Swashbuckling Cinema – Poldark Season 5

Every romantic adventure story should finish with a good sword fight, and Poldark Season 5 takes a valiant stab at such an ending.

Poldark is an historical drama produced by the BBC and airing on PBS Masterpiece Theater, based on the series of books by Winston Graham.

The title character is Captain Ross Poldark, who has returned to his home in Cornwall England after fighting in the American War of Independence. 

The plot of the 5^th and final season involves Poldark defending his friend Ned Despard from accusations of treason, while also turning secret agent to investigate a plot by the French to invade England.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

While the main characters are all fictional, there are some interesting bits of history woven in to the romantic storyline.

One of the main characters in season 5 is Ned Despard, a British soldier who served with Poldark in the American War of Independence and went on to be colonial administrator in British Honduras (now Belize). This character is based on the real Edward Despard (1751-1803), who got in trouble with the British government over his policy in Central America of giving freed slaves the same rights as white settlers. Ned has returned to England to face the protests of the white settlers, and Poldark seeks to help his friend.

And while the character of the French swordsman General Toussaint is fictional, Napoleon really was planning an invasion of England around this time, financed by the sale of Louisiana to the United States. In 1803 Bonaparte amassed his army on the cliffs around Calais with the idea of a flotilla of crafts to transport his army across the channel (this actually included the idea of a fleet of balloons), forcing the British to fortify its coastal defenses.

Poldark Season 5, Episode 2 

“Somebody Must Fight You” 

Episode 2 of Season 5 has Ross and Ned engaged in some fencing practice. There is lots of clashing of blades, high cuts and some slightly unbelievable disarms.

This may be a room meant for fencing, with a rack of swords in the background beneath the window.

LEFT HANDERS

Ned fights left handed, which might be for theatrical purposes to keep both of them facing the camera. A left handed fencer at that time could exist, as demonstrated in the number of period treatise that discuss dealing with left handed fencers.

For instance Angelo’s 1787 book School of Fencing observes “The master should not only use his scholars to take lessons with both hands, but should likewise use them to fence loose, called assaulting: this method would enable them to defend themselves with both hands, and they would never be at a loss against an adversary who might present himself in a different position than their own.”

THE SPADROON

Poldark and Despard take saber guards, their rear hand held behind the waist. They are using similar swords, appearing to be the 1796 infantry officer’s spadroon, with the straight blade, double shell guard and D shaped knucklebow. 

With the 5^th season set around 1803, the sword of choice for British infantry officers would have been the 1796 pattern spadroon (also called a sheering sword). The blade was long and straight, while the double shell guard could be hinged so that it would fold over and lie flat against the side of the body for ease of wearing.

The spadroon was a type of military sword that began it's use around around the late 17th century and ended towards the early part of the 19th century. The spadroon was a fusion of the saber and the smallsword, a weapon delivering both cuts and thrusts.  Critics of the sword say that it did neither very well. The lack of a curve and lightness of the blade made it less efficient for cutting, while the wider blade (compared to the triangular blade of the smallsword, used only for thrusting) could gave a poorly made blade a lack of stiffness for thrusting.

Pattern 1796 Officer's Sword from the Royal Armouries Collection

Not everyone was so critical. There were fencing masters who championed the spadroon. The Scottish Fencing Master Donald McBane (1664-1732) called it an extraordinary weapon.

Charles Roworth, a printer in 18^th and 19^th century London and a member of the Royal Westminster Volunteers, has a section discussing spadroons in his 1798 treatise “The Art of Defence on Foot with the Broad Sword and Sabre”.

An illustration of the spadroon guard, which he notes is the chief defensive position among the French, shows a low hanging guard, with the sword hand in 6^th position, the edge of the blade up and the blade more horizontal.

Although Roworth goes on to suggest this is not the best guard to use.

Roworth adds “The position of the spadroon guard being constrained and weak, should your antagonist make a forcible beat on your blade, he will in all probability disarm you.”

So maybe the disarms weren’t quite so unbelievable, though neither fencer seems to be using the spadroon guard.

In the spadroon guard illustration the rear hand is in the air, much like a smallsword guard. This may also be a French posture, as Roworth describes the left hand should be on the hip.

(A great source for information on the history and use of spadroons is the Academy of Historical Fencing. Their study includes Napoleonic era weapons. You can also check out the facebook group Spadrooners)

There might be good reason for them to primarily use cuts during the fencing. Ross and Ned are practicing, not fighting a deadly duel, and a miss-parried sword thrust would be likelier to injure than a cut from unsharpened blades.

FENCING MASKS

The lack of a fencing mask was not unusual for this time period (though it’s doubtful the fencers would be quite so aggressive). The fencing mask was in existence at this time but was not commonly worn by experienced swordsmen as it demonstrated a lack of skill.

Fencing Master Domenico Angelo’s 1763 treatise “L’ecole des Armes” has an illustration of a mask made of leather or thin metal in the shape of a face with openings for the eyes and mouth.

The development of the wire mask is usually attributed to the French fencing master Texier de la Boëssière (1723-1807), and was displayed in a 1787 painting by Thomas Rowlandson at Angelo’s Academy – note they are being tied on in the back by two ribbons, though the spring clasp had also been designed by this time. Also note that the veteran fencers are without masks, and the waiting fencers are probably inexperienced, necessitating the extra protection.

"Angelo's Fencing Room" 1791 by Thomas Rowlandson

Oddly, Ned places his thumb over the guard while fighting.

POLDARK SEASON 5, EPISODE 8

“A Foolish distraction”

  Here is the final duel between Poldark and General Toussaint. Minor spoilers, but I promise not to tell who wins.

Admittedly, the fight itself is not a hallmark of onscreen sword fights. It takes place at night in a barn, with weird shadowy lighting which might have been an attempt at atmosphere, but mostly just blurs the fight.

 

Much of the fight filmed from the back of one of the combatants with lots of moments of sword pointing at each other.

Poldark fights with the more brutal and direct style of an ex-soldier, while Toussaint is supposed to be the finest swordsman in France. 

Toussaint goads Poldark by constantly switching hands, for which the editing does not pick up too well. 

Poldark momentarily gets the upper hand with grappling and in-fighting, but eventually needs rescuing from an unlikely source. 

Mihai Iliescu is listed as the swordmaster for this episode on IMDB.

POLDARK’S SWORD

The swords used in this scene are more interesting and less recognizable.

Poldark’s sword looks to be a straight bladed spadroon. It has the classic D knucklebow with 2 additional bars. The bars of Poldark’s sword are attached to side rings rather than the solid shell guards. This offers even less hand protection, particularly against thrusts. However, Most swords (besides heavy broadswords and sabers) did not have robust guards during this period.

Poldark’s sword has an ambidextrous hilt rather than the lone side ring or bar to protect the outside of the hand. The lack of the ring or bar on the inside of the hilt would make it more comfortable to wear at the hip when sheathed.

This is an example of an English short saber with a vaguely similar looking design from the George C. Neumann collection at the Valley Forge National Historical Park.

English Short Saber from the George C. Neumann Collection, Valley Forge National Historical Park

TOUSSAINT’S SWORD

This sword is more interesting.

The French used an infantry sword in the 18^th century comparable to the spadroon, referred to as the épee du soldat, where a broadsword blade was fitted to a smallsword hilt.

épee du soldat c. 1750

Toussaint’s sword has an unusual looking side ring.

While this would offer less hand protection, it would make the blade lighter and more nimble for an egotistical swordsman like Toussaint, who would rely on his skill to defend himself. 

Here is an example of an early 18th century French sword with an unusual finger ring on the side of the hilt.

French military sword c. 1750 with finger ring

While it’s difficult to see, there is evidence of Toussaint’s sword being a version of the 5 ball spadroon, so called because the sword design had five spheres on the knucklebow and/or side ring. If you look closely at his sword you can see the balls on the knucklebow, and perhaps on the side ring.

The Poldark series is full of outlandish romantic melodrama, from marriage misunderstandings to star crossed lovers and vengeful villains. But if you like the Masterpiece Theater costume dramas it is well produced and well-acted.

Fighting a Duel in late 19th Century France - Jules Jacob’s 1887 treatise “Le jeu de l’epee”

Title page for "le Jeu de l'Epee" 1887

MONSIEUR JOURDAIN: Well! This Fencing Master seems to get under your skin. I'll soon show you how impertinent you are. (He has the foils brought and gives one to Nicole). There. Demonstration: The line of the body. When your opponent thrusts in quarte, you need only do this, and when they thrust in tierce, you need only do this. That is the way never to be killed, and isn't it fine to be assured of what one does, when fighting against someone? There, thrust at me a little, to see.

NICOLE: Well then, what? (Nicole thrusts, giving him several hits).

MONSIEUR JOURDAIN: Easy! Wait! Oh! Gently! Devil take the hussy!

NICOLE: You told me to thrust.

MONSIEUR JOURDAIN: Yes, but you thrust in tierce, before you thrust in quarte, and you didn't have the patience to let me parry.

From Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Molière (1670)

Oil painting "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme" by Charles Robert Leslie c.1841

Part 1 – The Authors and the Duelists

Dueling in France was on the rise in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Theodore Child, a well-known art critic and journalist residing in Paris wrote the book “The Praise of Paris” published in 1893. He included a chapter called “The Duellists”, where he described the French appetite for dueling.

“It is not to the credit of the French press, but it is a striking sign of the times, that while you seek in vain in the Parisian newspapers for three lines of honest criticism on a new book, you will find columns of letterpress devoted to the daily chronicle of the race-courses and the salles d’armes. Never has the art of fencing been taught in France with more science, and learned with greater avidity, than at the present day; and perhaps never since the times of Richelieu and the Fronde has duelling been more common in France.”

 

"Master, I must duel tomorrow, but I have never fenced. Teach me a secret thrust."
from "Masculinity and Male Codes of Honor in Modern France" by Robert Nye

The Duel in France during the latter period remained unique in that the sword continued to be in common use for the encounters. By the mid-19^th century most other countries usually employed pistols, or the entire practice of dueling had declined. There are several possible reasons for the continuance of the sword in France. The sword remained a badge of honor and the mark of a gentleman. The French preferred the skill involved in fighting with the sword rather than a gun. Perhaps also, as the pistol evolved in to a more accurate and therefor deadly weapon, the sword was preferred as a weapon that defended one’s honor, but did not have to be fatal. First blood was often the end of a duel, and a simple scratch on the arm might suffice to gain satisfaction and demonstrate the expertise with the weapon.

A Duel from Harper's Weekly 1875

As Mark Twain noted in his essay on dueling:

“This pastime is as common in Austria to-day as it is in France. But with this difference--that here in the Austrian states the duel is dangerous, while in France it is not. Here it is tragedy, in France it is comedy; here it is a solemnity, there it is monkeyshines; here the duelist risks his life, there he does not even risk his shirt. Here he fights with pistol or saber, in France with a hairpin--a blunt one. Here the desperately wounded man tries to walk to the hospital; there they paint the scratch so that they can find it again, lay the sufferer on a stretcher, and conduct him off the field with a band of music.”
-From  "Dueling," in Europe and Elsewhere by Mark Twain

Twain perhaps exaggerates the harmlessness of the duel in France. Serious injuries were recorded, such as in the 1886 duel between author Robert Caze and critic Charles Vignier. The inexperienced Caze ran on to Vignier’s blade. Caze was pierced through the liver, and died 6 weeks later.

The popularity of fencing in 19^th century France rose and fell throughout the era. Following the Revolution, aristocratic pursuits, fencing included, were denounced by the French people. But after the disastrous Franco-Prussian war where France suffered humiliating defeats and loss of property, the people of France began to search for ways to reassert their honor and masculinity. Fencing and dueling helped to fill this desire. The sword had always been a symbol of honor and self-respect, teaching courage and manners. Men were eager to prove their bravery through the duel.

According to Robert Nye in his book "Masculinity and Male Codes of Honor in Modern France", there was a new demand for fencing salles and masters, seen both as a source of education and training for the duel.

The foil had been considered the training sword for the duel, but academic rules began to create a system based more on the elegant display of skill by restricting the target area and emphasizing form and etiquette. Some fencing masters decided to teach a more practical system for combat. This theory was featured by the fencing master Jules Jacob, who suggested there were two styles of fencing – the foil and the dueling sword, one for the fencing room and one for the outdoors where duels were fought. This was controversial at the time, the new method being perceived as ungentlemanly and crude.

The Authors: Jules Jacob & Emile Andre 

Jules Jacob

Jules Jacob (1842-1893) was a noted French master of arms and one of the foremost fencing masters to introduce this new system. He began his career as an assistant to Hippolyte Gatechair, a French fencing master and first president of the Academy of Arms in Paris (formed in 1886) who taught lessons in the dueling sword known as the ‘widow’s lesson’. Jacob founded a salle in the Faubourg Montmartre which attracted, among other amateurs, some of the most notorious political writers of his time. Later, he became a professor at the l'Ecole d'escrime française, rue Saint-Marc, where he taught dueling sword and foil. With the increase in the popularity of dueling his method was recognized for departing from sporting practices of the “jeu de fleuret”, to become a method applicable in the field or “jeu de terrain”. This caused rancorous debate among traditional foilists. Nevertheless, his students were known for their successful duels, and it was rumored that Jacob knew several botte secreta, or secret thrusts.

  

Emile Andre (1859-1943) was co-author of “le jeu de l’epee” with Jacob. He was a sports journalist and author of numerous books on fencing and other martial arts, including “The Tricks of the Duel for epee, pistol and saber” and “The art of defending on the street with or without arms”. He was one of the founders of the magazine "L'Escrime Francaise" and an editor of the newspaper “Le Voltaire”. Besides fencing, he practiced cane, savate and stick fighting.

The Duelists: Arthur Ranc, Paul de Cassagnac and Anatole de la Forge

  

The three men who endorsed the book in the preface were all prominent fin de siècle French journalists, politicians and (because of the two professions) active duelists. They praised Jacob for his method as a useful science for the duel.

Arthur Ranc

Caricature of Arthur Ranc published in
 "Le Trombinoscope de Touchatout" in 1873

Arthur Ranc (1831-1908) was a politician and writer with an education in law, generally supporting the leftwing anti-imperialist groups in France. He was arrested several times for conspiracy, and at one time was condemned to death.

He fought at the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian war in 1870-71 and escaped the city in a balloon when Prussian forces captured the city.

An active contributor to the magazine La Republique francaise (a daily French newspaper), Ranc took part in the Dreyfus affair (a political scandal involving the French Republic from about 1894-1906), convinced of the innocence of Captain Dreyfuss.

 In the 1898 Picquart-Henry duel we was second to Colonel Picquart. In 1873 he fought a duel with Paul Cassagnac, and acted as a second to Georges Clemenceau. 

In addition to his purely political writings, Arthur Ranc published political novels.

In the preface Ranc begins by citing the example of a classic foilist against one of Jacob’s students. First they fenced traditional foil, where the foilist was far superior. Then he describes the match with the dueling sword.

“We started on guard. From the first engagement, the foil fencer was disoriented by attacks on the arm, leg, and head. He was not used to protecting these parts of the body; he did not think about it, and was touched five or six times in a row, before having succeeded in placing a button.”

He concludes that when fencers fight duels contesting like a foilist they were invariably beaten.

He cites some of the issues with traditional foil training used in a duel. An inexperienced swordsman may attack in any unexpected line by closing his eyes, and under these conditions there is no certainty in avoiding the attack. And even if a quick attack on your part works, if your opponent is not killed you will be unable to avoid a riposte. Ranc suggests that this game is nothing new and was known by the duelists of old.

Ranc concludes with this thought: “M. d'Alembert often said to me: ‘I strike at the wrist and riposte to the body.’ In one sentence it is the method of the field.”

Paul de Cassagnac

  Paul de Cassagnac (1842-1904) was a political journalist, a Bonapartist and a French duelist. As a foe of the Republic, he popularized the pejorative nickname La Gueuse (perhaps meaning a beggar or prostitute), referring to the supporters of the Republic. During his youth, de Cassagnac studied in Foix and Perpignan before going to Toulouse to study law. Attracted to journalism, he was employed at several newspapers and became involved in politics, which resulted in a number of duels.

Caricature of Paul de Cassagnac published in
 "Les Hommes d'aujourd'hui" 1878

One controversy earned him a duel in September 1868 against Prosper-Olivier Lissagaray, editor of The Future. Lissagaray received several wounds that incapacitated him for a month. Once recovered, he sent his witnesses back to Cassagnac to resume the affair. Cassaganac replied "No sir, I could consent to be your adversary, I hate to become your pork-butcher ..."

Though dueling in France was technically outlawed, the punishment if caught was generally lenient. For this duel, Cassagnac was sentenced to 6 days in prison and the 4 witnesses to a 50 francs fine.

He also dueled with another of Jacob’s supporters in the preface of the book, Arthur Ranc, in 1873 for their opposing political views.

He fought in the War of 1870 (Franco-Prussian War) and was taken prisoner after the battle of Sedan. Though supportive of the army and considered an anti-semite, during the Dreyfus affair he expressed doubts about the guilt of Captain Dreyfus.

In the preface de Cassagnac says of fencing that it has always consisted of first, not being touched, and then trying to touch. He prefers this teaching to the “purely material, physical, and almost beastly kind where we break foils right and wrong, mechanically and without realizing, most of the time, what we do!...What, then, was not my joy in finding…that classical, simple school, giving nothing to the unforeseen, the enemy of all fantasy, and which resolutely sacrificed the ambition of the touch of a button to the security of the parry.”

De Cassagnac says that the duel is a serious matter and it is important to know how to fight a duel. He adds that “Every father must henceforth put the sword in his son's hand, if only with that ulterior motive that the young man becomes a strong one, and he will be left alone.”

He complains of the complexity of fencing, and says “It is true that for a man who has never touched a sword, you, or any teacher, have only one lesson to teach him, one that allows him to get away with it in the best possible way. And that your responsibility would be terrible, if you gave him other counsel than that of extreme prudence.”

Anatole de La Forge

Anatole de La Forge (1820-1892) was a journalist, author and French politician. He began his career as a diplomat in Madrid. He left this position in 1848 to become a political journalist and editor of Le Siecle, a magazine favoring Republican ideals. During the War of 1870 he became a prefect of the National Defense, earning the name "defender of Saint-Quentin" for helping to repulse a column of Prussian soldiers who came to invade and occupy the city. On September 14, 1870, he was appointed Prefect of the Aisne, and in January 1871 prefect of the Basses-Pyrénées. In February 1871 he returned to journalism. De la Forge was a member of the Paris Seine from 1881 to 1889, where he was Deputy Speaker of the House.

Caricature of Anatole de la Forge published
in "Les Hommes d'aujourd'hui"

In his preface, de la Forge quotes Molière “The science of arms,” he says, “consists of giving and never receiving.” He says that having given this precept of Molière, Jacob’s students follow the formula.

De la Forge complains that fencing has become a business, and did not teach the serious encounter.

“Those who have learned to handle a sword do not forget that fencing is more than a simulacrum, more than recreation for the idlers of the salle.”

He congratulates Jacob on his method and his book, and considers, without too much paradox, that Jacob’s salle was the hall for the assembly of perpetual peace.

Next: PART II – Le Jeu de l’epee and The Code of Duelling