| Renaissance
Fencing Terms This list is focuses on terminology of the rapier as well as 16th
century short swords or military “cut and thrust swords” It is intended to
reflect the distinction that developed between the older military fencing systems and the
newer civilian ones It is derived primarily from Italian, Spanish, French and English
source manuals with additional material included of a modern descriptive nature The list is divided into helpful sections of
Concepts, Components, and Techniques It
excludes terms of classical and modern (ie, 18-20th century) fencing either not
taken from historical manuals of the period, or not directly related to the use of the
rapier or “cut & thrust” swords It includes only those technical terms of
modern sport fencing that are relevant to describing and reconstructing the practice of
historical Renaissance swordsmanship today Thus, much current French and Italian
terminology used within or developed for modern sport fencing has been excluded.
Concepts
Al la macchia / ala mazza - a less formal
rough-and-tumble duel “out in the woods”, often by groups as well as individuals
Bill of Challenge - a formal posted announcement of an English student’s public
“Playing” of his “Prize”
Bravazzo / Branando - a swashbuckler, a swaggerer, a cutter,
quarreller, rostier, raffine, ruffian
Botta-in-tempo - (attack in time) attack while the adversary’s preoccupied with a
parry, bind, or feint
Botta Secreta - a secret attack or special hidden technique of a school or master
Breaking the Measure - (rompere di misura) retreating from
within the measure to out of measure
Camineering - a change of engagement or in the line of threat/attack
Cartel - a hand delivered written notice of challenge describing the cause of the offence
that provoked a duel of honor
Cob’s Traverse - retreating indefinitely (running away, sometimes called the
“ninth parry”)
Corporation of the London Masters of Defence - the guild of English instructors of
fighting and fence in the 1500s, it had four levels of fighter: Scholar, Free Scholar,
Provost, and Master, as well as four “Ancient Masters”
Contratempo – (counter time) The action of beating the opponent
as he tries to take advantage of a tempo you create
Cavazione - (“trade”) the action of exchanging or switching sides on the
opponent’s sword, from left to right or vice versa, under or over, without making
contact with it
Controcavazione - (“counter-trade”) the action of beating a Cavazione
with an opposite one, thus ending up to the side where your sword started
Contrapostura – adjusting your stance or guard so that your forte always defends the
line between your body and the opponent’s tip
Coup de grace - the dagger stroke given to mercifully end the
suffering of a wounded duelist (originally used to execute a defeated knight in heavy
plate armor)
Coup de Jarnac - an early Renaissance term for a crippling blow to the back of the
opponent’s exposed knee or hamstring (so called due to a famous judicial duel, it was
not a new strike at all, but did become well known and quite notorious)
Coup de main - a kill by a single, smooth, quick thrust or cut
Debole – (foible) the section of the blade from mid-sword to the tip by which attacks
should be made
La Destreza – A Spanish term translating as dexterity, skill,
ability, (or) art and meaning “Philosophy of the Weapons” or “The Art and
Science” of fighting
Desvio – in later Spanish schools of fence the technique of redirecting an attacking
blow with a deflecting action rather than a solid block
Duel - personal single combat, usually illicit and illegal, only sometimes of gentlemanly
or even honorable character
En guard - to come “on guard” (ready your weapon and self for the fight)
Engagement - contacting or crossing (opposing) the adversary’s blade
Escrime’ - French for fencing, or the art of fence
Extraordinary Step (passo straordinario)
False Edge - (or “Filo falso”) the back edge facing the
wielder
Fence/Art of Fence - a word for swordsmanship derived from the Middle
English “defence”, as distinguished from the modern sport of “fencing”
with its origins in the late 1700s and early 1800s
Filo - Italian for the sword’s edge
Fingering - to wrap the lead (and sometime second finger and thumb) around the quillons
and ricasso for superior tip control and grip, an innovative method of gripping known
since ancient times, it found greatest use with Renaissance blades
First blood - a duel that is fought only to the first sight of drawn blood as opposed to
“to the death” or to the opponent “yielding”
Foining (Foyning) - English word for thrusting style swordsmanship
Four Governors - one way of looking at the major factors in swordsmanship: perception,
distance, timing, and technique
Forte - the section of the blade going from mid-sword to the hilt by
which parries should be made
Gaining the Measure (finding the measure) - proceeding from out of to
in range, or from the misura larga to misura stretta
Gripping - holding of the sword, cut & thrust swords and rapiers were held in a 45
degree position, as opposed to the “hammer” grip as with medieval swords, and
also utilized the concept of “fingering” the ricasso, both may be held in a
“normal” grip as that when “pointing” the index finger, or in a
pronated or supinated position
Girata - stepping out of line by either moving your leading right foot to the right or by
crossing the left foot behind the right one
Giving the lie - the name given to the act of purposly offending the honor of another
gentleman or his lady through insult, innuendo, or wit, it was cause for challenge to duel
(e.g., "You have inulsted me ..." or "You disagree, when I say you have
offended me, Sir? Are you then calling me a liar?")
Grypes - techniques for seizure (grabbing the adversary’s blade, hilt, or arm)
Guard - (Italian: Guardia, sing
Guardie, also Posta) - fighting positions, wards, stances, ready postures, for offense
and/or defense (also the protective hilt of a blade, as in compound guard, cross guard,
back guard, counter guard, ring guard, etc). Viggiani 1550 - taught seven guards,
left side ones were called defensive, right side one’s offensive: Prima, Seconda, Terza (high over right shoulder), Quarta (diagonal downward inside of right
knee knuckles up, Quinta
(with point up), Sesta
(hand behind right thigh point diagonally down knuckles to the right, left leg leading), Settima (point diagonally up outside leading
right leg). Di Grassi 1570 - taught three
wards: Guardia Alta (high ward), the Guardia
Largha (broad ward, arm
extended forward), and the Guardia Bassa (low ward, arm low beside the right
knee). Fabris 1606 - taught everything whether offensive or defensive came from just four
guards. His four basic hand positions (which are not guards but hand positions) were
attained by rotating the hand clockwise. Capo Ferro 1610: taught only one guard with the
blade aimed straight and held low in the middle and four hand positions. Prima – the first guard position from
withdrawing the sword with the arm high to the right, palm facing to the right, (knuckles
at 12 o’clock), Seconda – the second guard position,
arm about shoulder or chest height, palm facing down (knuckles at 3 o’clock), Terza – a third guard position,
usually with arm at waist level, palm facing to the left (knuckles at 5 or 6
o’clock), Quarta
– a fourth guard position, palm facing up (knuckles at 9 o’clock)
Gaurdia Alta - Viggiani’s & Di Grassi’s high vertical position with blade
over the right shoulder
Guardant Ward – A Hanging guard, similar to Prime, George Silver also distinguishes
between True, False and Bastard Guardants
Hanging guard - a ward with point down and to the inside and the arm raise above
High Ward – the weapon is held centered over the head roughly 45-degrees, identical
to medieval long-sword high postures, although Silver’s Open ward (perhaps so called
because you are open to making any attack) may be over the shoulder rather than over the
head
IL duello - single combat/duel
In-Line/Point-on -the new rapier’s method of swordsmanship with the tip held always
at the enemy
Inside or Left Back ward – weapon held point back and down to the left, close to the
hip, Viggiani’s “fourth guard wide”, identical to a left Tail guard for
medieval long-sword
“In-the-Round” - a modern term to describe historcial sword fighting that is 360
degrees, not linear as with the smallsword or modern sport fencing, but uses sidesteps and
diagonal movements (voids and traverses)
Invitation - positioning that intentionally exposes openings to purposely draw attacks
Just Distance - the distance (“measure”) where if you are close enough to hit
your opponent, they are also close enough to hit you
Kissing-the-button - derogatory Spanish term for harassing rapier thrusts aimed at the
mouth
La canne - a form of 19th century French stick fighting art related to the use of cut
& thrust swords, sabers, broadswords and cutlasses
Left Back ward – Inside guard, Viggiani’s “fourth guard wide” , like
theTail guard in medieval methods
Line (Line of Attack) - one of the four areas by which to attack: high outside (sixte
& tierce), high inside (quarte & prime), low outside (octave & seconde), and
low inside (septime & quinte)
These areas also correspond to types of parries
Low guard –with the weapon held point down and centered, Silver’s Variable ward,
identical to medieval long-sword low postures
Lunge - (Allungo or Distesa)
an extension (typically in the course of a thrusting attack) executed by stepping forward
with the right foot and leaving the left foot anchored
Large Step (passo largo)
Mezzo - middle (half) of the blade
Mezza Cavazione - (“half-trade”) the action of interrupting
a Cavazione in the middle, ending up underneath your opponent’s sword
Middle guard– Silver’s Close ward (perhaps so called because the blade closes
nearer to the opponent), the weapon is held centered aimed at the opponent over the head,
identical to medieval long-sword middle postures
Molinello/ Molinetto - circular cut
Master of Defence - a Renaissance instructor of swordsmanship or fence and other fighting
arts
Measure - judging of distance or range in fighting
Misura – measure or distance and range (close or short, wide or tight, in or out)
Misura Larga - distance at which a strike can be made by a step, by a pass, or by a lunge
Misura Stretta - distance at which a strike can be made by simply leaning in with an
extension (and no step or lunge)
On-the-Pass - to strike with a forward or outward step, a pass or Passado / Passato,
a standard means of forcefully striking or stabbing in cut & thrust swordsmanship,
often used with a traverse or void
Out of Measure (Fuori Misura) - the distance where you cannot
reach the opponent on a thrust without steeping or passing
Playing the Prize - the public testing of a student for advancement
in the English schools of Defence
Parrier-dolch - German term for using the dagger’s quillons to trap a sword blade
Pike & Musket - the term used today to refer to the Renaissance’s newer methods
of mass warfare that replaced those of the Middle Ages which emphasized heavy cavalry and
archery
Prima (Prima Gaurdia, or Reverse, or Guardant) - the high outside ward, pronated point on
(one of five or six of the major stances/guards) assumed after the natural position of
drawing the weapon from the scabbard
Pronation - gripping the sword with knuckles up and palm down, the significance of which
originally applied to the use of a cutting sword’s flat to parry with but later
referred to certain positionings for efficient parries with a rapier
Provost - the third level of the four rankings in English schools of Defence
Punta – point
Quarta-Guardia – Agrippa’s left side Terza
Raffine - a swordsman bully who will provoke a duel on the slightest pretext or cause
Rapier & Cloak – “Spada e Capa”, a method of fighting using a common
cloak or robe for defense
Rapier & Dagger - a method of fighting using the addition of a parrying dagger in the
other hand
Ricavazione - the action of beating a Controcavazione with an
additional one
Riverso – a left to right cut, also called Manverso
Seizure - to grab the adversary’s blade or hilt
Scherma - Italian for fencing
Schivar di vita - the action of voiding the opponent’s sword by
moving the body out of line
Scholar’s privilege - in English schools of Defence, the excluding of attacks
to the face during practice with novices
Seconda - (second), broad or wide ward in di Grassi and others
Second - in a formal duel, the neutral party for each side that stands in as witness and
arbiter or back up
Slipping - gaining reach by sliding the hand down the grip to the pommel when striking
with a cutting blade (also throwing out a one handed thrust with a pole arm)
Small Step (stretto passo or piccol passo)
Spada Libera - (“Keeping your sword free”) Keeping your
sword in such a way (by space or leverage) that the opponent does not have leverage on it
or the “advantage of the sword”
Spada e Pugnale - Italian for “sword and dagger”, usually a
rapier & dagger
Spada Solo - Italian for single sword, usually use of the rapier
alone without a secondary weapon
Stop-Thrust - a counter thrust attack into the opponent’s forward movement or
oncoming attack
Stringering - maintaining contact or opposition with the opponent’s blade so as to
control it
Supination - gripping the sword with knuckles down and palm up, the significance of which
originally applied to the use of a cutting sword’s flat to parry with but later
referred to certain positionings for efficient parries with a rapier
Swashbuckler – a Tudor or Elizabethan ruffian predisposed to streetfight and duel, so
called by the “swishing” sound created by sword and buckler on the belt as the
youth swaggered about town, the 1657 edition of Phillips’ New World of Words
cites, “Swash-buckler” as a “Vain-glorious Sword-player or Fencer; a meer
Braggadochoe, a vapouring fellow”, and cites “To swash” as “to make
fly about; to clash, or make a noise with Swords”
Stances - (fighting stances) wards or guards: eg, high, middle, low, open, close, prime,
seconda, terza, and guardant/hanging
Sword & Dagger - a method of early Renaissance fighting which led to the rapier and
dagger
Sword & Buckler – (Spada e brochiero) a method of combat and street fighting
common in the early Renaissance
Taglio – cut
Temperato - the part of the blade between forte and debole, also
called Medio or Mezzane (middle)
Tempo - the element of timing or execution of moment/action in time
Terza – low, back Inside (right) ward, for a cut & thrust
sword Viggiani’s “Terza” or third, blade at a 45 degree angle down, for a
rapier it is the blade held back and lower, closer to the hip, usually in a reverse stance
Trovar di spada - (“occupare la spada”) the art of placing
your sword against the opponent’s (without touching his blade) so that yours would
have the advantage of a lever at the moment they meet
True Edge - (or “Filo dritto”) the forward edge on the same
side of the knuckles
Tutte botte principali - principle cuts and thrusts
Variable Ward – Silver’s low guard (also a name for all other manner of guards
not Open, Close, or Guardant)
Veney – a practice bout to a number of hits in free play or mock
combat
Ward - one of five to seven fighting postures, ready stances, or guards
Components
Atajo – in the Spanish schools, the idea of taking control of
the opponent’s blade, essentially a prise de fer
Anneu - the side-ring (ring guard or “port”) on a compound-hilt
Annelets –one term for the “arms-of-the-hilt”, protective quillons rings
over the ricasso
Arms-of-the-Hilt - the finger rings extending from the quillons to the blade, often
attached to a ring guard, they are mistakenly often called the “pas d’ane”
although this has long been proved incorrect
Back-Sword - a primarily English cut & thrust blade of the Renaissance with a single
straight edge and usually a swept or basket hilt, its single edge allowed for a sharper
blade and stronger cut, it was popular in many countries both on foot and mounted
Blunts - dull cut & thrust practice blades which were rebated (or “bated”)
with rounded edges and tips (they were sometimes called “foils” or “foiled
blades”)
Broadsword - a Victorian era term coined to differentiate their own thinner swords from
wider Medieval ones, it is commonly applied (incorrectly) to Medieval swords, also a form
of naval cutlass
Buckler (bochiero or rottela) - a small hand held shield of metal or wood, held in a fist
grip and used to deflect and punch, they sometimes had spikes, or hooks and prongs to
catch rapier blades
Claymore - (basket hilted) a form of 18th century Scottish cut & thrust sword relative
of the Italian schiavona
Colichemarde - a style of small sword blade, wider at the forte for strong parrying, then
abruptly tapering for quick piercing thrusts
Compound-hilt (Compound guard/Complex hilt) - a term used to describe the various hilts of
Renaissance and some late Medieval swords consisting of more than a simple cross guard,
there were a great variety
Cup-hilt - a bowl like sword guard similar to those on modern sport fencing epee’s,
common in theatrical fighting, they did not first appear until the 1650’s in Spain
Cut & Thrust sword - a form of “transition” sword from the heavier, wider
Medieval blade to the thinner, edgeless rapiers of the Renaissance, they were used for
hacking, slashing, stabbing, had compound hilts and employed fingering, they were military
blades that became popular for civilian use until superseded by the rapier (other forms of
later military cut & thrust swords include the: schiavona, spadroon, cutlass, mortuary
sword, hanger, and saber)
Degen – A German word from the 1400’s generally meaning a sword, often slender,
but also sometimes a Raufdegen or “brawling sword”, or a broader Haudegen,
though never a rapier
Due Spada –a fighting style simultaneously using two swords or later two rapiers, a
“case of rapiers “ or “brace” (sometimes now called
“Florentine”)
Ecusson - (or Ecusson block) the metal center or bracket of the hilt’s guard where
the quillons join and on which the thumb and fingers are often placed when gripping
(fingering)
Espadon - late Medieval Spanish cut & thrust sword
Estoc - (also Tuck or Stocco) late Medieval edgeless, two handed, thrusting sword for
piercing plate armor, starting in the Victorian era the term became quite often misapplied
to the rapier
False edge - (or back edge) the top or thumb side of a sword’s blade, parrying with
it is less effective and not as strong
Flamberge (Flamberg) - a “dish hilt” or “dueling hilt” style rapier,
precursor to the later small sword Starting only in the last century, these began to also
be called “flambergs” by scholars (they are also known as a variant of waved
rapier blade said to affect the feel of actions during parrying and once thought to make
more brutal wounds, waved blades (such as on some two handers) are actually correctly
known as “flambards” or “flammards”)
Foible - the weaker (“feeble”) but faster first quarter portion of a blade, used
for attack but not defense Foiled with a blunted tip, or to add a padded tip
(“refoiled”) (also “debole” in Italian)
Forte’ – the stronger but slower last quarter portion of a blade, used for
defense more than offense, sometimes also called “fort” or even
“prime”
Fuller - the shallow channel or grooves of some blades intended to lighten and strengthen
it, it has nothing to do with blood flow, or sticking, or cutting power, fullers are
sometimes mistakenly called “blood runs” or “blood grooves”
Grip - handle of a sword, usually made of leather, wire, bone, horn, or ivory (also, the
method of gripping the sword) Guanta di presa (grasping glove) a mail, leather, or
metal dueling gauntlet for grabbing blades
Hilt - the sword’s guard, handle, and pommel (types of Renaissance sword hilts
include: swept-hilt, shell, half-hilt, cup-hilt, dish-hilt, dueling-hilt, cavalier-hilt,
Pappenheimer, mortuary-hilt, basket-hilt, etc)
Knuckle-guard (knuckle-bar) - a protective bar on the forward quillon sometimes extending
to the pommel
Long-Sword - in the Renaissance, a term used for a Medieval-style hand-and-a-half or
“bastard” sword
Main Gauche (“left hand”) - a parrying dagger worn on the back and typically
held in the left hand, usually it has a wide bell-guard
Media Proporcional – in the later Spanish schools, the key concept of achieving and
maintaining proper distance of weapon and body to the opponent’s weapon and body
Outside-Ward (Low Outside-Ward) - with the sword held back and down
to the right, like a Back or Tail guard with a medieval long-sword
Parrying-Dagger - a dagger intentionally designed for use with a rapier, they were light,
narrow, up to two feet long, and usually had curved quillons, side rings and/or finger
rings
Pas d’ane - a misnomer for the finger rings or “arms-of-the-hilt”
Pappenheimer - a rapier hilt of pierced shell guard style named after a military leader
Pommel bolt/nut (or tang nut) - a small metal bolt or rivet on some blades securing the
pommel to the tang and thereby holding the handle and guard in place
Pommel - (Latin for “little apple”) the bottom of the hilt/handle which secures
the hilt to the blade, with the rapier it is not gripped or handled as on some Medieval
swords, nor does it rest in the palm
Poniard (Poynard) - a thin, long, thrusting dagger, typically square or triangular in
shape
Rapier - the familiar, thin, virtually edgeless thrusting sword of
the Renaissance, popular in duel for more than a century, it produced an almost entirely
new method of swordsmanship (pronounced “ray-pee-er” or “rap-peer” not
“ray-peer”)
Reitschwert - (“cavalry sword”) A German name for a military cut & thrust
sword of c 1500-1700, it was also called a degen or “knight’s sword”
Ricasso - on cut & thrust swords and rapiers the dulled or squared off portion of
blade just above the hilt, where the fingers hold and which is protected by the
arms-of-the-hilt (finger rings), they were sometimes covered in felt or soft leather as on
some two handers (modern sport fencing weapons do not have ricassos)
Riser - a raised fuller ridge providing rigidity and strength on a blade
Rondache/Targa - larger, less common renaissance battle shields worn on the arm, metal or
wood
Rondella – a round buckler usually metal or leather
Rotella – a small round shield or targe usually metal
Quillon - a Renaissance term for the straight “T” shaped cross guard on swords
(those on Medieval swords were simply known as the “cross”, or the
“guard” today), it is a French word likely derived from an older Latin one,
there are two quillons: the forward (bottom) and the rear (top)
Schiavona - an Italian cage hilt cut & thrust sword, usually with a ricasso for
fingering
Sharpes - real blades with actual sharpened points or cutting edges (as opposed to
practice swords or “blunts”)
Shoulder - the portion of the blade which fits against the hilt and at which the tang
begins
Spada – Italian for sword, of any form, medieval or renaissance, usually a
single-hand cut & thrust variety but also rapiers
Spada da gioco - practice sword (also “spade da marra”) as opposed to sharp or
edged blades (spade da filo)
Spada di marra/Spada nera - historical Spanish practice rapiers which were untipped (also
Italian “smarra”, and “fioretto” or foil)
Small-Sword - a sort of rapier-jr, that became the dueling weapon of the upper classes in
the late Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment, it leads directly to modern sport fencing,
sometimes known as a “court-sword” or” town-sword”
Segno - a wall target diagram showing the eight principle cuts
Stitchblatt - the small pierced plates on some hilts, German for “thrust leaf”
Stocco - Medieval Italian name for the estoc or tuck
Sword-Breaker - a term used for serrated dueling daggers with teeth-like projections
capable of grabbing and holding, and supposedly snapping a rapier blade, they were fairly
uncommon
Swept-hilt - an early Renaissance hilt form designed originally to protect the unarmored
hand from cuts more than thrusts, they are made up of finger-rings, side-rings,
knuckle-guard, and often a variety other protective bars (back-guards and counter-guards,
etc), they are found on many cut & thrust swords and early rapiers The name is
actually a Victorian era term and not a
historical one
Sword-Rapier - a modern collector’s term for certain Renaissance blades neither true
rapiers nor clear cut & thrust ones, they were the result of attempts to combine the
new rapier’s thrusting agility with traditional cutting actions, and as a result they
do neither quite as well
Sword-catcher - a term used for special dueling daggers with extended prongs and quillons
capable of grabbing and trapping a rapier blade, some had spring-locked triggers, they
were uncommon (and possibly more menacing than practical)
Tang - the portion of untempered blade hidden inside the hilt and which attaches to the
pommel
Targe / Target / Targa – a small round shield larger than a
buckle and usually mad of wood
Terzo - Italian term for the middle portion of a blade
True-edge (right-edge/lead-edge) - the leading side or bottom edge of a sword, on the
rapier it is used for all parries, on cutting swords only the flat and never the edge is
used for parrying
Tuck - the English word for estoc, often mistakenly used as a synonym for rapier (which at
one time was how it was derogatorily used)
Turk’s head - name given to the “turban-like” metal band or collar fitting
between the pommel and handle, or handle and quillons of some swords, they were often
merely ornamental
Umbo - the bowl-like metal protrusion of a buckler or shield in which the hand fits inside
Waster - a wooden stick used as a practice sword, also called a “bavin” (later a
“cudgel” or “wiffle”)
Techniques
Affondo - an extending step thrust (a form of lunge)
Arrebatar - (Spanish) to cut with the whole arm (from the shoulder)
Attack-from-compound - (compound attack) to deliver an attack following a quick succession
of prior ones
Attack-from-counter - (counter attack or counter) a retaliatory attack in reaction to one
by the adversary and timed to take advantage of an opening thus created
Attack-from-inaction - one delivered quickly from a relatively still position without
prior action or preparation
Attack-from-preparation - one delivered following a prepatory action
(feint, beat, cut-over, etc)
Azioni Volanti - avoiding blade contact on the attack and instead thrusting by deceptive
motion, as in camineering (may involve Troumpement - avoiding a parry or the blade as you
attack, or
Derobement - avoiding a beat or bind)
Ballestra - a kicking feint and hop lunge
Battre de main - a hand parry
Bind - the action of pressuring or enveloping the adversary’s blade/point in order to
carry it off line and make an opening
Botta de tempo/In Tempo - (attack-in-time) countering or attacking when the opponent is
distracted and/or unprepared
Botta dritta - a straight attack (thrust)
Botte de paysan - a two-handed stab made by grabbing the blade near the middle with the
free hand and closing-in to knock aside an opponent’s weapon
Battuta - (a beat) a distracting smack to move the adversary’s blade off line or
evoke a response
Coupe’ - (cut-off) a quick disengage over the top of the adversary’s blade,
often after their parry, basically a cut-over
Cuts - in renaissance cut & thrust swordsmanship, there are 8 primary cuts (diagonal,
horizontal, and vertical delivered up or down, right or left, using primarily the
true-edge)
Cut-over - altering the line of the attack by passing the blade over the adversary’s
point, basically a coupe’
Disengage - deceptively altering the line of attack by passing the blade under the
adversary’s point (said to have been first devised from observing the bobbing motions
of fighting cocks)
Draw cut - a slicing cut made when close in by placing the edge against the target and
quickly drawing it across or down, typically applied with steeping back or a reverse-pass
Dritto-Filo - cuts with the true (right) edge
Estramacon - French term for the Stromazone
Falsing - subtly faking the intention or the line of an attack (a form of feinting)
Falso Dritto - cuts to the wrists with the false-edge
Falso Filo - attacks with the false-edge or diagonal upward cuts using the back of the
sword, it also indicates a strike that is brought to deceive the opponent and then
transformed in something else
Falso Manco - cuts to the knees with the false edge
Fendente’ - vertical downwards cut (right or left of guard)
Finda / Finta - (feint) a false attack or action designed to elicit a response and create
an opening
Fleche’ - (“arrow”) passing the adversary on the
attack, a form of running attack
Full Pass - a form of lunge in which the rear leg moves to the lead with a thrust or cut
“Giving the blade” - an intentional threatening extension of the arm and weapon
designed to provoke a response that can then be countered
“Half blows” – as taught by
Giovanni Dell’Agochie in 1572, a form of parry, also a strike not meant to reach the
opponent but deflect their sword by counter-cutting
Imbrocata - thrust over top of the adversary’s blade or grip
Lunga (Stocatta Lunga or Lunge) - a far-reaching thrusting attack using a forward step of
the lead leg with a push off the rear leg, it was used in various forms during the
Renaissance, (also a punta sopramano)
Mandoble - a light slash of the point delivered by a flick of the wrist
Mandritti - an attack cutting from the right to the left (“forehand” cuts)
(plural, mandritta)
Mediatajo - cuts made from the “elbow” (faster than from the shoulder but not as
strong)
Montante (Montante Sotto Mano) - a straight upward cut with the false edge (right or left
of the adversary’s guard)
Parry - to block, defense by the deliberate resistance of an attack by imposing the blade
before it, from 6 to 8 are used to the inside/outside and high/low areas or lines
Pass - stepping the rear leg to the lead (or a reverse pass where the lead leg falls back)
as in a “cut made on the pass”, one major difference from the linear fencing of
the modern sport version
Passatto Sotto/Batte de nuit - to duck under an attack with a drop onto the free hand to
deliver a counter thrust
Patinado - a quick forward step and lunge
Prise de fer - to bind or take the blade
Punta Reversa - thrust to left/outside of the adversary’s blade or grip
Punta Sopramano (Lunge or Stocatta Lunga) - a straight thrust lunge
Quartatta (Incartata) - a rear leg side step around to the outside made with a
counter-thrust
Redoppio - diagonal rising cuts (German Underhau)
Redoublement - quickly renewing the attack after a feint, beat, or bind
Reverso - an attack cutting from left to right (“back hand” cuts) (plural,
roversa)
Reprise - renewing the attack after a quick return to guard
Riposte - a counter-attack immediately following a parry, usually in one action, an idea
that became more effective with the rapier and perfected with the small-sword (common in
the modern sport)
Seconde’ (seconda) - Middle- ward, with the blade up at a 45 degree angle (one of the
major cut & thrust stances or guards)
Scandiaglio - probing actions (feints, beats, etc) to test and discover the
opponent’s nature
Slip - to pull back some just prior to countering or stop-thrusting
Sopra il braccio - “over the arm” positions
according to Di Antonio Manciolino in 1531 (equivalent
to super brachium in the Medieval sword & buckler text MS I33)
Sotto il braccio - “under the arm” positions
according to Di Antonio Manciolino in 1531 (equivalent
to sub brachium in the Medieval sword & buckler text MS I33)
Squalembrato - a diagonal cut down or up (mandritta squalembrato = right-to-left,
collar-to-waist cut, riverso squalembrato – left to right)
Stocatta - a thrust low under the adversary’s blade or grip
Stocatta Lunga (Lunga or Punta Sopramano) - a lunge and low straight thrust
Stop-Thrust/Stop-Cut - a preemptive counter attack into the opponent’s forward motion
Stromacione (stromazone) - a tearing tip-cut to the face, used to harass or distract
Stesso Tempo - to parry and riposte in one action, often a deflecting counter-attack
Tondo / Tonda - a horizontal cut (mandritti tonda = side cut right-to-left, reversi tonda
= side cut left-to-right)
Traverse - a forward or backward diagonal side-stepping move employed with a parry, void,
or passing attack, effective stepping is possible in 8 directions (as opposed to the two
of the modern sport form) also called a Cross Passage
Volte’ - a rear leg side-step and void made with a thrust attack, it allows the
adversary’s attack to slip past as a counter-thrust angles in, it is a form of half
Quartatta
Void – (Voyd or Voyded) to evade or avoid an attack rather than directly parry, often
by a simple side step or pass, used preferably to parrying
See
Also: Italian
Rapier Glossary
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