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Arms & Armor English Martial Arts by Terry Brown $40 / Anglo-Saxon Books / 1997 This remarkable new book by British martial artist Terry Brown overviews the English fighting arts from 1500 to 1800, concentrating on the basket-hilted military broadsword, the bill, and the true quarter staff, as well as the sword & buckler, sword & dagger, and unarmed pugilism, and grappling. While not a manual on fighting, this book presents fundamental techniques for each weapon with over 200 photographs (although somewhat stiffly presented) of stances, strikes, parries, and techniques. Some rare but welcomed details are also presented on the "prize playing" events of the 16th century Masters of Defence. Although he glosses over or excludes obvious areas of study at timessuch as the uses and influences of Medieval swords and shields and other weaponryBrown presents only the original English fighting arts, excluding much of the swordplay that was borrowed from German or Italian sources, such as the rapier or two-handed sword. Rather, Brown relies on actual historical sources so that the English martial arts are presented as they were historically intended: as fighting skills and not mere theatrical re-creation. For the most part, English Martial Arts is well-researched and offers a serious introduction to what is a rich yet poorly explored subject. —John Clements

If you would like to order the English Martial Arts, contact the publisher at asbooks@englisc.demon.co.uk     To order Renaissance Magazine, click here. To order medieval tapestries and other period products, click here.