The history of fencing as a sport

Fencing traces its roots to the development of swordsmanship for duels and self defense.

• The oldest surviving treatise on western fencing is the Royal Armouries Ms. I.33, also known as the Tower mansuscript, written ca.1300 in present-day Germany,which discusses the usage of the arming sword together with the buckler. It was followed by a number of treatises, primarily from Germany and Italy, with the oldest surviving Italian treatise being Fior di Battaglia by Fiore dei Liberi, written ca. 1400. However, because they were written for the context of a knighly duell with a primary focus on archaic weapons such as the arming sword, longsword, or poleaxe, these older treatises do not really stand in continuity with modern fencing.
• From the 16th century onward, the Italian school of fencing would be dominated by the Bolgonese or Dardi-School of fencing, named after its founder, Filippo Dardi, a Bolognese fencing master and Professor of Geometry at the University of Bologna. Unlike the previous traditions, the Bolognese school would primarily focus on the sidesword being either used alone or in combination with a buckler, a cape, a Parrying dagger, or duel wielded with another sidesword, though some Bolognese masters, such as Achille Marozo, would still cover the usage of the two-handed greatsword or spadone. The Bolognese school would eventually spread outside of Italy and lay the foundation for modern fencing, eclipsing both older Italian and German traditions. This was partially due to the German schools' focus on archaic weapons such as the longsword, but also due to a general decline in fencing within Germany.

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