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The day of romance we call Valentine's Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century, but also has origins in the Roman history. There are three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred (ouch), which the Catholic Church admits the holiday might be named after. One legend declares Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. It was at that time Emperor Claudius II deci...

I have written often on how Medieval and Renaissance weapon use was devoid of affectation and artificiality in favor of martial lethality. The authentic sources of combat teachings are only concerned with the pragmatic application of principle and technique whatever the self-defense situation. This is in contrast to the focus on aesthetic performance art and theatricality found in pop culture depictions of historical armed combat as well as so ma...

The Bastard sword always gets attention. The name originates from the French term epee batarde which refers to a hand and a half sword or a longsword. The word Bastard was given to it due to its irregular appearance - the sword's tang and grip were made to be effective with one hand but long enough to accommodate two hands, providing better leverage and more power. Although this made the sword more versatile it also made it difficult to categoriz...