Fortune's Whelp (Fortune's Whelp Series Book 1)

by Benerson Little

  Giving the Point: extending the sword arm without lunging, or recovering from a lunge with the point extended. Known today as point in line.

  Half Circle: in MacNaughton’s day, a term used by some masters for a parry covering the low inside line, corresponding to the modern septime, seventh, seven. This was not a recommended guard position at the time, nor is it now. See low quarte.

  Hanging Guard: a guard position with the hand held at the height of the head, usually to the outside, the point low and inside. Particularly useful against multiple adversaries. Sometimes called the falloon guard (from Walloon).

  Inquartata: a quarter turn to the right (if the fencer is right-handed) while pivoting on the front foot, in order to evade the adversary’s attack and make a counter thrust. Strictly speaking, a tempo action with an evasion. Also known in MacNaughton’s day as quarting and dequarting. Quart and dequart may be used as both noun and verb.

  Line: classically-speaking, the target is composed of four areas or lines: high outside, high inside, low outside, and low inside, all determined by the location of the adversary’s sword. For example, a thrust to the low outside line may still be a thrust to the upper target if the adversary holds his sword high.

  Low Guard: in the French school, a non-traditional guard made by lowering one’s point near the ground. Often the guard was used to induce the adversary to attack, which was then countered by simultaneously parrying with the unarmed hand and thrusting. This guard was also resorted to by fencers with tired arms, and was probably used more often than recommended. This was usually a poor guard to use against a skilled adversary. It was, however, one of the common guards in the Spanish rapier schools. McBane refers to it as the Portuguese guard.

  Low Quarte: a thrust to the low inside line. Also known as quart under the wrist and as a cut [derived from the word quarte] under the wrist. Often used in conjunction with a volt against a quarte thrust. The corresponding parry is the half circle. Known today as a thrust in septime, seventh, or seven.

  Lunge: an attack made by simultaneously or near-simultaneously extending the arm, stepping forward with the front leg, and pushing with the rear foot, which remains in place. Sometimes the actions of the legs only is referred to as a lunge. In MacNaughton’s day, the lunge was usually initiated with the hand, followed immediately by the legs, or was executed simultaneously with arm and legs. The arm was not fully extended prior to the action of the legs, but finished its extension during the lunge, as in the modern fencing schools, but unlike the classical nineteenth and early twentieth century schools which usually demanded a fully extended arm prior to the action of the legs.

  Measure: the distance between two fencing adversaries.

  Opposition: usually a thrust made while “bearing on the adversary’s sword,” but occasionally a thrust in the line of the adversary’s blade, or where it is anticipated it will be. Can be a synonym of covered. In any case, the fencer making a thrust in opposition is less likely to be hit. See covered.

  Opposition of the Hand: to use the unarmed hand to prevent a renewed attack after parrying the adversary’s initial thrust, or to prevent a contre-temps or exchanged thrust during one’s attack. The hand presses against the adversary’s blade, keeping it from one’s body. In other words, the hand provides additional security.

  Parry: a defensive action that, in the case of a thrusting sword, deflects the adversary’s thrust, and in the case of a cutting sword, blocks the adversary’s cut. Parries were usually made with the blade, but in the case of thrusting swords were also often made with the unarmed hand. Also a verb. Also parade, from the French.

  Parade of the Hand: a parry with the unarmed hand. Typically there were three: high inside, low inside, and high outside.

  Passata Soto: a ducking action, often made with the left leg thrust backward and the unarmed hand placed on the ground for support, made in tempo as the adversary attacks. This action drops one’s head and torso below the adversary’s attacking blade. Unless perfectly timed, this can be a dangerous action to the fencer who attempts it. Also known as a night thrust by some masters. In some texts, an attack with a long low lunge beneath the adversary’s blade, with the hand placed on the ground for support, is also considered a passata soto.

  Pink: period term for wounding an adversary with one’s sword.

  Push: period term for an attack, usually made with a lunge. From French pousser, to push.

  Riposte: an attack (thrust) made immediately after parrying the adversary’s attack.

  Seconde: the parry covering the low outside line (although it may cover the low inside as well), also the thrust to the adversary’s outside line beneath his blade. The hand is mostly pronated. Seconde was generally not a recommended guard in the French school, but see low guard. Known today as seconde, second, or two.

  Sixte: a guard and thrust associated with the high outside line, not known by this name in MacNaughton’s day. See tierce.

  Tempo: in the simplest terms, the most favorable time to thrust. Also known as time. See timing.

  Thrust: an attack, counter-attack, or riposte made by extending the arm to hit with the point. Also, any arm action, associated with any footwork, made with the intention of hitting with the point. Also a verb.

  Tierce: the guard or parry covering the high outside line, also the thrust to the adversary’s high outside line. The hand is mostly pronated. Known today as tierce, third, or three. Tierce is a strong position, both in strength of thrust and parry, is less likely to be disarmed by a strong downward beat, and corresponds to the natural outside guard of a cutting sword as well, but it does leave more “light” (opening) to the arm and torso than if the hand is semi-supinated. In general, the half-supinated position, known later as sixte (sixth, six), is preferred today. Known sometimes as carte in tierce in MacNaughton’s day, sixte did have a few advocates, more often as a thrust than as a guard.

  Timing: at its most basic, to thrust at an opportune moment when the adversary is for a moment (a fencing tempo) open and unable to defend. Typically the action most commonly known as timing is made upon the adversary’s step forward as he moves his blade, especially in seeking his adversary’s. In practice, timing is often dangerous because many fencers do not bother to secure the adversary’s blade during the action or otherwise cover themselves, and rely only on an advantage in time. This often results in a contre-temps—that is, a double hit. To be safe, in MacNaughton’s era the unarmed hand was usually used to parry or oppose when timing. Also known as thrusting upon time.

  Traversing: a movement to the right or left away from the fencing line. Circling, more or less. One of its primary purposes was to gain better ground. Otherwise, it was more commonly associated with cutting swords than with thrusting.

  Under Counter: a binding thrust in seconde. Known today in the French school as a bind (liement) from quarte to seconde.

  Volt: a lunge or leap to the left to the outside line, assuming both fencers are right-handed. Typically this was a tempo action, often made with a thrust in seconde or with a low quart/quart under the wrist. Also avolt. Also used as a verb: volting, avolting.

  Glossary

  Backsword: a cutting sword with only the fore edge, and occasionally a few inches of the back edge, sharpened.

  Beaver: a hat, usually an expensive one made from beaver.

  Bite the Bill from the Cull: to “whip the sword from the gentleman’s side.” (Cant)

  Brandy Barrel: a Dutch ship. (Slang)

  Bravo: a killer for hire.

  Bretteur: a bully or brawler with a sword. Someone who picks sword fights. See spadassin.

  Bully Rock: a bravo, a Hector.

  Butter Box: a Dutch ship. (Slang)

  Caroche: a luxurious or well-appointed horse-drawn carriage.

  Cartouche Box: period term for a cartridge box in which musket and pistol cartridges were carried.

  Chase: a ship being chased, also the act of chasing.

  Chase Guns: guns place fore and
aft, to be used in a chase. Typically, there were a pair of chase ports each bow and stern, although some large ships carried more, usually astern. Guns were typically not mounted permanently here, but were moved into place from adjacent broadside ports as necessary.

  Clew: the lower corner of a square sail (a square sail has two clews), and the aft corner of a fore-and-aft sail.

  Clip and Kiss: to hug and kiss; to have sex. (Cant)

  Colichemarde: a smallsword whose blade is broad at the forte for up to a third of the blade’s length, and narrow for the rest of the length.

  Commission, Privateering Commission: legal document authorizing a captain and vessel as a privateer.

  Corsair: a privateer. The usual French term was corsaire. In English, corsair usually referred to the Barbary corsairs.

  Cruiser: a naval man-of-war or privateer cruising for enemy shipping. The definition at times was extended to a pirate ship. Also seeker.

  Cul, Cull, Cully: a man, a fellow, a rogue; someone easily cheated or stolen from. (Cant)

  Cup-Shot: drunk. (Slang)

  Dutch Billy: King William III. (Slang.)

  Dutch Courage: liquor drunk to make men braver in action.

  Flute: a flat-bottomed, beamy, pink-sterned merchant ship, originally Dutch but in use by all European nations.

  Foul: a nautical term meaning entangled, unfavorable, dirty, contrary. In regard to a vessel’s hull, it refers to grass, seaweed, barnacles and other shells growing on the hull over the course of a long voyage, causing the vessel to sail more slowly that it would with a “clean” hull. For example, the term “clean heels” refers to a hull devoid of marine growth, which makes for better speed.

  Frigate: in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, a ship with a frigate hull, in men-of-war up to the fourth rate. A ship built for speed.

  Galley, Galley-Frigate, Merchant-Galley: a frigate-hulled man-of-war or merchantman with sweep ports cut in the side for the use of sweeps for maneuvering in light airs or calms. A naval galley-frigate, with its large crew and number of oars, might be able to make three knots for a short time. Not to be confused with the Mediterranean galley, a war vessel propelled primarily by oars.

  Gans, Ganns: the lips. (Cant)

  Gun: in maritime language, a cannon. Also great gun.

  Hogen Mogen. a Dutchman or Dutch ship. (Slang.)

  In His Cups: drunk. (Slang.)

  Jacobite: a supporter of the exiled James II. More broadly, a supporter of the Stuart claim to the British throne.

  Ketch: a small two-masted vessel, bluff-bowed and sharp-sterned. The mainmast was typically rigged with a long buss course or mainsail, and a topsail; the small mizzen with a lateen and small topsail; and the bowsprit with a small spritsail. A staysail and jib were set between the mainmast and bowsprit. Ancestrally, the foremast had been removed to make room for fishing nets.

  Larboard: period nautical term for port (left), except in the case of conning the helm, in which case the term port was used.

  Letter of Mart, a.k.a. Letter of Marque: a privateering commission for merchantmen. A legal document authorizing a merchant vessel, in the course of its trading, to conduct itself as a privateer. Previous to the late seventeenth century, the term was synonymous with a privateering commission.

  Lillibullero: a musical march dating to the English Civil War. Thomas Wharton wrote lyrics in 1686, satirizing the Irish. The song was popular among those with anti-Irish sentiment during the period in which Fortune’s Whelp is set.

  Lullaby Cheat: a child. (Cant)

  Munns or Muns: the face. (Cant)

  Partridge: small shot fired from great guns or swivels. Partridge was usually composed of musket balls contained in tin or wood cases, or in canvas bags.

  Picaroon: a privateer. From Spanish picarón: a rogue.

  Pink: an English term for a small ship with a ‘pinked’ stern like a flute’s. A small flute.

  Pirate: a ship or person committing or attempting armed robbery on the sea, or on the shore from the sea, for personal gain. A hanging offense.

  Prats, Pratts: the buttocks. (Cant)

  Privateer: a ship commissioned—licensed, that is—to prey on enemy shipping, in return for which a percentage of the plunder was paid to the government. In the eyes of some, a licensed pirate.

  Rapparee: an Irish irregular soldier, also an Irish highwayman. Occasionally both.

  Reformado: a volunteer officer.

  Rencontre: a duel, an engagement, an affray, a fight. In particular, a single combat between two individuals or two ships.

  Round Shot: a cannonball.

  Ruffler: a notorious rogue. (Cant)

  Rum Mort: a pretty woman or pretty wench. (Cant)

  Running Ship, Runner: a merchant ship built for speed, not cargo capacity.

  Seeker: a naval man-of-war or privateer cruising for enemy shipping. The definition at times was extended to a pirate ship. Also cruiser.

  Snilch: to eye or watch. (Cant)

  Spadassin: an assassin armed with a sword. A bully duelist. See bretteur.

  Swivel: a small gun (cannon) mounted on the rails. Usually muzzle-loaded. Breech-loading swivels were commonly known as patereroes, pedreros, chambers, &c.

  Starboard: the nautical term for right (as opposed to left). Used both for designating the right side of a vessel, and also for navigation and direction.

  Tack: to sail a zig-zag pattern against the wind. Also, the larboard or starboard tack the vessel is on when tacking.

  Talley-Man: a money lender. (Slang)

  Thoroughbraces: the springs or shocks of a horse-drawn carriage or stage coach.

  Tilter: a sword.

  Tip the Wink: to give the sign or signal. (Cant)

  Tory: a Royalist supporter of James II. More generally, one who supports the primacy of the royal head of state over Parliament.

  Trainband: militia.

  Whig: an Exclusionist; one who supported excluding James II from the English throne. A member of the political party supporting King William. More generally, one who supports the primacy of Parliament over the royal head of state.

  Witcher Tilter: a silver-hilted sword. (Cant)

  Williamite: a supporter of King William III.

  About The Author

  Benerson Little

  Born in Key West, Florida, Benerson Little grew up variously on all three US coasts. As long as he can remember he has wanted to follow the sea. Following his graduation from Tulane University, he entered the US Navy and served as an officer for eight years, most of them as a Navy SEAL. After leaving the Navy, he worked at first as a Naval Special Warfare analyst, and later for a private intelligence collection and analysis firm.

  Benerson now works as a writer and consultant in several areas, with an emphasis on maritime and naval issues. He is considered a leading expert on piracy past and present, and is a recognized expert on pirate tactics and anti-piracy operations throughout history. His four nonfiction works on piracy include Pirate Hunting: The Fight Against Pirates, Privateers, and Sea Raiders from Antiquity to the Present and The Sea Rover’s Practice: Pirate Tactics and Techniques, 1630–1730.

  He has been featured in two full length television documentaries and several shorter film clips on piracy, has advised on others, and is the historical consultant for the STARZ Black Sails series. He often advises filmmakers, novelists, historians, biographers, genealogists, treasure hunters, journalists, and others.

  In his spare time, Benerson devotes himself to his wife and daughters, teaches modern fencing at the Huntsville Fencing Club, researches historical fencing, writes contemporary and historical novels, and develops proposals for potential television documentaries and series.

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