Greetings and welcome to the primordial site for the sword and buckler workshop of Academia della Spada. Below you will hopefully find information useful to you in your pursuit of the system of fence outlined in Royal Armories Manuscript i.33. I will do my best to keep content up to date as the course progresses. If you have any questions or concerns about this site or the workshop or to make contributions, please contact Nathan Barnett by clicking here

Resources

The sites below offer online versions and/or interpretations of the text:

Equipment

Swords:

A&A "Scholar's Sword" from Arms & Armor is probably the finest tool for our pursuit currently available. Maestro Sean Hayes worked with Craig Johnson of A&A to design a proper weapon for his pursuit of i.33 and this is the consequence:
The Scholar's Sword - $375 (10/2006)
Hanwei "Practical Knightly sword" - cheaper and untested at this time low-price, low-expectations
Knightly Sword at about $100
Slighly more expensive, similar expectations...
Medieval Sword
Wooden wasters are a perfectly reasonable rout to go at well under $100 for a good place to start. They'll wear better than metal (provided you don't use them against metal) any you'll have the honor of knowing you're probably working with an historically accurate training weapon:
Short sword from Purpleheart Armory

Bucklers:

The concave buckler currently favored although it's a bit heavy for everyday use. "Don't worry, you'll grow into it."
A&A Buckler at $115

Additional equipment appropriate for students:

Mask: A proper three weapons mask. Ultimately we'll want the backs covered to protect the dainty necks and occipital lobes.
Gorget: Neck protection. Thrusts are part and parcel of this fight, the neck a tasty target. Save yours.
Gauntlets: Rigid hand protection. Ow.
Cups: Ow^3.
Plastron: Rigid check protection for female fighters.

Other information

I'm currently working on posting a forum where we can publicly discuss experimentation, post links, etc etc. Because we only meet once a week, I think this may become an essential tool for our development and communication. Please bear with me while I battle with the code.

Money

Alas - equipment and space take time and money. To make this class possible, I'm hoping each participant can pay $20 per student per month. Under no circumstances is this required. Come to class, pay if you can, but first and foremost you keep the class alive by taking part. If you can help cover the costs, though, please either pay me directly or feel free to use one of the links below.

Payment options

Paying the piper: $20 dollars to the Swash and Buckle fund. Put your tin in the can and keep us going for another month. Thanks!

Committed (or you should be): Effectively subscribing to pay $20/month until you cancel. That's right, you're in it for the long haul and you're making the investment.

Donate - The cost of getting started is not insignificant. Perhaps you feel the spirit of giving upon you; or you have a little extra cash and want the karma of a good deed; or you're sucking up in hopes that it'll get you to scholar faster (Hey! It never hurts to try...). Whatever the excuse, you want to put a little extra wind in the sails of the workshop. Feel free to make donations.