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FRIDAY: 5 August 2005

Paper Presentations on Western Martial Arts

Dart Auditorium

7:20-9:30 pm

Scholars present papers on a variety of topics.

Speakers on schedule for Friday are (in alphabetical order):

Chris J. Franklin

An examination and history of the Sacred Band of Thebes.

The so-called hieros lochos, or Sacred Band, a Greek force organized along the lines of Plato's "Symposium," is discussed. First created by Theban general Gorgidas in about 378 BCE, and generally accepted to have been comprised of 150 pairs of male lovers, the Sacred Band was the fiercest fighting force the world had ever known. Its success was to make Thebes for a generation the most powerful state in Greece, and its fate was in the end the fate of Greece itself.

The Sacred Band's single and final defeat came in 338 BCE, at the battle of Chaeronea, the decisive engagement in which the armies of Philip II of Macedon, and his son Alexander the Great, ended the independence of the Greek city-states.

A study of the culture, era, and army of the Sacred Band shows that male bonding, love, and military prowess went hand-in-hand in classical Greece, and it is hard to overestimate the importance of the Greek society's understanding of homosexuality at the time.

Linda McCollum

Rowland York and the Introduction of the Rapier into England

The intriguing but undocumented notion that Rowland York introduced the rapier into England has been perpetuated for centuries with no explanation as to who he was, why he is credited with being the first, or when this actually occurred. This paper investigates this notion and dispels the myth while revealing new information and connections.

William Camden, in his Annals of the Queen, written in Latin and published in 1615, is the source for crediting York with introducing the rapier into England twenty-seven years after York's death. Numerous translations were made of Camden's Annals up until 1707, each one varying slightly from the original.

A close examination of York himself shows that he was too young to have been the "first" to bring the rapier into England. By going back and looking at Camden's original statement in Latin along with examining the life and times of York, one may discern other meanings to Camden's original comments on Rowland York.

Ken Mondschein

Camillo Agrippa, though primarily known to history as an engineer, also revolutionized the teaching of fencing with his 1553 Trattato di Scientia d’Arme. To a subject whose pedagogy had much in common with the traditions of medieval guilds, Agrippa applied a spirit of rational inquiry, seeking an empirical, practical method of swordsmanship. This paper will discuss Agrippa’s ragionaménto of the art of the sword, his geometrical analysis of the human body, and his work’s larger place in the history of science.

SATURDAY: 6 August 2005

Rapier and Smallsword Tournament

GVT Gymnasium

7 pm

Europe's rich history of martial arts will be demonstrated as short presentations are given on various weapons, with the tournament immediately following.

SUNDAY: 7 August 2005

Single Stick Tournament

GVT Gymnasium

7 pm

The Single Stick was practiced for hundreds of years both as a sport and as a training weapon for the broadsword. Its rich history will be presented by Scottish fencing master Paul Macdonald, before he launches into this exciting tournament.

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