An Abridgment of the New Broad Sword Exercise

In 1797, W. Pepper of the Notts Yeomanry Cavalry printed the second edition of his Broad Sword instruction manual. Carefully transcribed from the original text by Kirk Lawson, this manual is intended to train Cavalry recruits in the basics of the horse mounted Military Saber or "Broad Sword." Instruction begins unmounted with details of the basic guards and cuts and ends with detailed cut and parry drills to be directed by the Fleugelman. Pepper provisioned his Saber manual with seven line drawing illustrations, providing both internal decoration and visual instruction. These illustrations, restored with digital precision by Kirk Lawson, offer a treasured window into the exciting history of this historic Western Martial Art.