Czech Fencing (part II)

Today we went to Ceske Budejovice. The German name of the city is Budweis, and this is where Budweiser beer originated centuries ago—except that the American Budweiser sued the Czech Budweiser over the trademark and won, which is reminiscent of the news story Tanzania Loses Name To Tanning-Salon Chain from issue 3934 of The Onion except that this one actually happened. The ruling forced Budweiser/Budvar to market itself in the US as Czechvar, which you can find in Trader Joe's and presumably other purveyors of fine intoxicating liquids.

Anyway, in the main square of Budejovice there is a market—I am uncertain whether it is permanent or seasonal—and in the market a booth, and in front of the booth a suit of armor, and in the back of the booth a bunch of swords, among them half a dozen rapiers, one of them a with a really thin blade and light bell guard. The price of the heavier rapiers was CK 3,200 (US$ 139) and the lighter ones CK 1,900 (US$ 82). They seem a little pricey, without considering the complications of flying or shipping them to London (possibly through Spain).

Photos to follow, while I ponder the possibilities.

Czech Fencing (part I)

I am in Czechia with my girlfriend. We are staying between her sister's house and her late mother's old apartment, both in the beautiful medieval town of Cesky Krumlov. While browsing through the bookcase in said apartment, we found a bound collection of old issues of the women's magazine Eva, and in the August 1932 issue of it, an article about fencing, complete with a great picture of the then Czechoslovac National Women's Fencing Champion. Her foil (what else? women's liberation had not yet reached fencing in the 1930s) is really interesting: its bell-guard, seen from behind, seems to be worked in the shape of a flower or sea-shell; it has a french grip wrapped in a leather strip, and a metal loop for the index finger. I will post a translation of the article soon, but the photo will have to wait longer, as I am rather limited in my ability to upload photos from my digital camera to the internet.