It is borne point upwards in the left hand, which grasps it about the centre, with the flat of the blade resting against the shoulder; it must be remembered that this sword is double edged.
THIS weapon, sometimes known as the old English "long sword," as a fighting arm stands by itself; it was the favourite weapon of our King Henry VIII. in his athletic days, and he proposed its use in the tournaments at the "Field of the Cloth of Gold," but Francis I. objected to it on the ground that there were no gauntlets then made sufficiently strong to guarantee the hands against its powerful strokes.
The following lessons have been compiled from the works of Marozzo (1536), Di Grassi (1570), Joachim Meyer (1570), Jacob Sutor (1612), and Alfieri (1653). [Perhaps Hutton was unaware of the dozens of older, equally complete, German manuals of greatsword play.--bjm] The method of handling the weapon is very similar to the exercises of the "Great Stick," inroduced in 1889 in "Cold Steel," and adapted from Italian sources; in fact, these latter are a distinct survival of the two-hand sword-play of the sixteenth century. The best manner of carrying the two-hander is taken from Alfieri:
It is borne point upwards in the left hand, which grasps it about the centre,
with the flat of the blade resting against the shoulder; it must be remembered
that this sword is double edged.
[This salute looks to be more of an adaptation of the modern fencing salute than anything that was actually done in the 16th century.--bjm]
1. Pass the right hand across the body and seize the grip close to the quillons.
2. Bring the sword perpendicularly in front of the body with the quillons in line with the mouth.
3. Carry the sword over to the right side, and lower the point to the front about four inches from the ground, and draw back the right foot about six inches.
4. Raise the sword to a perpendicular position at the right side.
5. Carry the sword over to the left side, and resume the marching position.
The favorite engaging guard of Marozzo was is guardia di testa. Alfieri also makes use of one very similar:
The guards in quarte--porta di ferro alta, and tierce--coda lunge e stretta may also be used.
There are six principle cuts: two oblique downards at the sides of the head [1 in Hutton's notation, taken from more modern sabre, is to an opponent's left side, 2 to the right--bjm], two oblique upwards [3 to the opponent's left, 4 to his right], and two horizontal cuts, made usually at the flank [5 to the opponent's left, 6 to his right]. Those delivered at the left side of the enemy were called mandritti [Italian for "right hand"], and those at his right side [riversi]; the former were given with the right foot, and the latter with the left foot in advance. [Actually, either foot could be forward.]
[A moulinet or "windmill" is a motion in which the sword is swung through a full circle. The moulinet is a vital technique to master when using a heavy cutting weapon. While it is true that a well-snapped short cut is theoretically faster than a circular cut, the mechanics of the human arm dictate that a circular re-direction often has an advantage over any technique that requires a sudden reverse of direction.]
The six moulinets are absolutely necessary for the acquirement of dexterity in wielding the two-hander; and in practising them great care ust be taken to keep the hands well advanced, in order to avoid the accident of entangling the arms with the long quillons of the sword. They are as follows:--
Motion 1.--Extend the arms with the sword pointing to the front a little above the diagonal line 1 on the target [diagonally from target's left shoulder to his right hip], the right hand holding it close to the quillons and the left hand close to the pummel.
Motion 2.--Bring the sword down, true edge [front edge] leading, with a circular sweep from [your] right to left along the line, causing it to pass close to the left side, and completing the circile bring it again to the front.
Motion 1.--Extend the arms as before, the point of the sword being just above diagonal line 2. [Reverse side of "line 1"]
Motion 2.--Describe a similar circle, the point traversing the diagonal line from [your] left to right, and passing close to the right side.
Motion 1.--Extend the arms and sword with the point directed just below line 3 [going from the opponent's left hip to his right shoulder].
Motion 2.--Make the cut diagonally upwards, and, after the sword has passed through the target, complete the circle close to the right side.
This must be performed as the last, save that the sword describes its circle close to the left side and passes diagonally upwards from left to right.
Motion 1.--Extend the arms and sword with the point just outside line 5 [from opponent's left to his right side].
Motion 2.--Describe the circle horizontally, the sword traversing the line from right to left, and in the rearward half of the circle just clearing the top of the head.
This must be executed similarly to the last, the sword describing the circle from [your] left to right.
N.B.--The rotary movement of the sword is much asssisted by a pulling motion with one hand and a pushing one with the other.