Hutton

 Many HEMA-practitioners -- especially those, who are learning the 19th century sabre fencing -- consider Alfred Hutton as one of the earliest HEMA-scholars of that period, who initiated the first English revival of historical fencing, together with his colleagues. It is really easy to find some very well-written tributes to his memory, for example Roger Norling's article (In Memory of Cpt. Alfred Hutton) published in 2012.

 

 Sadly no pictures of his grave have been publicly available. Till now... [1]

 Hutton was buried in the churchyard of St Mary's Church in Astbury, near Congleton, Cheshire in 1910. Next year a memorial tablet - In Memoriam Captain Alfred Hutton Late The King's Dragoon Guards Born March 10, 1839 Died December 18, 1910. A Great Swordsman And Writer On The Art. RIP - was unveiled in the chancel of St Mary's Church.

The memorial tablet

„There are those who affect to ridicule the study of obsolete weapons, alleging that it is of no practical use; everything, however, is useful to the Art of Fence which tends to create an interest in it, and certain it is that such contests as “Rapier and Dagger,” “Two hand Sword,” or “Broadsword and Handbuckler,” are a very great embellishment to the somewhat monotonous proceedings of the ordinary “assault of arms.” – Alfred Hutton, Old Sword Play (1892)

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1. There is a topic called Alfred Hutton's grave on Schola Gladiatoria's forum. The topic was started by Gary Piano in September 2012, basically he initiated the whole search for Hutton's grave. Unfortunately you need to log in to view it, therefore the full story and the above pictures are not available for an average user.

Pringle Green (1812)

 Back in 2016 at our Hungarian forum we discussed at length this source -- Instructions for Training a Ship’s Crew to the use of Arms in Attack and Defence (1812) -- written by Lieutenant William Pringle Green. At that time it was painfully obvious - we had only 2-3 images from this handwritten source, and the text itself was not available at all. [1]

  Fortunately the situation has changed drastically!

 The members of the Academy of Historical Fencing -- Nick Thomas, Alex Timmerman & Esther Gibson -- transcribed the text and put together a really nice book containing the whole source, with all images, and also with a good introduction about W. Pringle Green, weapons relevant to this work (cutlass, pistol, musket, boarding pike). And they made it available online for free, in the true spirit of genuine HEMA research. Well done!!

Plate No. 2

  This drawing is probably the most interesting thing in the whole source, and till now it was not widely available to those who are interested in sabres, cutlasses etc. It shows an ingenious and very practical idea of Pringle, namely how to protect your head against the most common attack. Lieutenant wrote: „...as it has been already noticed, that the only cut an untrained man can make is a downright blow at the head, the Note No.2 will show the manner in which the sword should be held to guard against it; in this instance the pistol is also used as a guard, and is a sufficient guard against any man of the present mode of using the cutlass.” 

  Prior to that he remarked: „To obviate these difficulties, it is proposed, that the men should reserve their pistols in their belts when attacking until they gain the gunwale or deck of the enemies ship using the cutlass for their defence; this leaves the left hand disengaged to assist their movements and to secure a footing. 

   Having gained the deck or a footing, the pistol can be drawn from the belt with the left hand, and being thrown across the arm, as is shown in Plate No.1 letter B. serves as a guard, preserves a formidable weapon in case of any accident depriving a man of his cutlass or right hand, and if attacked by an untrained man it is only for him to receive the blow (aimed at his head) on the pistol, and with the cutlass dispatch his opponent, who has thrown himself quite open to that blow, or thrust.”

  Many other interesting details can be found in this book. Enjoy it!

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1. One of our members obtained this source as pdf from the Royal Maritime Museum, but he was not too keen to share it with us. How sad!
2. I came across this new book by AHF on Matt Easton's YT channel: Napoleonic Naval Close Combat with Cutlass, Pistol & Bayonet (12 November 2019).

Brit gyakorló

Egy kitűnő angol cikkre szeretném felhívni az első őszi  edzésekre készülő blogolvasok figyelmét: British Army 1864 Pattern Practice, or Fencing Sabre (2018), amit Matt Easton írt még augusztusban.

3 db 1864-es mintájú vívókard

és egy kakukktojás [1]

  Matt kimondottan részletesen foglalkozik:

• a brit gyakorlóeszközök előtörténetével, külön kiemeli a singlestick (kosaras vívópálca) használatát; elemzi annak okait, hogy a vívópálca sokáig a legnépszerűbb gyakorló volt arrafelé, az eszköz előnyeivel és hátrányosabb tulajdonságaival;
• az ottani sereg 1864-es mintájú vívókardjának bevezetésével;
• az eszköz pengéjével, kosarával, fogantyújával, külön kitér a kosár tervezési hiányosságaira.

  Összegzésként a szerző megjegyzi: „Generally though, these 1864 patterns handle wonderfully and the blades are a superb design. The hilts are simple, but effective.” Meg: „The 1864 pattern practice sabre may not be perfect, but it has many good features, particularly the blade cross-section, and was a realistic analogue for fencers to simulate the use of the real service sword used by infantry officers in the second half of the 19th century. If you find one, give it a good home - they deserve more recognition than they have so far received.”

 Érdekes olvasni azt az észrevételt, hogy a gyakorlókardok eddig nem kapnak elég figyelmet. [2]

 Számomra igen hasznos volt az egész cikk, kellemes élményt jelntett a Matt-féle hozzáállás, és úgy általában a HEMA-ra jellemző adatközlési hajlandóság.

Kardok és adatok

„A: Blade length 83.0cm, balance 11.5cm from guard, mass 820g (made by Mole)

B: Blade length 82.5cm, balance 12.2cm from guard, mass 800g (made by Mole)

C: Blade length 82.0cm, balance 12cm from guard, mass 785g (sold by Garden)

D: Blade length 82.3cm, balance 12.5cm from guard, mass 800g

E: Blade length 82.6cm, balance 11.0cm from guard, mass 800g

F: Blade length 85.9cm, balance 10.0cm from guard, mass 680g (made by Wilkinson)”

  A fenti adatokat a szerző a saját gyűjteményében található gyakorlókardokon mérte. Különösen az utolsó vívókard érdekes, nemcsak azért, mert ennek a pengének van leginkább szablya formája, hanem a penge hossza, íveltsége miatt is, valamit a tömege is jelentősen eltér az akkori brit átlagtól.

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1. Matt cikkéből természetesen az is kiderül, hogy miért került a képre.
2. „For these reasons, practice swords are not very common survivors to the present day. They were made to lower costs, abused heavily, until they broke in many cases, and once they were put out of service they were cast aside and not valued in the way that a service sword was. Even when they have survived to the modern day, they are often overlooked or misunderstood, and allowed to degrade further. *** We often see this dismissive attitude to practice swords in the world of antiques and, despite being quite rare, they usually sell quite cheaply. Very few people are interested in collecting them, though this is perhaps now starting to change with the rise in the historical fencing movement.”
3. Némi adat a kakukktojásról: „For interest, I also measured this single 1895 pattern. It has a blade length of 86.5cm, a balance only 6cm from the guard and a total mass of 830g. *** The irony should be noted that this is actually heavier than any of the 1864 pattern sabres I measured, yet this 1895 model of sword, and the variations of it, has the reputation of being 'lighter' than the sabres that went before it. *** Holding the sword in hand and going through some exercises with it explains this clearly though - while the 1895 is heavier in literal terms, it feels lighter due to the mass distribution, with a heavy hilt and a light tip. Having more mass towards the hand means that it moves more deftly in the hand and hits the target with less force.”
4. „Indeed, mass alone is a poor way to predict the qualities of a sword in the hand and mass distribution is very much more relevant to how a sword will move and feel.”

Kalózok, 1881

Brownrigg kapitány - a HMS London raktárhajó parancsnoka - utolsó küzdelmében bőven volt kardakció, így ez még simán ontopik lenne az indexes vívótopikban. Viszont ott azt igértem, hogy leállok a hajós témával.

Simplex kollega írta: "A "20 percig úgy küzdött, mint egy oroszlán" és a 20 random sérülés nekem eléggé durva cutlass használatra utal ;)" (4908. hsz.), meg "...és hogy azért igen heves cutlassezés alakult ki, az persze irreleváns..." (4916. hsz.).

Nem kétséges, hogy az arabok kardokat is használtak a rajtaütésszerű támadás során. Hogy pontosan milyeneket - sajnos - nem tudjuk, így inkább ne használjuk a cutlass szót, ami ebben a szövegkörnyzetben brit tengerészkardra utalna. Egészen jó leírás marad ránk az eset [1] végjátékáról:

"Brownrigg alone offered serious resistance. He seized a rifle, shot one of his assailants, and, standing in the stern sheets with the clubbed weapon, held out manfully in spite of twenty wounds, two at least of which would have been mortal. Nor did he desist until he fell shot through the heart." [2]

Hősiesség ide vagy oda, de azért sokatmondó: "Brownrigg determined to verify her nationality, but without taking the precautionary measure of arming the crew." Well... Az előző idézet jó magyarázatot ad a levágott ujjakra is. [3]
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Megjegyzés: A támadó arabok nem kalózok voltak, hanem rabszolgakereskedők, bár lehet, hogy mellékállásban kalózkodással is foglalkoztak. A brit járőrök a rabszolgákat szállító hajókat próbáltak elfogni Afrika keleti partjainál. Viszont a kalózós cím némileg izgalmasabb!

1. Részletesebben itt (Simplex linkje):

http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/brownrigg.html

2. B. Gough: Pax Britannica: Ruling the Waves and Keeping the Peace before Armageddon (2014)

3. British Naval Swords... könyv Post-Napoleonic War Sword Actions.

Angelo-dinasztia

A Vívás mint harcművészet topikban már többször említettük a nevét. Megérdemel egy rövid összefoglalót, amihez felhasználom Matt Easton előszavát, amit az Infantry Sword Exercise (1845) c. könyvhöz írt.

Fontos tudni, hogy 3 híresebb Angelo volt:

az alapító, .................... Domenico Angelo (1717-1802) [1]
a fia, ............................ Henry Angelo (1756-1839) [3]
és az unoka, ................ Henry Charles Angelo (1780-1852)

A nagypapa gazdag olasz kereskedő fiaként beutazta Európa, és nem meglepő módon Párizsban töltött tíz évet, ahol szorgalmasan tanult vívni a kor legjobb francia mestereitől, meg élvezte az életet. Aztán kaland kalandot követett: van benne híres angol színésznő meghódítása, elegáns vívásbemutató, a brit felső tízezer megismerése, és egy fényes londoni karrier, aminek a megkoronázása a trónörökös vívásoktatása, nem kicsi celebség [2] és egy komoly vívóiskola megalapítása. Ő adta ki a híres L’Ecole des armes c. művészi kiadványt (1763), ami csak Domenico életében további 3 kiadást ért meg.

Ami számunkra fontos: civil volt. [5]

A fia, szintén vívómester [4], 1785-ben vette át az apja vívóiskoláját. Két évvel később angolra fordította apja könyvét. Ő adta ki a szintén híres Hungarian and Highland broadsword c. könyvet, Rowlandson pazar képeivel. Nekem ő is teljesen civilnek tűnik.

Az unoka 1817-ben lett a vívóiskola vezetője, ami egészen 1897-ig maradt fenn vívóintézményként. 1812 nyarán kidolgozott egy tengerészkard (cutlass) rendszert a brit haditengerészet számára. Az Admiralitás jóváhagyásával, 1813 és 1820 között ez a rendszer volt a tengerészkard-kiképzés szabvány rendszere a flottánál. [7] Ehhez egy adalék.

"Before Henry Charles even took over the running of the Angelo school he had, in around 1812, already been involved in the creation of a naval cutlass system. Edward Anthony Angelo, Henry Charles’ brother, recorded some detail as to the birth of the Naval Cutlass Exercise:
   “During the blockade of the Scheld and Dutch ports, in the summer of 1812, my brother was on a visit to his friend, Captain Rainier, of the 'Norge' frigate, and whilst on board that ship, thinking it might be beneficial, and an amusement, to the sailors, he drilled the crew in an appropriate use of their cutlasses, and it met with such approbation and practice in other ships, that it ultimately became a portion of the instruction for the Navy, on board the 'Excellent' in Portsmouth.”
   This Naval Cutlass Exercise was subsequently adopted by the Admiralty as a standard exercise for naval cutlass between 1813 and 1820. It was evidently revised and simplified into a system with only three guards some time before 1830." (Matt Easton)

1833 lett a brit hadsereg kardoktatási főfelügyelője (Superintendent of Sword Exercise in the Army), egészen 1852-ig bekövetkezett haláláig. Na, őt lehet katonai "beszállítónak" nevezni. Ő írta az 1845-ös könyvet, amit sokan - köztük Burton is [6] - kritizáltak, ennek ellenére még évtizedekig kiképzőkönyvként használták.
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1. Persze volt neki bombasztikus olasz neve is: Angelo Domenico Malevolti Tremamondo.

2. Ha jól megnézzük, akkor látszik, hogy a keresztnevén vált ismerté.

3. Henry Charles William Angelo.

4. Nincs adat arról, hogy a nagypapának tényleges képesítése lett volna. Londonban 1754-1758 először lovaglást oktatott, és csak 1758-ban a felmerülő pénzügyi gondjai miatt kezdett bele a vívásoktatásba.

5. Egy fórumos vitához kapcsolódik: civil vs katonai vívómesterek.

6. Aki viszont képesített vívómester volt. Franciaországban szerezte a mesterlevelét.

7. Hasonló rendszer dolgozott ki 1812 körül William Pringle Green hadnagy. (További adatok az indexes vívótopikban (4886. hsz.))

Gladiátorok, 1735

"Plate IX. The Faulchion or Hanger, the same with Plate I." [1]

"Plate X. The inside Faulchion, the same with Plate II."

Ilyen szablyákkal vívtak véres küzdelmeket a brit "gladiátorok" Figg korában. [2] A kép James Miller skót származású százados és vívómester 1735-ben megjelent könyvecskéjéből való. A könyv pontos címe: A treatise on backsword, sword, buckler, sword and dagger, sword and great gauntlet, falchon, quarterstaff és mindössze 15 oldalt tartalmaz: bevezető, a képek rövid leírása és különböző vívóhelyzeteket ábrázoló 14 db rézkarc (?). Az ábrákon sokféle fegyvert szerepeltet a szerző: skót egyenes kard, egész kosárral (backsword), kard és ökölpajzs, kard és kosaras hárítótőr, kard és hatalmas alkarvédő, szablya és hosszúbot. A mű bevezetőjében és egyben ajánlásában Miller százados azt írta: "...a short treatise of the gladiatory art of defence..."

A derék százados skót karddal

A képek sorrendje fel lett cserélve. "It appears that the plates in the original publication are incorrectly numbered. Each engraving contains a number in the upper left hand corner, which ought to correspond with the caption on the first page. However, some of these are incorrect. Plates 4 and 5 (St George and Hanging Guard) have been swapped over, as have plates 9 and 10 (outside and inside guard with falchion)." (LSD)

A művet Alfred Hutton is említi a saját könyvében (Cold Steel) és 1737-t adja meg a kiadás évének. 4 képét használt fel: Inside Guard, Outside Guard, Hanging Guard, St. George's Guard.

Érdekességek

A lábak közötti távolságot 12-14 hüvelykben (30,5-35,6 cm) adja meg Miller, a testmagasság függvényében, kiemelve, hogy a testsúly a bal lábon legyen. További különlegesség - "...the back part of your left hand must be within half a span of the left side of your face".

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1.  "Plate I. Shows you the Outside-Guard, which covers the outside of your Body from Head to Toe.."

2. Nem mellékes, hogy XVIII. sz. első harmadában Miller falchionnak vagy hangernek nevezi ezeket a szablyákat. Utána kellene nézni, hogy mikor jelenik meg a sabre szó az angol nyelvben.

Figg és a kardok

A homályos ökölvívás-történeti emlékeim között ott dereng James Figg kopaszra borotvált feje, vállas alakja, a mai szem számára szokatlan alapállása és ököltartása. Némi kutakodás után számos érdekes dolog derült erről a legendás pusztakezes ökölvívóról, pl. az, hogy a XVIII. sz. angol díjvívás általában 3 menetből állt - éles pengékkel történő vívásból, igen lazán értelmezett ökölvívásból (ebbe belefért a fejelés, sípcsontrúgás, dobások, földön fekvő ellenfél taposása stb.) és végül következett a botvívás (ebben a menetben hosszúbotot vagy a rövidebb cudgelt használták).

""The "boxing" practiced by Figg was a very different sport in the early 1700s then from what it is today.  These were no-holds-barred contests that would usually take place over 3 bouts, one of swordplay with a choice of live swords, daggers & shields, one of bare-knuckle boxing, and one of quarterstaff or cudgels. The earliest "boxers" not only had to learn various weapon skills they also trained in a fist fighting art that included eye gouging, hair pulling, spitting, head-butting, purring (shin-kicking), stomping and kicking downed opponents, or wrestling throws and grappling whilst on the ground. The men who partook in these matches were often referred to as "prizefighters" because they would fight against all comers for prizes of money, free beer, hats or cups. And the best of these "prizefighters" was James Figg."

"A third, deciding match, between the two took place on the 6th of June 1727, in front of an audience of 3,000 spectators that included the Prime Minister of England, Sir Robert Walpole. The first round was with swords and a cut to Sutton's shoulder resulted in Figg winning that round. The second round was fist-fighting which included throws and grappling, Figg won this round by submission. The third round was with cudgels during which Figg shattered Sutton's knee to win the match and reclaim the title. Now that is a mixed martial artist!"

Vagy

"Figg was a big man with a shaven head and an imposingly muscular physique. Pierce Egan, one of the first historians of pugilism, described the fighter in his 1812 Boxiana as being ‘more indebted to strength and courage for his success in the battlefield than to the effects of genius’. At a time when prize fights often consisted of a round of sword fighting, a round of cudgels and a round of boxing, Figg was actually far more technically accomplished with weaponry than he was with his fists. Captain John Godfrey, who was taught to fight by Figg and was himself a talented swordsman, wrote of his mentor: ‘Figg was the Atlas of the sword, and may he remain the gladiating statue! In him, strength, resolution and unparalleled judgement conspired to form a matchless master.’ He heaped praise upon Figg’s use of ‘time and measure’ and described his way with a sword as ‘charming’.

According to Egan, Figg’s way with his fists was far less elegant: ‘If his methods of fighting were subject to the criticism of the present day, he would be denominated more of a slaughterer than a neat and finished pugilist.’ But early 18th century boxing wasn’t the subtle chess match of gloved fists and tight defences that characterise the modern sport. Instead it was a brutal bare-knuckle brawl in which fighters were expected to use their elbows and fingers, throw their opponents to the floor and land punches and kicks even after their opponents were down and out. This was a form of boxing in which blood and broken bones were accepted, even demanded. Godfrey, in his book A Treatise Upon the Useful Science of Defence, recommended that boxers aim their punches between the eyebrows as this causes the eyelids to swell, obstructing the sight. ‘The man thus indecently treated and artfully hoodwinked,’ he wrote, ‘is then beat about at his adversary’s discretion.’ He also advised that blows to the stomach ‘may be attended with a vomiting of blood’. Queensbury Rules this wasn’t.

Back-sword fighting was a brutal pursuit which made bare knuckle brawling look like a bit of a picnic. The back-sword was a small one-sided blade designed for slashing and cutting, far removed from the elegant movements associated with fencing. Fighters wore no protective clothing, with the result that Figg’s body was a web of scar tissue. Godfrey recounts a back-sword bout between William Gill – one of Figg’s pupils – and an Irishman named Butler. Gill was renowned for aiming at his opponents’ legs, and on this occasion he wounded the Irishman with a cut ‘more severe and deep’ than Godfrey had ever seen before. ‘His leg was laid quite open, his calf falling down to his ankle.’ Butler was stitched up but surgeons who operated on lowly brawlers weren’t up to much. The wound became infected and after a botched amputation the Irishman ‘soon expired’. In such circumstances, the fact that Figg retired with all his limbs in place was proof of his considerable skill." [1]

Azt is lehet tudni, hogy milyen eszközöket használtak a vívók.

Sporting Magazine, 1. kötet, Rogerson & Tuxford, 1793
History of Boxing, 13. o.

Egy további érdekes kiegészítés a korrajzhoz.

 

Arthur Wise: The History and Art of Personal Combat (2014), 9. o. (előszó)

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1. How James Figg punched, cudgelled and hacked his way to national celebrity