From Liechtenauer to the birth of modern sport. Outline of the history of melee fencing

Observing the struggles of today's fencers on the Olympic boards, we don't usually realize that this discipline is a consequence and an extension of a real fight to the death. Weapons, the rules of their use, the methodology of teaching combat evolved to finally take the shape of today's conventionalized sport. Of course, we find it hard to believe, since the current swords, sabers and florets - light, ergonomic, equipped with sensitive electronics - do not resemble their forged, sharpened steel ancestors. Undoubtedly, however, the duels of modern athletes, Old Polish blacksmiths, Renaissance swordsmen and medieval knights are united by the same passion. Almost everyone who reached for a sword on the “beaten earth” — no matter its shape, length, or name — was motivated by a desire for fame, competition, or self-improvement. The lecture will take us on a journey from the end of the Middle Ages to the first modern Olympic Games, showing how fencing from bloody clashes turned into a sport. The meeting will be hosted by Marcin Różycki.

Marcin Różycki is a PhD student at the Historical Institute of the University of Warsaw. He became interested in Old Polish and Sarmatism from the first pages of the Sienkiewicz Trilogy, which he read in his youth. His passion has been transformed into an area of research — as a historian by education, hobbyist also engaged in ancient fencing and reconstruction, he explores the history of pre-partition Poland and its inhabitants. It focuses on the noble, Sarmatian way of life, ethos and perception of reality, which it wishes to bring closer to people without prejudices and simplifications.

Buy a ticket or schedule a visit