Sword and Knife fighting

[Grumpa]

Some years ago, a friend gave me a copy (off the internet) of a treatise on sword and knife fighting, that was written by an old Scottish Jacobite warrior who had survived many life and death struggles during the Jacobite Risings. It was a straightforward ruthless account of a dirty, messy, necessary business.

Unfortunately, I cannot find it, nor have I had any luck googling the subject. Neither I, nor my friend, recall the man's name.

Can anyone help?

 

[TJK]

Grump:

Try this site
http://www.freelanceacademypress.com

Rio

 

[Grumpa]

Thanks, but I looked, and it wasn't there. The original was a short treatise, about like a pamphlet.

 

[Elnathan]

It sounds like you are talking about Donald McBane, but he wasn't a Jacobite - fought against them , actually - just a mercenary and general all-round ruffian.
http://www.aboutscotland.com/theroyalscots/histmcbane.html

 

[Grumpa]

That's the man! I had an excerpt from his account, dealing with the use of weapons in combat, but I recall it alluded to Killiecrankie. I may have wrongly assumed Jacobite sympathies, or merely misremembered it.

The link you gave doesn't include the passages I recall, but now I have an identity to search specifically.

Thank you, Elnathan. My time on this Forum is always rewarding. :hatsoff:
Richard

 

[MacRob46]

I am familiar with MacBane. Supposedly he jumped across an 18 foot chasm to escape his Jacobite pursuers after the Battle of Killiecrankie. MacBane was quite a guy, surviving serious burns, which he describes in some detail, serving in Europe and periodically besting other swordsmen in duels.

If you would like to get a paper copy of MacBane's biography as well as his manual of swordsmanship then look for a copy of Highland Swordsmanship - Techniques of the Scottish Swordmasters compiled my Mark Rector. It is all in there. You can probably find it on Amazon or from Unicorn, Ltd.

If you have an interest in finding out more about Scottish swordsmanship then I suggest you look at two books by Christopher Scott Thompson -Highland Martial Cutlture and Highland Broadsword. I have read them all and found them highly instructive in the history and use of the sword. They should also be available from the two sources listed above.