| This thesis is an investigation of the civilianization of the sword, the development of the side sword, and of the rapier. It argues that the rapier's development, contrary to previous historians' interpretations, was not a result of military factors but of the new honor code and rules of courtesy which came out of Renaissance Italy during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, and that it was the very first civilian weapon made for use against other civilians. Further, it analyzes the rise of the Masters of Defence of London in the context of the rapid population growth, the new honor code, and the introduction of the rapier. It examines the rapier's role in class distinctions and the conflict that it created among the various fencing masters of the time due to its role as a civilian weapon explicitly for killing other men in civil society. |
