English longsword school


While the majority of surviving sources concerning the use of the two-handed longsword detail the German [school of swordsmanship] and the Italian school of swordsmanship, there was also a smaller English school with its own techniques. The body of techniques used in English Longsword use has survived to the modern day in three manuscripts: The Ledall Roll ; Man yt Wol and the British Library Cotton Titus Manuscript

Comparison to German and Italian School

The most obvious comparison is the scarce extent of surviving manuscripts. While there are many Italian and comparatively numerous German manuscripts, there are only three English Longsword treatises. Additionally, the English sources are without illustration, so they are text only. This makes them more difficult to interpret. The last challenging factor is that they have largely not been scanned. Despite this, there are some dedicated HEMA Historical European Martial Arts practitioners, in the United Kingdom, and in Australia dedicated to the study of the English longsword form.