"Martial Arts" term in 15th century England

[John_Clements]

I just found the folowing reference from an account of the squires of the English royal court in the fifteenth century: “The squires are accustomed, afternoons and evenings, to gather in the lord's chamber. There they talk of chronicles of kings, pipe, harp, sing, or other martial arts, to help to occupy the court.” [ Harleian Manuscripts, British Museum, 1312]

Interesting.

[Guest]

Excellent!

Thanks for the research

Todd

[MurrayMoore]

"There they talk of chronicles of kings, pipe, harp, sing, or other martial arts, to help to occupy the court.”"

It seems that this description includes things other than fighting skills as "martial arts". Piping, harping, singing, etc are things a well-educated person would have known at that time.


Great find. I suspect the term "martial arts" will be uncovered in many more places.