I am delighted to announce that Henry Sainct Didier's beautiful and comprehensive treatise from 1573, Traicté contenant les secrets du premier livre sur l'éspée seule (Treatise containing the secrets of the first book on the sword alone), is ready for you to download in full colour (at 670mb). The book is lavishly illustrated with 64 woodcuts showing sword techniques, being demonstrated by a Lieutenant and a Prevost. This is the earliest known treatise printed in French, and it is exceptionally rare: there are only 11 genuine copies known. Please click on the link below to get your copy.
You are welcome to the RAW image files too (at about 25mb per image), just contact me and I’ll arrange to share them with you. The book is free, but you are welcome to drop some money into the (virtual) tin; once the book has raised enough money to pay for production costs, we will gladly produce an affordable printed facsimile. Please note that this book is in French!
You can also get a translation into English by Chris Slee from Amazon. (I haven't read it, but I've heard good things.)
