Filter:
The Cornish-men they are stronge, hardye and nymble, so are their exercises violent, two especially, Wrastling and Hurling, sharpe and seuere actiuties; and in neither of theis doth any Countrye exceede or equall them. The firste is violent, but the seconde is daungerous: The firste is acted in two sortes, by Holdster (as they called it) […]
Portrait of Abraham Cann, whole length, standing outdoors, directed slightly to left, making wrestling moves; wearing half-open jacket fastened with strings, breeches and stockings; top hat lying on the ground at his foot at left. Lithograph Printed by: Thomas Bayly Published by: J Penny Published by: John Dickinson – https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1868-0612-1077 Inscription content: Lettered below image with the […]
An etching held at the British Museum (id: 1849,0210.107): Two young man playing fencing; illustration to ‘The Sporting Magazine’ vol.35. 1810. Etching and engraving © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.
An etching found in the British Museum (id: 1873,1108.218): Village scene, with two men standing on a square at centre, wrestling with their right arms, keeping their left arms behind their backs, surrounded by spectators; three men and a dog seated on the ground in foreground at left, next to a barrel and basket, and […]
Lithograph in the British Museum (1943,0410.2111), by Maxim Gauci: Portrait of James Polkinhorn; whole length, standing in three-quarter profile to right, leaning slightly forward, with arms folded, his left foot placed in front, wearing short jacket fastened with cord; impression had been folded for posting. 1826 Lithograph on chine collé © The Trustees of the […]
Although listed variously as ‘A Cornish wrestling match’, ‘Two Cornish men wrestling’ et al., this artefact produced by Cruikshank clearly depicts Moor-men (wrestlers from Dartmoor) who were known to wear Red/Green and Black Cockerels/Lions on their backs*. The pictures also show wrestlers wearing skillibegs (‘shin-padding’) and shoes, distinctive equipment of the Devon style. Credit to […]
A copy of the August 26th 1827 edition of Pierce Egan’s “Life in London and Sporting Guide”, with several vignettes of sporting activities as the headings to various news items (1827). Woodcut Content: WRESTLING. The feats of Cann, Polkinhorne, Copp, Gaffney, and the whole of the Wrestlers faithfully recorded. “Now clear the Ring: for, hand […]
Swetnam was a prominent Fencing Master from Bristol, who was The Master of Defence in Plymouth for many years. This is core material within the DWS. Full modernised version by the DWS, currently being prepared. THE SCHOOLE OF THE NOBLE And Worthy Science of Defence. Being the first of any English-mans invention, which professed the […]
The Harleian Manuscript (MS.3542) Also known by the names ‘Harley’, ‘Man yt wol’. Until 17 May 1715 when the Harleian 3542 Manuscript came into the hands of the owner (from whom it now takes its name), the manuscript was in the possession of clerics around Honiton. The manuscript, dated to around 1440-1450, was therefore around […]
John Carey’s fencing manuscript (Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 5540, ff.122-123) is a fascinating window into the kinds of practice which was taking place in England at the end of the 17th century, around Bristol in the South West of England. Despite its potential importance, “It has never been printed…”, commented Aylward (156, 110), “…and it […]