Humankind began using swords primarily for hunting and self-defence more than 5000 years ago. The first weapons that can be described as “swords” date to around 3300 BC. They have been found in Arslantepe, Turkey, are made from arsenical bronze, and are about 60 cm long. Some of them are inlaid with silver.

The earliest depiction of swordplay is a relief in the temple of Medinat Habu, in Egypt, built by Ramses III around 1190 BC. This relief must depict a practice bout or match, as judges are watching, the sword points are covered and the swordsmen are parrying with shields strapped to their left arms and are wearing masks. The relief reflects the origins of fencing and establishes a starting point from which fencing could evolve.

Over the following centuries, swordsmanship in single combat and war continued to grow in popularity. It was practiced widely by the ancient Persians, Babylonians, Germanic tribes, Greeks, and Romans. This popularity would eventually lead to sword-fighting being spread across the globe.

Romans (753 BC – AD 500) began a tradition of gladiator fighting and made a short sword called the Gladius, perfect for close quarters, one on one combat. The Romans brought sword combat to a highly systematic art that was taught to both their legions and their gladiators. Gladiators were trained in schools (ludi) by professional instructors (doctores). Beginners practiced with a wooden sword. More-advanced training took place with weapons that were somewhat heavier than those used in actual combat.

From the time of the fall of Rome through the Middle Ages (500-1500), the practice of sword fighting continued unabated, although sword training became less uniform and began to reflect the ideas of the individual masters-at-arms.

In the Middle Ages schools of sword fighting developed a somewhat unsavoury quality, attracting criminals from the society who wanted to learn the skilled use of weapons. Many communities dealt with this problem by outlawing fencing schools within their boundaries. Teaching sword-related skills condemned by edicts and faced with the threat of swift justice. Despite such laws, schools flourished.

Prior to the 15th century, swordsmanship was indispensable for armies. With the advent of firearms, the military importance of swordsmanship rapidly diminished. During the 15th century, swordplay was able to be revived as a hobby for the nobles.

Despite firearms, limited use of swords continued in the military. The last prominent battlefield sword to be used was the backsword. Although it was not a new invention, it managed to outlast other forms of war swords, being used by cavalry units and officers.  Backswords were often the secondary weapons of European cavalrymen.

By the 15th century, guilds of fencing masters had been formed throughout Europe, the most notable of which was the Marxbrüder (the Association of St. Marcus of Löwenberg) in Germany.

Early fencing methods as taught by the guilds were somewhat rough-and-tumble and included wrestling moves. The guilds jealously guarded their secret moves so that they could make use of the unexpected to defeat an enemy.

Fencing was first supported in England by Henry VIII, who, sometime before 1540, granted letters patent to several fencing masters that allowed them to teach there. The early English style of fighting with a cutting sword and a buckler (a small shield worn on the free arm) ultimately gave way to the continental European rapier combat.

The German school of swordsmanship, in general, faced a decline during the Renaissance (15th and 16th centuries) as the Italian and Spanish schools, which tilted more toward the rapier and civilian duelling, took the forefront. 

The first known fencing manual was published in 1471 by the Spaniard Sierge de Valera. The first real fencing techniques were developed in Spain around this time. The publication of fencing guides made it much easier for the sport to spread rapidly all across Europe and gain popularity. 

The Italians discovered the effectiveness of the dexterous use of the point rather than the edge of the sword. By the end of the 16th century, their lighter weapon, the rapier, and a simple, nimble, and controlled fencing style, emphasising skill and speed rather than force, had spread throughout Europe. Most of the wrestling tricks were abandoned, the lunge was developed and adopted, and fencing became established as an art.

The mechanics of modern fencing originated in the 18th century in an Italian school of fencing of the Renaissance, and under their influence, were improved by the French school of fencing. The Spanish school of fencing stagnated and was replaced by the Italian and French schools.

The need to train swordsmen for combat in a nonlethal manner led fencing and swordsmanship to include a sport aspect from its beginnings, from before the mediaeval tournament right up to the modern age.

The shift towards fencing as a sport rather than as military training happened from the mid-18th century, and was led by Domenico Angelo, who established a fencing academy, Angelo’s School of Arms, in Carlisle House, Soho, London in 1763. There, he taught the aristocracy the fashionable art of swordsmanship. His school was run by three generations of his family and dominated the art of European fencing for almost a century.

He established the essential rules of posture and footwork that still govern modern sport fencing. Although he intended to prepare his students for real combat, he was the first fencing master to emphasise the health and sporting benefits of fencing more than its use as a killing art, particularly in his influential book L’École des Armes (The School of Fencing), published in 1763.

As fencing progressed, the combat aspect slowly faded until only the rules of the sport remained. While the fencing taught in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was intended to serve both for competition and the duel, the type of fencing taught in a modern sport fencing salle is intended only to train the student to compete in the most effective manner within the rules of the sport.