Greetings,
As anyone following this blog will know, version one of the fencing manual was completed a little while ago. Now it is time for further changes to be made to both the modern and Elizabethan versions of this project. For the most part the biggest change between the modern and Elizabethan versions made in version one was a conversion of spellings and also of punctuation. No grammar was really altered and really only the major punctuation was affected. Moving forward will result in divergence between the modern and Elizabethan manuals.
In the case of the modern version, this will be a process of change toward a more usable format. This means the addition of headings and subheadings for starters in the manual in order that there are not great blocks of text for the reader to deal with. In such technical manuals such as this one smaller blocks of information are much more readily usable for the reader. Further on in this version there will also be an addressing of some of the expression and other more grammatical elements, once again to make it more accessible to the reader.
In the case of the Elizabethan version, the processes involved in change will be, for the most part, focusing on grammatical elements and sentence structures. The punctuation is only one element in the reading of the manual, grammar also has a large part to play in order for this manual to be "Elizabethanized". No doubt there will also be further spelling and punctuation changes in the process of change.
What is going to result is quite a striking divergence between the modern and Elizabethan versions of the manual. While the core elements and teachings of both will remain the same, thus the content remains the same, the format and language elements will change quite markedly. There is no doubt that version one will be the real time where the two versions of this manual will seem the most similar and that big changes will be happening in the process of furthering this project.
Cheers,
Henry.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Monday, December 30, 2013
Progress Update - Book Two and Version One Complete - 30 December 2013
Greetings,
Well, it has taken some three years to get to this stage. However, I have completed Version One of the my period fencing manual. I have no doubts whatsoever that there will be another version to follow, especially as there is quite a bit of formatting to fix and some further editing to do in both the modern and Elizabethan versions in order to modify the language and fix some formations of the language. My plan from here is to present the first version, as it is to the proposed individual in the Epistle Dedicatory for approval at this stage. From there after some discussion, there may be a "public" version of some or all of the texts made. From this point it will be then to move on to Version Two, in which the two languages will really begin to show their differences and also the formatting of the text will also be included.
Book Two:
Preface
Of Honour
Of Dishonour
An Honourable Quarrel
An Honourable Quarrel
Of Reasons and Opportunities
Of the Challenger and Challenged
Of the Negotiations of an Honourable Quarrel
Of the Honourable Combat
Of the Resolution of the Duel
Of the Nobility of Women
A Resolution to the Discussion
The previous is what is found in Book Two. There will probably be a small break between this and my next update as I have other projects also on the go, however there will be more to come.
Cheers,
Henry.
Well, it has taken some three years to get to this stage. However, I have completed Version One of the my period fencing manual. I have no doubts whatsoever that there will be another version to follow, especially as there is quite a bit of formatting to fix and some further editing to do in both the modern and Elizabethan versions in order to modify the language and fix some formations of the language. My plan from here is to present the first version, as it is to the proposed individual in the Epistle Dedicatory for approval at this stage. From there after some discussion, there may be a "public" version of some or all of the texts made. From this point it will be then to move on to Version Two, in which the two languages will really begin to show their differences and also the formatting of the text will also be included.
Book Two:
Preface
Of Honour
Of Dishonour
An Honourable Quarrel
An Honourable Quarrel
Of Reasons and Opportunities
Of the Challenger and Challenged
Of the Negotiations of an Honourable Quarrel
Of the Honourable Combat
Of the Resolution of the Duel
Of the Nobility of Women
A Resolution to the Discussion
The previous is what is found in Book Two. There will probably be a small break between this and my next update as I have other projects also on the go, however there will be more to come.
Cheers,
Henry.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Progress Update - Book One Complete - 17 December 2013
Greetings,
Today, I completed Book One. The manual has been divided into two "books", in much the same way that Saviolo divided his. The more practical aspects of using the rapier are in the first book and the more social aspects with regard to combats and so forth are found in the second book. For my next update, I will be shortening the list below using only the heading for Book One, rather than listing the elements of the book already found below.
Title Page
Epistle Dedicatory
Author's Epistle to Various Noblemen
Author's Epistle to the Gentle Reader
Book One:
Theory:
Principles
Time
Distance
Lines
Engagement
Practice
Practical:
Of Wards
Footwork
Defense:
Void
Parry
Combination
Today, I completed Book One. The manual has been divided into two "books", in much the same way that Saviolo divided his. The more practical aspects of using the rapier are in the first book and the more social aspects with regard to combats and so forth are found in the second book. For my next update, I will be shortening the list below using only the heading for Book One, rather than listing the elements of the book already found below.
Title Page
Epistle Dedicatory
Author's Epistle to Various Noblemen
Author's Epistle to the Gentle Reader
Book One:
Theory:
Principles
Time
Distance
Lines
Engagement
Practice
Practical:
Of Wards
Footwork
Defense:
Void
Parry
Combination
Attack:
Thrust
Cut
The Attack
Blade Engagement
Time:
In Time
Priority
Double
Single Time
Counter Time
Half-Time
Closes and Gripes
Reading the Opponent
Application - Wounds
Sundry Notes:
Advantage of the Circle Over the Line
Single Against All
The Left-Hander
True and False Arts
What is presented at the moment in what I have done is only the first version of this process. I have intentions of editing and further enhancing both versions of the manual in order to present them at their best. I have no doubt that the result of the change in language through grammar especially will change a lot of the language and thus demonstrate a clear difference between the two. The presentation of both together in a single manual is designed to give the reader access to both forms, thus increasing the familiarity with Elizabethan English and thus hopefully this will allow greater access to "period" manuals to more enthusiasts not only of the rapier but other areas.
Cheers,
Henry
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Progress Report - 15 December 2013
Greetings,
This is another production progress report for the translation of the Present Day English fencing treatise into Elizabethan English. I have merely added to the previous update rather than just doing what I have done recently this way it has a little bit of context. I am getting closer and closer to finishing Book One, once this is finished I will be shortening the progress report.
Title Page
Epistle Dedicatory
Author's Epistle to Various Noblemen
Author's Epistle to the Gentle Reader
Book One:
Theory:
Principles
Time
Distance
Lines
Engagement
Practice
Practical:
Of Wards
Footwork
Defense:
Void
Parry
Combination
This is another production progress report for the translation of the Present Day English fencing treatise into Elizabethan English. I have merely added to the previous update rather than just doing what I have done recently this way it has a little bit of context. I am getting closer and closer to finishing Book One, once this is finished I will be shortening the progress report.
Title Page
Epistle Dedicatory
Author's Epistle to Various Noblemen
Author's Epistle to the Gentle Reader
Book One:
Theory:
Principles
Time
Distance
Lines
Engagement
Practice
Practical:
Of Wards
Footwork
Defense:
Void
Parry
Combination
Attack:
Thrust
Cut
The Attack
Blade Engagement
Time:
In Time
Priority
Double
Single Time
Counter Time
Half-Time
Closes and Gripes
Reading the Opponent
Application - Wounds
I am currently working on the Sundry Notes which is the final part of Book One. It has only three elements in it so I expect that I should be getting close to finishing Book One reasonably soon. Once I have completed this the updates will only include what I have done from Book Two rather than the entire lot. Once it is all completed, then there will be an update with the lot for Version 1.
Cheers,
Henry.
Cheers,
Henry.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Progress Report - 2 December 2013
Greetings,
I thought I would give a short, and rather un-detailed progress report for my slow and steady "translation" of my fencing manual from Present Day English to Elizabethan English.
For the first version, and I expect that there will be a couple before I am happy, the introductory parts are done:
Title Page
Epistle Dedicatory
Author's Epistle to Various Noblemen
Author's Epistle to the Gentle Reader
Book One:
Theory:
Principles
Time
Distance
Lines
Engagement
Practice
Practical:
Of Wards
Footwork
Defense:
Void
Parry
Combination
I am in the process of doing the Attack part of this section at the moment. I will give further updates as I progress for all those who are interested. I am actually of two minds as to whether or not I will present some of the work for a "taste" here, but as I am dedicating this to a particular individual I would think that it would be better for me to ask this individual first as to whether this would be "politic" or whether I should wait until the final product is complete before making any of the actual manual public. I will have a think about this and see what happens.
Cheers,
Henry.
I thought I would give a short, and rather un-detailed progress report for my slow and steady "translation" of my fencing manual from Present Day English to Elizabethan English.
For the first version, and I expect that there will be a couple before I am happy, the introductory parts are done:
Title Page
Epistle Dedicatory
Author's Epistle to Various Noblemen
Author's Epistle to the Gentle Reader
Book One:
Theory:
Principles
Time
Distance
Lines
Engagement
Practice
Practical:
Of Wards
Footwork
Defense:
Void
Parry
Combination
I am in the process of doing the Attack part of this section at the moment. I will give further updates as I progress for all those who are interested. I am actually of two minds as to whether or not I will present some of the work for a "taste" here, but as I am dedicating this to a particular individual I would think that it would be better for me to ask this individual first as to whether this would be "politic" or whether I should wait until the final product is complete before making any of the actual manual public. I will have a think about this and see what happens.
Cheers,
Henry.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Shakespeare: The Value of the Fiction
Greetings,
There has been a great question which has caused some consternation over several years as to the identity of the writer of Shakespeare's works. This entry in the blog is not designed to give an answer to this particular riddle, or even give my own particular thoughts on the matter. What will be laid before you is approaching this question from a different point of view.
One of the first accusations with regard to Shakespeare's works is whether or not it was written by one man, or whether it was written by many writers, resulting in the question of whether it is "Shakespeare's English" or "Shakespeares' English". This is a question which historians and many others have argued. If it was written by one man, then he is truly a great man and has given us a great wealth of works. But, even if it was written by multiple authors, the result may be spread over several but still there is a lot of information and value to be gained from the works as they are.
Assuming that the works were all written by one man, the question of the man is one which has also appeared as voraciously as the question of whether it was one or several authors. Was it the son of a glove-maker from Stratford-Upon-Avon or was it Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford? These are the two great contenders for the authorship. Evidence has been presented from both points of view supporting both men. Once again, regardless of which one of these men wrote the works, the result is the same.
In essence it does not matter whether it was one author or several, the son of a glove-maker or an Earl which wrote "The works of Shakespeare", the true value is found in the volume of the work produced and in the works themselves. The plays give us many things which need to be appreciated for what they are rather than who put pen and ink to paper to produce them. The increased lexicon as a result of Shakespeare's works is of great significance as has been indicated previously. Expressions of language found in Shakespeare's works are still found in film, and even everyday speech. In close examination of the plays we find demonstrations of other cultures of the period, specifically the Italian which gives us an insight as to how society worked in that period in that culture. Even in general examination of the historical plays we find elements of the social and political workings of the day that they were written and also a perspective of historical events. All of these elements are of great use to us in the modern era.
For the most part, the question of the authorship of "The Works of Shakespeare" is more of an historical argument more designed for those who want specific answers about specific things. Regardless of who wrote the works the impact of them upon the English language and indeed the culture of English-speaking people far outweighs any argument as to the authorship of the works themselves. Indeed even if it is found that the works were not written by the son of a glove-maker from Stratford-Upon-Avon, there is still much value to be found in the fiction, and more to the point much value to be found in the works themselves.
Cheers,
Henry.
P.S. For all of my regular readers, the production continues. Slowly, but it does continue.
There has been a great question which has caused some consternation over several years as to the identity of the writer of Shakespeare's works. This entry in the blog is not designed to give an answer to this particular riddle, or even give my own particular thoughts on the matter. What will be laid before you is approaching this question from a different point of view.
One of the first accusations with regard to Shakespeare's works is whether or not it was written by one man, or whether it was written by many writers, resulting in the question of whether it is "Shakespeare's English" or "Shakespeares' English". This is a question which historians and many others have argued. If it was written by one man, then he is truly a great man and has given us a great wealth of works. But, even if it was written by multiple authors, the result may be spread over several but still there is a lot of information and value to be gained from the works as they are.
Assuming that the works were all written by one man, the question of the man is one which has also appeared as voraciously as the question of whether it was one or several authors. Was it the son of a glove-maker from Stratford-Upon-Avon or was it Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford? These are the two great contenders for the authorship. Evidence has been presented from both points of view supporting both men. Once again, regardless of which one of these men wrote the works, the result is the same.
In essence it does not matter whether it was one author or several, the son of a glove-maker or an Earl which wrote "The works of Shakespeare", the true value is found in the volume of the work produced and in the works themselves. The plays give us many things which need to be appreciated for what they are rather than who put pen and ink to paper to produce them. The increased lexicon as a result of Shakespeare's works is of great significance as has been indicated previously. Expressions of language found in Shakespeare's works are still found in film, and even everyday speech. In close examination of the plays we find demonstrations of other cultures of the period, specifically the Italian which gives us an insight as to how society worked in that period in that culture. Even in general examination of the historical plays we find elements of the social and political workings of the day that they were written and also a perspective of historical events. All of these elements are of great use to us in the modern era.
For the most part, the question of the authorship of "The Works of Shakespeare" is more of an historical argument more designed for those who want specific answers about specific things. Regardless of who wrote the works the impact of them upon the English language and indeed the culture of English-speaking people far outweighs any argument as to the authorship of the works themselves. Indeed even if it is found that the works were not written by the son of a glove-maker from Stratford-Upon-Avon, there is still much value to be found in the fiction, and more to the point much value to be found in the works themselves.
Cheers,
Henry.
P.S. For all of my regular readers, the production continues. Slowly, but it does continue.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Production Commenced!
Greetings,
I have been going on with this research now for about 3 years, and for the most part, to this current date, the research has come to an end. What does this mean? No more blogs? End of the series? No actually, I think that there will be more blogs in this series as I continue to learn more about the language. For me it means something much bigger.
The bigger thing is that I have started production of my "period" manual. This is a manual based on my own acquired fencing knowledge, written in Present Day English (PDE) and then "translated" into Elizabethan English (EE). The reason for this project has already been discussed in some of my earliest posts on this blog, however, it could be useful to give a reminder.
One of the things that I have noticed studying Historical European Martial Arts is that there are a lot of practitioners who, especially in their earlier years, are afraid of going near sources of the period they are studying. For the most part this is due to fear of the language and the differences, this is even the case when discussing those manuals which are written in English, admittedly earlier versions, but still English. This project was designed to address at least part of that problem.
There are three significant treatises which were written in the 1590s: Vincentio Saviolo's (1595) His Practice in Two Books, Giacomo di Grassi's (1594) His True Arte of Defence and finally George Silver's (1599) Paradoxes of Defense. Interestingly these are written in EE, but English nonetheless. My choice was to examine EE of the 1590's in order that I could understand these manuals better, as a result "translate" a manual from PDE to EE and present them side-by-side in order that the EE may be more accessible due to the lack of "noise" between the two manuals.
"Noise" is what happens when something is translated from one language to another, and across a time period does count. This is because the person in the modern period who is translating the older text is not the author and as such does not know exactly what the author's intent was in the writing. This results in "noise" which can reduce understanding of the original and result in misinterpretations of the intent of the original author. By writing both of the manuals it is my intent to reduce this "noise" as much as I can.
I expect that this project will take some time to complete. There will no doubt be updates, and possibly even a preview of my work presented here, for those who are interested. I am expecting at least two versions if not more in order to get this as correct as I can. I am also expecting quite a few bumps and blocks in the process of this production, but I feel that the end result will be worth the effort put in.
Cheers,
Henry.
I have been going on with this research now for about 3 years, and for the most part, to this current date, the research has come to an end. What does this mean? No more blogs? End of the series? No actually, I think that there will be more blogs in this series as I continue to learn more about the language. For me it means something much bigger.
The bigger thing is that I have started production of my "period" manual. This is a manual based on my own acquired fencing knowledge, written in Present Day English (PDE) and then "translated" into Elizabethan English (EE). The reason for this project has already been discussed in some of my earliest posts on this blog, however, it could be useful to give a reminder.
One of the things that I have noticed studying Historical European Martial Arts is that there are a lot of practitioners who, especially in their earlier years, are afraid of going near sources of the period they are studying. For the most part this is due to fear of the language and the differences, this is even the case when discussing those manuals which are written in English, admittedly earlier versions, but still English. This project was designed to address at least part of that problem.
There are three significant treatises which were written in the 1590s: Vincentio Saviolo's (1595) His Practice in Two Books, Giacomo di Grassi's (1594) His True Arte of Defence and finally George Silver's (1599) Paradoxes of Defense. Interestingly these are written in EE, but English nonetheless. My choice was to examine EE of the 1590's in order that I could understand these manuals better, as a result "translate" a manual from PDE to EE and present them side-by-side in order that the EE may be more accessible due to the lack of "noise" between the two manuals.
"Noise" is what happens when something is translated from one language to another, and across a time period does count. This is because the person in the modern period who is translating the older text is not the author and as such does not know exactly what the author's intent was in the writing. This results in "noise" which can reduce understanding of the original and result in misinterpretations of the intent of the original author. By writing both of the manuals it is my intent to reduce this "noise" as much as I can.
I expect that this project will take some time to complete. There will no doubt be updates, and possibly even a preview of my work presented here, for those who are interested. I am expecting at least two versions if not more in order to get this as correct as I can. I am also expecting quite a few bumps and blocks in the process of this production, but I feel that the end result will be worth the effort put in.
Cheers,
Henry.
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