Shakespeare's plays and the history of the Hall coincide with the development of the lineage of fencing as a modern Olympic sport. The presentation highlights the Medieval and Renaissance weapons found in Shakespeare's plays and how the audiences would have understood their use. These weapons are the ancestors of modern Olympic sport fencing, and the presentation will take the audience forward from Shakespeare through the Enlightenment to classical and then modern fencing. We will demonstrate the Medieval longsword, arming sword and buckler, and polaxe; the Renaissance rapier; the Enlightenment smallsword; the classical dueling sword; and modern electric foil or sabre.

Fee: $10 for adults, $7 for students