A number of the masters reveal in their cut-and-thrust methods the
thrusting techniques that were to later develop into the specialty of the
thrusting, or “foining,” rapier. Early rapier masters were themselves adept
with common military cut-and-thrust swords as well as staff weapons, dag-
gers, shields, and grappling and wrestling. Among the most famous and in-
fluential works were some of the first to fully define the new rapier method,
and it is with this weapon that many are closely associated. These include
Camillo Agrippa’s treatise in 1553 and Jeronimo De Carranza’s in 1569,
Giacomo di Grassi’s from 1570, Vincentio Saviolo’s 1595 work, Luis de
Narvaez of 1599, and Francesco Alfieri of 1640 and 1653. Some of the
most useful dealing with the development of the true rapier include Salva-
tor Fabris’s of 1606, along with Ridolfo Capo Ferro’s of 1610. Each devel-
oped particular techniques exclusively for the effective use of a long, slen-
der, thrusting sword. Reflecting a diversity of approaches, such works by
Masters of Defence offer unique insights into their distinct styles.
Renaissance cut-and-thrust swords were transition swords that had
developed from wider medieval blades. They are invariably confused with
rapiers, since their compound hilts (made up of assorted defensive rings
and swept bars) are very often identical to those found on rapiers, and the
transition between the two kinds of swords is not completely definite or
precise. Rapiers were generally characterized by thinner, more pointed
blades and complex guards consisting of various side-rings and knuckle-
bars. These helped trap and bind opposing blades but also prevented blows
from striking the hand. Fundamentally, the two types of weapon have dif-
ferent blade shapes and, as a result, different methods of use. Cut-and-
thrust swords usually had straight, double-edged blades that allowed for a
versatile and well-balanced combination of penetrating stabs and drawing
slices with more classical cutting strikes. Their one-handed style also al-
lowed for fast, agile transition from thrust to cut and back again, particu-
larly when using a second weapon in the other hand. Through use of an ex-
tended arm and passing and traversing steps, the cuts can have
considerable reach over a longer weapon held with both hands or shorter
weapons held in two hands. These swords were often complemented by a
buckler (a sturdy metal shield held in a fist grip) used for deflecting rather
than direct blocking. Often with 6-inch spikes projecting from their faces,
bucklers were weapons in themselves. Some later bucklers had metal hooks
or bars to trap the point of an opponent’s rapier.
Cut-and-thrust swordsmanship developed into a methodical style dur-
ing an age when swordsmanship on the battlefield had begun to lose its
dominant role. Such swords were still basically military weapons. They can
be distinguished both from those swords of the earlier medieval period and
from the later slender, thrusting rapier. The rapier at first developed in re-582 Swordsmanship, European Renaissance