Domenico Angelo – a great fencing master of the 18th century and champion of the sport of fencing
STUDIES IN PHYSICAL CULTURE AND TOURISM Vol. 17, No. 4, 2010
ZBIGNIEW CZAJKOWSKI Master Class Fencing Coach, Academy of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland
DOMENICO ANGELO – A GREAT FENCING MASTER OF THE 18th CENTURY AND CHAMPION OF THE SPORT OF FENCING The past supplies the key to the present and the future. History forms the basis of all knowledge and is a convenient avenue of approach to any subject of study. Douglas Guthrie
Key words: history of fencing, fencing as a sport, fencing for women.
ABSTRACT The paper explores the colourful history of a famous 18th-century fencing master, Domenico Angelo. The author discusses Angelo’s fencing school and his well-known fencing textbooks. Domenico Angelo was a great champion of fencing as a sport (not only as preparation for duels or fights). He was also a staunch advocate of fencing for women. The text of his fencing textbooks became incorporated into the Great French Encyclopaedia. He was the founder of a dynasty of fencing masters [9]. Strangely enough, Angelo never approved of the use of masks in fencing exercises.
INTRODUCTION It seems to me that there doesn’t exist any form of fight which wouldn’t eventually turn into a game. Jean-Charles Pichon
The art of wielding weapons is as old as humanity. Since prehistoric times people in their struggle against nature, animals, and one another have tried to make up for their lack of strength by using weapons. Throughout the centuries the weapons have changed – from very simple ones made of wood and stone, through swords and rapiers, to light and sophisticated small swords. The ways of using weapons have also changed considerably with the passage of time.
Since the earliest times, in order to prepare for a real fight with sharp weapons, people have used specially devised practice weapons and trained in their use. Exercises with practice weapons served mainly as preparation for real fights with sharp weapons in battle or a duel. Fighting with blunted practice weapons was also – using contemporary terminology – a sport competition. For example, around 1900 BC, i.e. a few hundred years before the beginnings of the ancient Olympic Games in Greece, international “fencing contests” were held in Egypt, as depicted by reliefs and inscriptions on the walls of temples in Luxor. Practice weapons were also known in ancient Crete. In medieval Europe, knight’s tournaments, which included duels with lances, swords and other
Correspondence should be addressed to: Zbigniew Czajkowski, ul. Falata 16/9, Bytom 41-902, Poland, tel. +48 32 2825756
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