From Wiktenauer
Henry de Sainct Didier, Esq. was a 16th century French fencing master. He was born to a noble family in Pertuis in the Provence region of France, son of Luc de Sainct Didier. Sainct Didier made his career in the French army, ultimately serving 25 years and seeing action in Piedmont, Italy from 1554 - 1555. He wrote of himself that he "lived his whole life learning to fight with the single sword" and eventually "reached a point of perfection" in his art. Apparently he became a fencing master of some renown, for in ca. 1573 he wrote and published extensive treatises on a number of weapons, including the dagger, single side sword, double side swords, sword and buckler, sword and cloak, sword and dagger, sword and shield (both rotella and targe), greatsword; he secured a royal privilege on the publication of all of these treatises for a period of ten years. (Unfortunately, only his treatise on the single side sword, printed on 4 June 1573, is known to survive; it is possible that the others may never have been printed at all.)
Treatise
Additional Resources
- Sainct Didier, Henry de. The Single Sword of Henry de Sainst-Didier (Traicté Contenant Les Secrets Du Premier Livre Sur L'Espée Seule). Trans. Robert Preston Hyatt and Devon Wilson. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2009.
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