Target
Basic Level Single Sword term
Definition
That part of the body to which an attack is delivered
Intermediate Definition
A small round shield, similar to the buckler.
Advanced Definition
From quite an early period, the target area was traditionally confined to the trunk; the Tudor Masters of Defence prohibited hits below the waist. In the late seventeenth century, Sir William Hope declares the valid surface to run from beneath the neck to the waistband of the breeches, the sword-arm apparently being excluded. Writing in 1690, Labat specifically excludes the legs and arms; the valid area terminated at the armholes of the waistcoat, strongly reminiscent of the existing rules. At the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the legitimate area seems to have been even more limited. Joseph Roland’s target was the right side of the breast only; otherwise, he says ‘the art would fall quite into disuse’. That this convention was fairly standard practice is borne out by the circumstance of Domenico Angelo pinning Peg Woffington’s roses to that part of his jacket and defying all his opponents at a fencing match to touch a single petal. The younger Roland, George, was a little more liberal; he allowed all hits on the right side of the trunk between neck and waistband.
See Also
