It’s the most wonderful time of the year — Cloaktober! This is the Academie’s annual tradition in which we explore the use of the cloak or cape with the sword. Both our rapier class and our smallsword/dueling sword class will practice and play with the cloak as a defensive arm.
But why cloak?
The cloak was popular among fencing masters for two primary reasons: local laws and convenience. Or, as Alfonso Falloppia (1584) put it, “you can employ the cape… when you cannot carry a dagger” or when “you are attacked by surprise” as it “is easier to wrap your cape than put your hand to your dagger.”
The first is some cities made carrying daggers illegal. Either specific types of daggers were illegal or carrying a dagger along with a sword was illegal. The thought being if you were carrying just a sword, that was defense, fashion, and symbol of status, but if you were carrying sword and dagger you were clearly looking for trouble.
However, the cloak was never prohibited. It was the equivalent of a hoodie or winter coat. It kept it’s wearer warm and dry, so you’d always have it on you. Banning cloak would be like Boston banning wearing a leather jacket. It’s silly. So you would always have your cloak on you, making it more readily available compared to a dagger or buckler.
Because of this, it was used a lot — at least, a lot more than we probably think when we look at fencing in HEMA and the SCA. Diogo Gomes de Figueyredo (1628) wrote that sword and cloak was the “most frequently encountered arms” in duels, adding that sword and cloak “go quite well together.”
He also added, amusingly:
“It’s no good to leap into a fight with the cape just sitting on your shoulders, and it’s just as bad (and not at all graceful) to throw it aside entirely. So, to avoid the embarrassment of keeping the cape on the shoulders, and to prevent the opposite embarrassment of throwing it aside, the Diestro should avail themselves of the perfect Skill to guide and smooth the cape over the left arm…”
Cloak was popular with rapier but slowly falls out of common use over time. We do see examples of cloak or coat being used along the dueling sword and smallsword, however; it just doesn’t seem to be as commonplace.
So this month, we’ll be looking at how we can defend ourselves with the cloak. We’ll start off with using the cloak passively as backup and then look at using the item as our main defensive tool, and some specialty plays.
Happy Swording and Happy Cloaktober!
—Justin
Head Coach | Instructor at Arms
Boston Academie d’Armes
(he/him)
