How foil, epee and sabre developed.

The three weapons at a glance

The rule dates in the last two columns are the FIE's own, from the historical note in its Rules for Competitions (articles i.2 to i.4). Other sources give other years for when each weapon went electric, which are set out on electric scoring.

Foil

British Fencing's history, by the fencing historian Malcolm Fare, places the foil's origin in the danger of the small sword, which was hazardous to practise with even when its tip was buttoned. The flexible foil and its conventions followed: the target was limited to the torso between the neck and the waist, and a rule of right of way was introduced. Fare says that for about 200 years masters taught foil as a refined art, part of a gentleman's education alongside dancing and music.

An article by Fare on an equipment maker's blog, seen only in a search summary, dates the foil conventions to mid-17th-century France and says they were a way to show skilled swordplay safely before the wire mask existed. Olympedia says the foil became a sporting event in the late 19th century, with hits counting only when made with the point on the torso.

The FIE foil rules of 1914

The FIE's historical note (i.2) records that its Foil Rules were adopted on 12 June 1914 by the FIE Committee for Foil in Paris, chaired by General G. Ettore of the Italian federation. The note says they were essentially the rules drawn up by Camille Prevost, President of the Academie d'Armes, and that they conformed to the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat's rules for Les Armes de France, to earlier national rules and to the Franco-Italian rules. Foil today is on foil.

Epee

Fare's history for British Fencing says the epee was developed in France in the 1860s as a reaction against the conventions of foil, with the aim of recreating the conditions of a duel without its fatal consequences. To help judge hits, the pointe d'arret was developed: at first a single point 2 mm long, later a safer triple point. Olympedia describes the epee as descended from duelling weapons, heavier than the foil, and scoring on the whole body.

Fare's article on epee on the maker's blog, seen only in a search summary, cites a book of 1862 by the Baron de Bazancourt as arguing that fencing should represent real fighting as closely as possible. That rests on a summary and is unconfirmed.

The FIE epee rules of 1914

The FIE's historical note (i.3) says the 1914 Epee Rules brought together the epee rules that had grown up from 1892 in France and elsewhere. It lists those of the Societe d'Entrainement a l'Escrime et au Pistolet, Les Armes de France, an International Committee of 1905, the USFSA, the Comite National des Sports, the French Olympic Committee, and the organisers of tournaments at Nice and Ostend. Unlike the foil and sabre entries, the note gives no day for the epee rules. Epee today is on epee.

Sabre

Olympedia traces the sabre to the cavalry sabres of the 18th century, with hits made with the tip or the side of the blade on the target above the hips. Fare's history says sabre comes from military swordsmanship, and that in the late 19th century an Italian master developed a lightweight sporting sabre, which Italian masters had spread to every fencing nation by the early 1900s. Hungary adopted it and became the most successful sabre nation. Fare adds that the whole body was originally the target, and that the FIE adopted the modern target after the First World War.

Italo Santelli and the Hungarian school

Olympedia records that the Italian master Italo Santelli (1866 to 1945), trained at the Scuola Magistrale under Carlo Pessina and Giuseppe Radaelli, was recruited in 1896 to teach sabre in Budapest, and that he is considered responsible for making Hungary the dominant sabre nation. He coached Aladar Gerevich, and won silver in the masters' sabre at the Paris 1900 Games.

Who shaped the Hungarian style is disputed.

• Santelli. Olympedia gives him the credit.
• Laszlo Borsody. Wikipedia's article on Borsody says the modern Hungarian style was modelled on his technique, a rival system to Santelli's. This rests on Wikipedia alone and is unconfirmed.
• An unnamed Italian master. British Fencing's history speaks of an Italian master developing the lightweight sporting sabre in the late 19th century without naming him.

The FIE sabre rules of 1914

The FIE's historical note (i.4) says its Sabre Rules include the essentials of the rules used at the London 1908 and Stockholm 1912 Olympic Games and follow the Ostend and Hungarian rules. They were adopted on 12 June 1914 by the FIE Committee for Sabre in Paris, chaired by Dr Bela Nagy, President of the Hungarian federation. Sabre today is on sabre.

One rule book

The FIE's note (i.1) records that its rules were first codified in 1914 by the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat and Paul Anspach, adopted unanimously for all Olympic events by the International Congress of National Olympic Committees in Paris in June 1914, and issued in 1919 as the Rules for Competitions. How that rule book changed afterwards is on the FIE, 1913, and today's differences between the weapons' equipment are on foil, epee and sabre compared.