resources : online library : 18th Century Sources

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Sample Image Special Links Author, Year, "Title" - Source
  Monsieur L'Abbat, 1734, "The Art of Fencing, or, the Use of the Small Sword" - Michigan State University Libraries
Click to view or download Labatt's entire manuscript - 154.5MB
U860.L33 1734 - A large 152 page treatise originally written by Monsieur L'Abbat, the master of the small sword of the Academy of Toulouse, translated into English by Andrew Mahon, professor of the smallsword in Dublin.

Note: The Digital Sources Center of the University of Michigan makes documents from the Special Collections division of the library available online. Their availability in different forms (JPG, GIF, PDF, HTML, SGML, & XML) varies by collection. We believe that all of the works in this digital collection are in the public domain, and therefore have no copyright protection.

click icon to log into the library<== click icon to log into the library to access the manuscript by Monsieur L'Abbat
  Capt. John Godfrey, 1747, "A Treatise Upon the Useful Science of Defence..." - Michigan State University Libraries
Click to view or download Godfrey's entire manuscript - 129.5MB
GV1145.G6 1747 - A beautifully digitized manuscript in colour. A treatise upon the useful science of defence : connecting the small and back-sword, and shewing the affinity between them : likewise endeavouring to weed the art of those superfluous, unmeaning practices which over-run it ... : with some observations upon boxing, and the characters of the most able boxers within the author's time. London: printed for the author by T. Gardner, 1747.

Note: The Digital Sources Center of the University of Michigan makes documents from the Special Collections division of the library available online. Their availability in different forms (JPG, GIF, PDF, HTML, SGML, & XML) varies by collection. We believe that all of the works in this digital collection are in the public domain, and therefore have no copyright protection.

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  Capt. John Godfrey
  Mess. H. Angelo and Son, 1790, "Hungarian & Highland Broad Sword" - PDF file (26.7MB) courtesy of
Click to view or download Angelo's entire manuscript - 26.7MB
NA - This beautifully illustrated manuscript contains very little text, however, it does include 24 elaborately illustrated B&W plates depicting mounted guards, cuts and thrust forms utilizing the Hungarian broad sword. This sword is very similar to the sabre in general shape, except that the broad sword appears to be more hefty of a weapon than the sabre. The plates were originally designed and etched by T.Rowlandson, under the direction of Mess. H.Angelo and Son. Mess. Angelo and son were the fencing masters to the Light Horse Volunteers of London and Westminster. The manuscript was dedicated to Colonel Herries.
- released October 29, 1999
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  entitled Hungarian & Highland Broad Sword
  Footnotes
  1. fechtbuch n German word for "fight book".
  2. WMA = Western Martial Arts.
  3. The AEMMA shield visible in some of the entries above indicates a resource that has restricted access to AEMMA internal only for research and study, and is not available for viewing in the public domain. This is due to the fact that permission to release the material into the public domain from the source was not granted.
  4. Some of the online manuscripts have an audio component indicated by the speaker icon situated next to the country flag on the library listings.