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Line |
Verse
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Interpretation |
1-2 |
Of fight
the discipline and exercise
Was this: to have a pale or pile upright |
The discipline and exercise of fighting was to use an upright pole called a pale or pile (i.e., a “pell”). |
3 |
Of mannys hight [man’s height], thus writeth olde wyse; |
Everyone agrees it should be about a man’s height. |
4-5 |
Therwith
a bacheler or a yong knight Shal first be taught to [stand] & lerne fight; |
With a pell a knight in training first learns to correctly strike from secure postures. |
6-7 |
A
fanne of doubil wight tak him his shelde, Of doubil wight a mace of tre to welde. |
Use a practice shield of double-weight and a heavy stick (or wooden sword). |
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8-9 |
This fanne
& mace, which either doubil wight is
Of shelde & sword in [con]flicte or bataile, |
Using a double weight shield and weapon to exercise with aids warriors in preparing for real fighting. (Interestingly, the wooden sword of double weight is here rendered as “mace”, i.e., a club or cudgel, and in other versions as “hevy stavys”, heavy staves). |
10-11 |
Shal
exercise as wel swordmen as knyghtys, And noo man (as thei seyn) is seyn prevaile |
Experienced fighters all suggest that warriors won’t be good in combat unless they first train rigorously at the pell. |
12 |
In felde or in gravel though he assaile, |
Senior experienced fighters knew that pell practice was necessary for any kind of armed combat. |
13 |
That with the pile nath first gret exercise; |
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14 |
Thus writeth werreourys olde & wise. |
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15-16 |
Have
[use] his pile or pale upfixed
faste, And, as [it] were uppon his mortal foo, |
Everyone should practice hitting strongly on the pell as if it is a real opponent. |
17-18 |
With
wightynesse & wepon most he caste To fighte stronge, that he ne shape him fro,— |
Use a heavy practice weapon and learn to strike hard with ease by using the whole body behind the blow. |
19-20 |
On
him with shild & sword avised
so, That thou be bloos, and prest thi foe to smyte, |
Practice moving in close to hit hard, stifle and press the opponent or else you’ll be vulnerable. |
21 |
Lest of thin owne deth thou be to wite. |
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22-23 |
Empeche
his hed, his face, have at his gorge, Bere at the breste, or [serve] him on the side |
Aim strikes to the head, face, and neck. Attack to the front or side. Or, alternatively: Attack with a forward motion or from a diagonal angle. |
24 |
With myghti knightly poort, eue as Seynt George, |
Imagine yourself like St. George fighting the dragon. |
25 |
Lepe o thi foo, loke if he dar abide; |
Move about quickly and practice caution. |
26 |
Will he nat fle, wounde him; make woundis wide, |
Think of really striking an opponent in actual combat. |
27 |
Hew of his honed, his legge, his thegh, his armys; |
Strike as if cutting to his hands, legs, thighs, and arms. |
28 |
It
is the Turk: though he be sleyn,
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Although it’s only practice, get yourself psyched up. |
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29 |
And forto foyne is better than to smyte; |
Thrusting is better than cutting because cutting exposes you and edges may not penetrate armor or bone to hit vital organs while the thrusting point almost always proves lethal. |
30-32 |
The
smyter is deluded mony [ways], The
sword may nat through steel &
bonys bite, Thentrailys ar cover in steel & bonys, |
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33 |
But with a foyn anoon thi foe fordoon is; |
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34-35 |
Tweyne
unchys entirfoyned hurteth more Then kerf or ege, although it wounde sore. |
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36-38 |
Eek in the kerf, thi right arm is disclosed, Also thi side; and in the foyn, coverrt Is side & arm, and er thou be supposed |
In cutting out the right arm and side are exposed, whereas a thrust attacks straight and directly, though both actions have their own proper application. |
39-40 |
Redy
to fight, the foyn is at his hert
Or ellys where, a foyn is ever smert; |
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41 |
Thus better is to foyne then to kerve; |
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42 |
In tyme & place ereither is tobserue. |
During
the period verse was often used for all manner of teaching and
remembering information. It is fairly self-explanatory in its
words and there are only a few archaic terms or phrases that cannot
be understood easily. Attempting an interpretation is not difficult but,
as with any study of historical fencing sources, it is subject
to the potential bias of our modern practice methods.
The
poem offers us an interesting and valuable source for information
on how the pell was actually used for sword training and from
it we may derive some clues for using the device in practice again
today. What is interesting is the subtle nuances into the nature
of Medieval swordsmanship that can be gleaned from its lines.
Essentially, it is advice on using the pell for learning combat
skills.
The
poem declares those who have not used a pell simply aren’t going
to fight well. It also
explains the importance of using double-weight weapons, something
that is not unfamiliar in 16th century fencing texts
(and common in kenjutsu, Japanese swordsmanship, where large,
extra heavy wooden practice swords called suberito are occasionally used in practice).
Tellingly, the “Poem of the Pell” begins by using the words
“discipline” and “exercise” in regard to the act of fighting.
This is yet further evidence of the substantial level of sophistication
behind these fighting arts and underscores that knowledge of the
craft was much more highly developed than any clumsy “hacking
and slashing.”
Exercising
at the pell allows the practice delivery of full-force blows from
ready-positions—something crucially important if you hope to shear
through maile armor or thick leather with a wider cutting blade.
Intriguingly, one of the poem’s earliest lines states that a “swordman” or a knight “Shall first be taught to stand and
learn to fight.” This may
likely refer to the fighter having received instruction in the
core strikes and the fundamental counter-strikes against common
attacks (which make up much of the content of period fighting
manuals). However, it may
also simply indicate that fighting stances or on-guard ready postures
are a preliminary necessity to beginning pell work and that the
pell cannot be properly used without first knowing them. Practical experience reveals that fundamental
warding and striking stances are vital to the use of both the
Medieval sword and shield and the long-sword.
The
poem also refers to several “targets” to strike. These specifically
include the hand, legs, thighs, and arms. It is worth noting the
inclusion not only of the hand as a feasible and worthwhile area
to attack, but also makes the distinction made between the thigh
and the leg. This would indicate a conscious awareness that
the lower legs were considered separately as an important target. The poem additionally directs to practice hitting
an opponent’s head, face, and neck (“gorge”). Another line states to press at their chest
or spurn their side. This could mean to strike at their torso
and abdomen/hips but may also be an instruction to move forward
or diagonally (traverse) when striking. Also of note is what the
poem does not say about practicing with a sword and shield
or with a double-hand sword. It makes no reference to hitting with either
edge of the sword, which was in fact a key aspect of employing
a two-edged blade as described in several Medieval combat treatises.
Nor do the verses refer to anything that may be directly interpreted
as a form of back-swinging or wrapping blow.
It does not allude to any such form of back-edge strike
delivered with a snap of the wrist (something popular today among
some historical combat enthusiast who sometimes now use pells).
What
may be most surprising is how the poem alludes to keeping a proper
“fighting attitude.” Towards
its final lines appears the suggestion to use mental imagery to
simulate the necessary emotional content required for performing
effectively in earnest combat. At one point, it even advises the
reader to imagine himself as akin to “St. George” or his opponent
as being an “infidel.” A fighter typically had to strike with strength,
determination, and ferocity, not to mention remain resolute in
the face of someone doing the same in return.
He typically was called upon to do this standing unfailingly
side by side with his fellows. It is no surprise that this would
be reflected in exercising in dealing blows against a practice
target.
In
the midst of roughly describing how to use the pell for basic
practice the poem appears to express the understanding that in
the end this was not for sport but rather for the deadly earnest
purpose of killing other human beings. This is consistent with
Vegetius’ description of its function. It states to “fight strong”
and to smite by being “close and oppress your foe.”
It also appears to warn the fighter to take care when attacking,
as in line 25 it states, “look if he dare abide.”
[2]
The possible meaning here is to pay attention
as to whether the opponent reacts defensively or seeks to counter-attack.
In
regards to Vegetius’ famous advice for the Roman legionnaires
on thrusting over cutting, the verse version follows his but with
some alteration. It concludes
by adding that both the cut (kerve,
i.e., to carve) and thrust (foyn)
have a proper time and place to observe (be employed). This is
further evidence of how thrusting was a well-known and respected
technique among skillful fencers long before the methods of the
16th century. Caxton’s version
used the phrase to “smote edgelyng”
(make an edge blow) in reference to cutting.
Vegetius’
account of Roman sword training at the pell continued to have
influence into the 16th century. Following directly from Vegetius, Machiavelli
even suggested in his own 1521, Arte
of Warre, that armies of the time be trained at the post
in the old Roman way. In
his 1572 version of Vegetius, The Foure
Bookes of Martiall
Policye, John Sadler wrote of Vegetius
as saying, “bothe in the morninge
and in the afternoone, the younge
souldiers were occupied at an exercise
called the stake. And this use of the stake, is not onely necessarye for our souldiers, but also for all maisters
of fence. Neither was any ever thought either in the place of
exercise, or in the field, a tried and valiant fellowe,
that had not been very well exercised at a stake.”
Sadler’s translation offers some insight into the practice
as he tells us the stake was five feet tall and driven firmly
into the ground. “Agaynst this stake,
as against the enemy, the yong souldier did advance hymselfe with
his wicker [wooden targe] and his waster, as with a sworde
& a buckler. Sometyme he stroke
alofte as it were at the head or to the face, sometyme hee made at the side, sometyme belowe at the legges, sometyme even leape at it, and as earnestly and artificially would hee fighte with the same stake,
as if his enemy had bene in place before
him in which custome of exercise, this
was generallye to bee observed: that
so the younge souldier should strive to hennowe
his enemie, that he him selfe
in no part laye open to any blowes.”
(Sadler, p. 9).
In
1563, Giovanni Maria Memno argued that
Venetian citizens should be trained in using weapons and that
in such schools dummies should be used on which to practice in
the manner instructed by Vegetius. (Hale, Military Education,
p. 238). Sir Walter Scott has his character Oliver Proudfute, the bonnet-maker, practice with his sword against
a wooden “Solodan or Saracen” in The
Fair Maid of Perth (W. Scott, p. 143).
Some unique insight into methods of training come to us
from Richard Mulcaster’s, Positions, published in 1581. In Chapter 18, “Of Fensing,
or the Use of the Weapon”, he states those who used warlike weapons
“for valiauntnesse in armes, and activitie in the field, gamelike
to winne garlandes
and prizes, and to please the people in solemne
meetinges…Hereof they made three kindes,
one to fight against an adversarie in
deede, an other against a stake or piller
as a counterfet adversarie,
the third against any thing in imagination, but nothing in sight,
which they called ‘Greek’, a fight against a shadow. All these
were practised either in armes,
or unarmed.”
[3]
It is reasonable that delivering combinations of cuts and thrusts against empty air alone is itself insufficient practice for weapon skills. Training against a striking target is really a necessity in order for the fighter to develop the strongest and most fluid motions possible. Indeed, there are a great many actions that for some swords make the most sense only when delivered with force in opposition to another blade or a target area of the adversary—because certain movements require some resistance in order to then quickly wind or bind around the opponent’s weapon. This effect is absent when striking at empty air where (while the weapon can move more freely and easily) for many techniques it cannot be torqued or maneuvered around in the same manner. Obviously, repetition of strikes against a practice target in this manner also helps instruct in the necessity of moving with appropriate intensity and striking with sufficient force than would occur without such exercise. Training against a test target then, in addition to teaching how to apply impacts accurately with the edges or point, also taught, far better than could empty air, how to use resistance in stopping and reversing strikes in combination techniques.
Surprisingly, there are few references to the use of pells as teaching tools or practice devices in many of the surviving fighting manuals from the Middle Ages or Renaissance. The reason for this may be that advice on common exercising methods was simply not a concern for the authors. However, writing on practicing of cuts in the 1570 Italian edition of his fencing treatise Giacomo Di Grassi included exercise at the pell: "In order to [learn how to] attack with cuts, you should practice cutting every day, with both mandritti and riversi, using a piece of wood planted in the ground or some other device fit for that purpose." (Di Grassi, p. 147). Interestingly, the pell advice was omitted in the later 1594 English edition.
Indeed, the pell all but vanishes from fencing literature by
the early 17th century and the ascendance of the thrusting rapier
as the premier duelling weapon for gentlemen. The prolific military
writer Johann Jacobi von Wallhausen in his 1616, De la malice
Romaine, also illustrated Romanesque soldiers in the classical
fashion practicing sword thrusts at pells topped with head-shaped
busts. Wallhausen declared the exercise "very useful not
only for soldiers but also fencers." (Anglo, Martial Arts,
p. 287). Such pells with a wooden Saracen's or Turk's head on
them were often used for spear and archery practice. But with
few exceptions, by the mid-1600s the pell ceased having the prominent
role it once held for fencing study.
The
Pell Legacy
A
pell was simply a target that roughly simulated a human target.
It was likely used to learn proper striking technique, including
development of focus, aim, power, and distance. In martial arts
techniques are learned by the process of building "muscle-memory"
through long-term repetition of movements. This is aided by then
applying them freely in unrehearsed ad hoc combinations. Pell
work was a way to train alone by hitting against a resistant target
with force and accuracy. In the same way that boxers use a heavy
bag and Eastern Martial Arts practitioners use striking targets,
ancient Roman and Medieval European swordsmen used the pell.
As a training device for fencers the pell has an ancient heritage behind it. Though, it was not "ubiquitous" in Medieval fencing. Having trained on a variety of pells for many years I’ve concluded what it offers a student is the same advantage that a punching bag offers a boxer. It primarily provides a focus target for developing aim as well as a means of sharpening sense of distance. By offering resistance it additionally enables combinations of moves to be practiced in a more realistic manner not possible against empty air. It is no wonder such a simple tool has been in existence for so long. Though developing force in strikes was reasonably a major goal of pell exercise, a fighter obviously also needed to learn to strike with precision and accurate range. Without control of blows there logically would have been less chance to actually hit a target. To be an effective swordsman the movements of the entire body-feet, arm, hands-had to be coordinated. In order to strike with the proper focused force the arms, trunk, and feet all needed to move in coordination. As a fighter moved around the pell dodging and traversing with his feints and strikes he would have developed this
Given
that this violent age saw almost constant warfare, the subtle
martial wisdom and experience as expressed in the poem was surely
not derived arbitrarily nor would such advice by veteran warriors
have been taken lightly. Modern
reconstruction and replication of Medieval or Renaissance swordsmanship techniques
using the pell as a training aid has revealed it does indeed provide
some of the very same benefits as a boxer receives from working
a punching bag. It can provide quite a good workout as well as
allow you to calibrate the precision, focus, and force of strikes. This can be achieved while defensively and offensively
coordinating your shield with proper footwork.
In a real sense, trying to redevelop and learn Medieval and Renaissance swordsmanship today while not using a pell is arguably much like trying to learn to box without ever hitting a punching bag. You can do it, but it’s a lot harder and you won’t be nearly as good as you could be otherwise. Whether Medieval swordsmanship practitioners today are utilizing a solid wooden stick (a waster) or a padded contact-weapon, they are advised to follow the wisdom of their medieval forebears and use the pell “to stonde and lerne to fight.”
[1]
“they made hem for to take axes
and swerdis and almaner
of other weapons of were and assayed & forced them self
to smyte ayenst certain stakes…and
there made grete appertyses
[dexterity] of armes / as hit he ayenst
theyre enemy mortall.”
“So
ought thenne to be shewed
unto them the tournez of swiftness
to caste & fyghte with bothe theyr armes / and the manere how they shall glaunche or
with drawe themselves from strokes
that in travers or sydlyng may come.”
“And
so assawted the stake al about glanching
[avoiding] and tournyng here and there
/ and in this manere of fyghtyng and sawtyng they lerned.”
[2] The section concludes with advise on practicing in armor and keeping armor clean and in good condition: “And exercise him uche in his armure, As is the gise adayes now to were, And se that every peeece herneys be sure Go quycly in, and quyk out of the gere, And kepe it cler, as gold or gemme it were; Corraged is that hath his herneys bright, And he that is wel armed, dar wel fight.” Knyghthode and Batile. A XVth Century Verse Paraphrase of Flavius Vegetius Renatus’ Treatise “De Re Militari”, R. Dyboski, Ph.d, and Z.M. Arend, Ph.D., B.A. Humphry Milford, Oxford University Press, Amen House, 1935, paragraph 58, p. 19.
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