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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: EMS-EUD |
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EPEE , CHARLES-MICHEL, ABBE DE L' (1712-1789), celebrated for his labours in behalf of the deaf and dumb, was born at Paris on the 25th of November 1712, being the son of the king's architect. He studied for the church, but having declined to sign a religious formula
devoted himself to the study of law; but about the time of his admission to the bar of Paris, the bishop of Troyes granted him ordination, and offered him a canonry in his cathedral. This bishop died soon after, and the abbe, coming to Paris, was, on account of his relations with Soanen, the famous Jansenist, deprived of his ecclesiastical functions by the archbishop of Beaumont. About the same time it happened that he heard of two deaf mutes whom a priest lately dead had been endeavouring to instruct, and he offered to take his place. The Spaniard Pereira was then in Paris, exhibiting the results he had obtained in the education of deaf mutes; and it has been affirmed that it was from him that Epee obtained his manual
EPEE-DE-COMBAT, a weapon still used in France for duel-ling, and there and elsewhere (blunted, of course) for exercise and amusement in fencing (q.v.). It has a sharp
Fencing practice was originally carried on without the protection of any mask for the face. Wire masks were not in-vented till near 1780 by a famous fencing-master, La Boessiere the elder, and did not come into general use until much later. Consequently, in order&to avoid dangerous accidents to the face, and especially the eyes, it was long the rigorous etiquette of the fencing-room that the point should always be kept low. In the 17th century a Scottish nobleman, who had procured the assassination of a fencing-master in revenge for having had one of his eyes destroyed by the latter at sword-play, pleaded on his trial for murder that it was the custom to " spare the face." Rowlandson's well-known drawing of a fencing bout, dated 1787, shows two accomplished amateurs making a foil assault without masks, while in the background a less practised one is having a wire mask tied on. For greater safety the convention was very early arrived at that no hits should count in a fencing-bout except those landing on the breast. Thus sword-play soon became so unpractical as to lose much of its value as a training for war or the duel. For, hits with " sharps " take effect wherever they are made, and many an expert fencer.of the old school has been seriously wounded, or lost his life in a duel, through forgetting that very simple fact. Strangely enough, when masks began to be generally worn, and the fleuret (anglice, " foil," a cheap and light substitute for the real epee) was invented, fencing practice became gradually even more conventional than before. No one seems to have understood that with masks all the conventions could be safely done away with, root and branch, and sword-practice might assume all the semblance of reality. Nevertheless it should be clearly recognized that the basis of modern foil-fencing was laid with the epee or small-sword alone, in and before the days of Angelo, of Danet, and the famous chevalier de St George, whowere among the first to adopt the f euret also. All the illustrious . French professors who came after them, such as La Boessiere the younger, Lafaugere, Jean Louis, Cordelois, Grisier, Bertrand and Robert, with amateurs like the baron d Ezpeleta, were foil-players pure and simple, whose reputations were gained before the modern epee play had any recognized status. It was reserved for Jacob, a Parisian fencing-master, to establish in the last quarter of the 19th century a definite method of the epee, which differed essentially from all its forerunners. He was soon followed by Baudry, Spinnewyn, Laurent and Ayat. The methods of the four first-named, not differing much inter se, are based on the perception that in the real sword fight, where hits are effective on all parts of the person, the classical " bent-arm guard, with the foil inclining upwards, is hopelessly bad. It offers a tempting mark in the exposed sword-arm itself, while the point requires a movement
risk
movement
sharp
Ayat's method, as might be expected from a first-class foil-player, is less simple. Indeed for years, too great simplicity marked the most successful 'epee-play, because it usually gained its most conspicuous victories over those who attempted a foil defence, and whose practice gave them no safe strokes for an attack upon the extended blade. But by degrees the epeists themselves discovered new ways of attacking with comparative safety, and at the present day a complete epee-player is master of a large variety of attractive as well as 'scientific movements, both of attack and defence. It was mainly by amateurs that this development was achieved. Perhaps the most conspicuous representative of the new school is J. Joseph-Renaud, a consummate swordsman, who has also been a champion foil-player. Lucien Gaudin, Alibert and Edmond Wallace may be also mentioned as among the most skilful amateurs, Albert Ayat and L. Bouche as professorsall of Paris. Belgium, Italy and England have also produced 'epeists quite of the first rank The epee lends itself to competition far better than the foil, and the revival of the small-sword soon gave rise in France to " pools " and " tournaments " in which there was the keenest rivalry between all comers. In considering the epee from a British point of view, it may be mentioned that it was first introduced publicly in London by C. Newton-Robinson at an important assault-at-arms held in the Steinway Hall
the Amateur Fencing Association for the first time recognized the best-placed Englishman, Edgar Seligman (who was the actual winner), as the English epee champion. In 1907 R. Montgomerie was again the winner, in 19o8 C. L. Daniell, in 1909 R. Montgomerie. Among the most active of the English amateurs who were the earliest to perceive the wonderful possibilities of epee-play, it is right to mention Captain Hutton, Lord Desborough, Sir Cosmo Duff
Among foreign amateurs who did most to promote the use of the epee in England were Messrs P. Ettlinger, Anatole Paroissien, J. Joseph-Renaud, W. Sulzbacher, Rene Lacroix, H. G. Berger and the Marquis 'de Chasseloup-Laubat. Epee practice became popular among Belgian and Dutch fencers about the same time as in England, and this made it possible to set on foot international team-contests for amateurs, which have done much to promote good feeling and acquaintance-ship among swordsmen of several countries. In 1903 a series of international matches between teams of six was inaugurated in Paris. Up to 19o9 the French team uniformly won the first place, with Belgium or England second.English fencers who were members of these international teams were Lord Desborough, Theodore A. Cook, Bowden, Cecil Haig, J. Norbury, Jr., R. Montgomerie, John Jenkinson, F. Townsend, W. H. C. Staveley, S. Martineau, C. L. Daniell, W. Godden, Captain Haig, M. D. V. Holt, Edgar Seligman, C. Newton-Robinson, A. V. Buckland, P. M. Dayson, E. M. Amphlett and L. V. Fildes. In 1906 a British epee team of four, consisting of Lord Desborough, Sir Cosmo Duff
In the Olympic games of London, 19o8, the Epee International Individual Tournament was won by Alibert (France), but Montgomerie, Haig and Holt (England) took the 4th, 5th, and 8th places in the final pool. The result of the International Team competition was also very creditable to the English representatives, Daniell, Haig, Holt, Montgomerie and Amphlett, who by defeating the Dutch, Germans, Danes and Belgians took second place to the French. Egerton Castle was captain of the English team. In open International Tournaments on the Continent, English epeists have also been coming to the front. None had won such a competition up to 1909 outright, but the following had reached the final pool: C. Newton-Robinson, Brussels, Igor (loth), Etretat, 1904 (6th); E. Seligman, Copenhagen, 1907 (znd), and Paris, 1909 (12th); R. Montgomerie, Paris, 1909 (5th); and E. M. Amphlett, Paris, 1909 (loth). The method of ascertaining the victor in epee " tournaments " is by dividing the competitors into " pools," usually of six or eight fencers. Each of these fights an assault for first hit only, with every other member of the same pool, and he who is least often hit, or not at all, is returned the winner. If the competitors are numerous, fresh pools are formed out of the first two, three or four in each pool of the preliminary round, and so on, until asmall number are left in for a final pool, the winner of which is the victor of the tournament.Epee fencing can be, and often is, conducted indoors, but one of its attractions consists in its fitness for open-air practice in pleasant gardens. In the use of the epee the most essential points are (1) the position of the sword-arm, which, whether fully extended or not, should always be so placed as to ensure the protection of the wrist, forearm and elbow from direct thrusts, by the intervention of the guard or shell; (2) readiness of the legs for instant advance or retreat; and (3) the way in which the weapon is held, the best position (though hard to acquire and maintain) being that adopted by J. J. Renaud with the fingers over the grip, so that a downward beat does not easily disarm. The play of individuals is determined by their respective temperaments and physical powers. But every fencer should be always ready to deliver a well-aimed, swift, direct thrust at any exposed part of the antagonist's arm, his mask or thigh. Very tall men, who are usually not particularly quick
quick
It is desirable to put on record the modern form of the weapon. An average epee weighs, complete, about a pound and a half, while a foil weighs approximately one-third less. The epee blade is exactly like that of the old small-sword after the abandonment of the " colichemarde " form, in which the " forte" of the blade was greatly thickened. In length from guard or shell to point it measures about 35 in., and in width at the shell about the of an inch. From this it gradually and regularly tapers to the point. There is no cutting edge. The side of the epee which is usually held uppermost is slightly concave, the other is strengthened with a midrib, nearly equal in thickness and similar in shape to either half of the true blade. The material is tempered steel. There is a haft or tang about 8 in. long, which is pushed through a circular guard or shell (" coquille ") of convex form, the diameter of which is normally 5 in. and the convexity 11 in. The shell is of steel or aluminium, and if of the latter metal, sometimes fortified at the centre with a disk of steel the size of a crown piece. The insertion of the haft or tang through the shell may be either central or excentric to the extent of about r in., for the better protection of the outside of the forearm. After passing through the shell, the haft of the blade is inserted in a grip or handle (" poignet "), averaging 7 in. in length and of quadrangular section, which is made of tough wood covered with leather, india-rubber, wound cord or other strong material with a rough surface. The grip is somewhat wider than its vertical thickness when held in the usual way, and it diminishes gradually from shell to pommel for convenience of holding. It should have a slight lateral curvature, so that in executing circular movements the pommel is kept clear of the wrist. The pommel, usually of steel, is roughly spherical or eight-sided, and serves as a counterbalance. The end of the haft is riveted through it, except, in the case of " epees demontables," which are the most convenient, as a blade may be changed by simply unscrewing or unlocking the pommel. An epee is well balanced and light in hand when, on poising the blade across the forefinger, about i in. in advance of the shell, it is in equilibrium. For practice, the point is blunted to resemble the flat head of a nail, and is made still more incapable of penetration by winding around it a small ball of waxed thread, such as cobblers use. This is called the " button." In competitions various forms of " boutons marqueurs," all of which are unsatisfactory, are occasionally used. The " Pointe d'arret," like a small tin-tack placed head downwards on the flattened point of the epee, and fastened on by means of the waxed thread, is, on the contrary, most useful, by fixing in the clothes, to show where and when a good hit has been made. The point need only protrude about ligth of an inch from the button. There are several kinds of pointes d'arret. The best is called, after its inventor, the " Leon Sazie," and has three blunt points of hardened steel each slightly excentric. The single point is sometimes prevented by the thickness of the button from scoring a good hit. A mask of wire netting is used to protect the face, and a stout glove on the sword hand. It is necessary to wear strong clothes and to pad the jacket and trousers at the most exposed parts, in case the blade should break unnoticed. A vulnerable spot, which ought to be specially padded, is just under the sword-arm. More modern are: Traite de l'art des armes, by la Boessiere, Jr. (Paris, 1818); Les Armes et le duel, by A. Grisier (2nd ed., Paris, 1847) ; Les Secrets de l'epee, by the baron de Bazancourt (Paris, 1862); Schools and Masters of Fence, by Egerton Castle (London, 1885) ; Le Jeu de l'epee, by J. Jacob and Emil Andre (Paris, 1887) ; L'Escrime pratique au XIX' siecle, by Ambroise Baudry (Paris) ; L'Escrime a l' epee, by A. Spinnewyn and Paul Manonry (Paris, 1898) ; The Sword and the Centuries, by Captain Hutton (London,1901) ; "The Revival of the Small-sword," by C. Newton-Robinson, in the Nineteenth Century and After (London, January 19o5); Nouveau Traite de l'epee, by Dr Edom, privately published (Paris, 1908) ; and, most important of all, Methode d'escrime a l'epee, by J. Joseph-Renaud, privately published (Paris, 1909). . (C. E. N. R.) End of Article: EPEE If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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