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Arms & Armor Spada: An Anthology of Swordsmanship (in memory of Ewart Oakeshott) ed. by Stephan Hand $24.95 / Chivalry Bookshelf / 2003 Dedicated to the memory of the world's foremost expert in medieval swordsmanship, Ewart Oakeshott, who died in 2002, this collection of 11 scholarly essays on swordsmanship pays tribute to both Oakeshott and to the discipline he loved. For over 60 years, Oakeshott collected, studied, and researched European swords. He was passionately involved in the martial handling of antique swords and in re-creating historical fighting. He also published many seminal books on the topic. These essays honor Oakeshott by displaying the range and complexity of topics on swordsmanship. For instance, an essay by Oakeshott himself addresses the study of arms within a historical context. Editor Stephen Hand then examines weapon forms and counterattack strategies with respect to a variety of forms and attacks. Hand also collaborates with Paul Wagner on an essay that reconstructs early medieval sword and shield techniques. Since no manuals survive on how Viking or Crusader swords and shields were used, the imaginative re-creation of the technique and style described in another essay is truly captivating. Other essays include a brief look at Highland swordsmanship, the 16th-century Spanish influence in the rapier play of Italian rapier master Vincentio Saviolo, and a reconstruction of Hungarian saber techniques. All of the essays are generously illustrated with photographs and drawings that demonstrate the techniques and equipment used. The essays are well documented, too, with citations of scholarly sources that may be valuable to aficionados of period swordsmanship. Sword buffs will want to own this book as the essays are all worthy of the scholar they honor. —Charles Rammelkamp

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