"Useful, helpful, absorbing, entertaining. Whether you are interested in weaponry or, like me, researching details for a novel, this is the book for you." Helen Hollick, Amazon customer.


Your search for a book that will feed your passion for and deepen your knowledge of swordsmanship ends here.


Guy Windsor's Swordfighting offers insight into this magnificent historical European martial art: you will find answers to your burning questions about swordsmanship, its theory and practice.


This carefully crafted book provides essential information on diverse topics with piercing clarity.


"Whether you are a writer or game-maker seeking the kind of information I sought while writing The Baroque Cycle, or just a general reader with an interest in the arts to which Guy Windsor has dedicated his career, you should find much that is rewarding in these pages." From the foreword by Neal Stephenson, New York Times bestselling and multi-award-winning author.


Made up of a selection of Guy's essays and articles, with a great deal of brand new material, this engaging and revealing book makes this complex subject accessible, enabling you to deep-dive into -


Benefits of training

Types of weapons

Sword fighting principles

Historical accuracy





If you are an actor, writer or games designer creating or writing fight scenes, this book provides cutting-edge research on our European martial arts heritage. You will also discover the dos and don'ts of producing a stunningly realistic sword fight.


Swordfighting is not a training manual. For technical instruction on specific swordsmanship styles, you should buy The Medieval Longsword and The Duellist's Companion.