading to the establishment of many fencing schools making Italian fencing masters in great demand. These Italian masters brought…
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The English term fencing dates to the late sixteenth century, when it began to be used in application to the systems of suing the Renaissance Rapier or in Spanish, "espada ropera" meaning, "dress sword". Many of the Treatises especially in the 1500s came from Germany and Italy. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapier…
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In 1880 a tournament is held in which fencing is an event, only the Foil was included with each bout containing five hits and the Foils being tipped with blacking to aid the judges with scoring.
Since the 1880 Tournament included only Foil, I’m wondering when Epee and Sabre started to be included in competition?
I’m also curious about when each of the sport versions of the weapon were invented as well as the probably earlier invention of their combat counterparts.