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Company of Masters
The Company of Maisters of the Science of Defence was an organisation formed in England during the reign of Henry VIII to regulate the teaching of the Science of Defence or fencing, using a range of weapons, including the rapier, quarterstaff, and, most notably, the broadsword. The jurisdiction of the organisation is unknown, as few records have survived. There is evidence that it was a London-based Society of fencing masters, with proof of the commission extending to the South West of England.
This school of fencing persisted throughout the 16th century but declined after the end of the Tudor period.
Henry VIII sanctioned the organisation to protect its masters from laws that prohibited the public practice of martial arts. The Liber Albus (Book III, 1180) was the first legal record to ban fencing schools within the City of London, which was extended later by Edward I (1285). The sanction was made as Letters Patent, still preserved in the Public Records Office (C.82/770), Calendar of Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, Vol. XV, No. 95 (Aylward, pp.256):
Ric. Beste, Humphry Bassett, Rob. Polwarth, John Legge, Peter Beste, Philip Williams, Ric. Lord, John Vincent, Nic. de la Haye, Masters of the Science of Defence, and Will Hunt, John Frye, Hen. Whytehead, Gilbert Bekett, Edw. Pynner, Thos. Tourner, Jeffrey Gryffyn, Thos. Hudson, Thos. Tymsey, Hen. Thyklyppes, and John ap. Ryce, provosts of the said science. Commission to enquire and search in all parts of England, Wales, and Ireland for persons being Scholars of ye said Science of Defence, many of whom, regardless of their oathes made to their Masters on first entering to learn the said Science, upon the cross of a sword in remembrance of the Cross whereon Our Lord suffered, have for their own lucre of their unsociable covetous minds, without sufficient licence, resorted to all parts of England, keeping open schools and taking great sums for their labours, and yet have insufficiently instructed their scholars to the great slander of the Masters and Provosts of the Science and of the good and laudable Orders and Rules of the same, and to take any Scholar so misusing himself before the nearest justice of the Peace to be bound over in sufficient sureties not to repeat his offences against his said oathe and the said Orders and Rules or in case of refusal, to be committed to gaol. West. 20 July, 32 Henry VIII. Del. West. 20 July S.B. [1540].
This was a formal Warrant of Inquiry or Commission Letter that licensed the named individuals to establish Fencing Schools, but also granted the powers to hold deviant Fencing masters to account. It served to prevent unlicensed instructors from operating, both as a form of quality assurance and as a monopoly to protect the livelihoods of its members. It also elevated the Science of Defence under the powers of the Crown to establish it as the 'Noble Science' - a term that persisted for centuries, and is still associated with Boxing.
It also regulated the conduct of members to one another, both instructor and student. Like the guilds it resembled, the company certified its members with varying ranks, depending on their level of skill and degree of permission to teach. Beginning students took the title Scholar and were required to hold the rank for no less than seven years before progressing to a higher rank following the passing of a test known as Prize Playing. With proper determination and accumulation of skill, an individual moved to the second rank, Free Scholar. This rank marked noted advancement and skill, and like the previous position, had to be held for at least seven years before further progression. The next rank, Provost, provided the individual with apprenticeship to an instructor with whom they worked closely so as to improve their teaching skills and further their martial abilities. The Provost was not by any means a free teacher, remaining under the guidance and financial constraint, in the form of dues, of his superior. A truly gifted individual may have been raised to the title of Maister working as an independent instructor.
The Company of Maisters of the Science of Defence was governed by four senior Maisters, known as the 'Four Ancient Maisters'. Their agreement between them was determined by Indenture Letters, preserved in the Minute Books of the organisation (Sloane MS. 2530).
Evidence of renewal is missing under Edward VI and Elizabeth I.
Company of Masters
The Company of Maisters of the Science of Defence was an organisation formed in England during the reign of Henry VIII to regulate the teaching of the Science of Defence or fencing, using a range of weapons, including the rapier, quarterstaff, and, most notably, the broadsword. The jurisdiction of the organisation is unknown, as few records have survived. There is evidence that it was a London-based Society of fencing masters, with proof of the commission extending to the South West of England.
This school of fencing persisted throughout the 16th century but declined after the end of the Tudor period.
Henry VIII sanctioned the organisation to protect its masters from laws that prohibited the public practice of martial arts. The Liber Albus (Book III, 1180) was the first legal record to ban fencing schools within the City of London, which was extended later by Edward I (1285). The sanction was made as Letters Patent, still preserved in the Public Records Office (C.82/770), Calendar of Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, Vol. XV, No. 95 (Aylward, pp.256):
Ric. Beste, Humphry Bassett, Rob. Polwarth, John Legge, Peter Beste, Philip Williams, Ric. Lord, John Vincent, Nic. de la Haye, Masters of the Science of Defence, and Will Hunt, John Frye, Hen. Whytehead, Gilbert Bekett, Edw. Pynner, Thos. Tourner, Jeffrey Gryffyn, Thos. Hudson, Thos. Tymsey, Hen. Thyklyppes, and John ap. Ryce, provosts of the said science. Commission to enquire and search in all parts of England, Wales, and Ireland for persons being Scholars of ye said Science of Defence, many of whom, regardless of their oathes made to their Masters on first entering to learn the said Science, upon the cross of a sword in remembrance of the Cross whereon Our Lord suffered, have for their own lucre of their unsociable covetous minds, without sufficient licence, resorted to all parts of England, keeping open schools and taking great sums for their labours, and yet have insufficiently instructed their scholars to the great slander of the Masters and Provosts of the Science and of the good and laudable Orders and Rules of the same, and to take any Scholar so misusing himself before the nearest justice of the Peace to be bound over in sufficient sureties not to repeat his offences against his said oathe and the said Orders and Rules or in case of refusal, to be committed to gaol. West. 20 July, 32 Henry VIII. Del. West. 20 July S.B. [1540].
This was a formal Warrant of Inquiry or Commission Letter that licensed the named individuals to establish Fencing Schools, but also granted the powers to hold deviant Fencing masters to account. It served to prevent unlicensed instructors from operating, both as a form of quality assurance and as a monopoly to protect the livelihoods of its members. It also elevated the Science of Defence under the powers of the Crown to establish it as the 'Noble Science' - a term that persisted for centuries, and is still associated with Boxing.
It also regulated the conduct of members to one another, both instructor and student. Like the guilds it resembled, the company certified its members with varying ranks, depending on their level of skill and degree of permission to teach. Beginning students took the title Scholar and were required to hold the rank for no less than seven years before progressing to a higher rank following the passing of a test known as Prize Playing. With proper determination and accumulation of skill, an individual moved to the second rank, Free Scholar. This rank marked noted advancement and skill, and like the previous position, had to be held for at least seven years before further progression. The next rank, Provost, provided the individual with apprenticeship to an instructor with whom they worked closely so as to improve their teaching skills and further their martial abilities. The Provost was not by any means a free teacher, remaining under the guidance and financial constraint, in the form of dues, of his superior. A truly gifted individual may have been raised to the title of Maister working as an independent instructor.
The Company of Maisters of the Science of Defence was governed by four senior Maisters, known as the 'Four Ancient Maisters'. Their agreement between them was determined by Indenture Letters, preserved in the Minute Books of the organisation (Sloane MS. 2530).
Evidence of renewal is missing under Edward VI and Elizabeth I.