George Silver, "Brief Instructions upon my Paradoxes of Defence", c1605
About the Brief Instructions
While George Silver's "Paradoxes of Defence" was published in 1599, the "Brief Instructions...", which is the book which actually explains how to use various weapons instead of merely lecturing about why rapiers are so bad, was apparently not published until a copy of the manuscript was discovered in the British Museum, and was subsequently printed in 1898 by Captain Cyril G. R. Matthey. The manuscript was not dated and may have been published around 1605, and it mentions Saviolo's book, which was published in 1595. A useful introduction to this book may be found in Three Elizabethan Fencing Manuals, by James L. Jackson.
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Courtesy of Leuven University Press,
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The key point and principles conveyed in this publication can be summarized with: For the true handling of all manner of weapons together with the four grounds and the four governors which governors are left out in my paradoxes without the knowledge of which no man may fight safe.
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Contents in the Brief Instructions upon my Paradoxes of Defence
Other References:
- Credits: This is version 1.0 of the on-line version of this book. It was initially typed in from a facsimile of the Matthey edition by Steve Hick. has lightly proofread it, correcting any obvious errors. However, many subtle errors and missing paragraphs probably remain. Please report any errors you discover to Greg.
- Index to DiGrassi, His True Arte of Defence. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Last accessed November 3, 2009.
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. George Silver. Last accessed November 3, 2009.
- The Linacre School of Defence. Facsimiles of Paradoxes of Defence. London. George Bell and Sons, York Street. 1898. Last accessed November 3, 2009.
- The Linacre School of Defence. Facsimiles of Brief Instructions upon my Paradoxes of Defence. London. George Bell and Sons, York Street. 1898. Last accessed November 3, 2009.