Editing Swordsmanship (section)

====Renaissance====
{{further|Italian school of swordsmanship|Spanish school of swordsmanship|European dueling sword}}

[[File:Mühlberg - Säbelmensur.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Sabre]] duel of German students, around 1900, painting by [[Georg Mühlberg]] (1863–1925)]]
The German school of swordsmanship, in general, faced a decline during the Renaissance as the Italian and Spanish schools, which tilted more toward the [[rapier]] and civilian [[duel]]ing, took the forefront. The compendium compiled by [[Paulus Hector Mair]] in the 1540s looks back to the preceding century of work and attempts to reconstruct and preserve a failing art. The treatise by [[Joachim Meyer]], dating to the 1570s and notable for its scientific and complete approach to the style (it is suggested that Meyer's students came to him with less military knowledge and therefore required more basic instruction), is the last major account of the German school, and its context is now almost entirely sportive.

The use of the longsword continued to decline throughout the Renaissance period, marked by the increased effectiveness of the [[arquebus]] and the use of [[pike square]]s as a powerful implement of battle. During this time, civilian swords evolved to [[side-sword]]s, also known as "cut and thrust" swords, and progressed towards the thicker, tapering sword that eventually became the 17th century [[rapier]]. This new weapon was popular for both protection on the street and as a tool in the [[duel]], but found little success on the battlefield. The Italian, French, and Spanish schools embraced this change in civilian armament and developed systems of [[rapier]] fencing. The German school, however, provides little on this weapon and ceases its prevalence thereafter.