Bref Instructions vpõ My Pradoxes of Defence (Sloane MS No.376)

Bref Instructions vpõ My Pradoxes of Defence
Sloane MS No.376, British Library London, United Kingdom
ff 32v - 33r
Hagedorn Leng —
Wierschin — Hils —
Type	Fencing manual
Date	ca. 1605
Place of origin	London, England
Language(s)	English
Author(s)	George Silver
Dedicated to	Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Material	Paper
Size	34 folia
Format	Double-sided
Treatise scans	B&W facsimile

Bref Instructions vpõ My Pradoxes of Defence ("Brief Instructions upon my Paradoxes of Defense", Sloane MS No.376) is an English fencing manual written in ca. 1605 by George Silver. The original currently rests in the holdings of the British Library in London, United Kingdom. This is the second volume of Silver's work, and seeks to elucidate the correct principles of fencing (in contrast to his Paradoxes of Defence, which primarily seeks to highlight the problems inherent in all other contemporary styles). Unfortunately and for unknown reasons, this treatise was never published in Silver's lifetime and was only brought to light in the 1898 reprinting of his works by Cyril G. R. Matthey.

Contents

As this manuscript is not currently available for direct study and Matthey's edition does not give folio information, this table of contents cannot be completed at this time.

	Admonitions to the Gentlemen and Brave Gallants of Great Britain against Quarrels and Brawls
	The true handling of all Manner of Weapons
	General Rules to be Observed for Weapons Usage
	Declaration of 4 General Fights
	Of the short single sword fight against the like weapon
	Of Diverse Advantages that you may take by Striking from your Ward
	The manner of certain grips & closes
	Of the short sword & dagger fight against the like weapon
	Of the short sword & dagger fight against the long sword & dagger
	Of the sword & buckler fight
	Of the two hand sword fight against the like weapon
	Of the Short Staff Fight
	Of the Short Staff Fight against the Long Staff
	Of the Fight of the Forest Bill against the like Weapon
	Of the Fight of the Morris Pike against the like Weapon
	Of the Single Dagger Fight against the like Weapon

Additional Resources

• di Grasso, Giacomo; Saviolo, Vincentio; Silver, George. Three Elizabethan Fencing Manuals. Ed. James Louis Jackson. Scholars Facsimilies & Reprint, 1972. ISBN 978-0820111070
• Silver, George. The Works of George Silver. Ed. Cyril G. R. Matthey. London: George Bell and Sons, 1898.
• Wagner, Paul. Master Of Defence: The Works of George Silver. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1581607239

Copyright and License Summary

For further information, including transcription and translation notes, see the discussion page.

Work	Author(s)	Source	License
Images
Transcription	Jonathan Miller	Index:Bref Instructions vpõ My Pradoxes of Defence (Sloane MS No.376)