20:
335:. Again he was recommended for Chelsea, but preferred another job as a gunner at Fort William. His autobiography mentions that at one point he had the command responsibility equivalent to a Colonel of Artillery, but it is unlikely he ever received an officer's commission. His Colonel made several recommendations for McBane to 'Chailcie College' (
407:
Unlike the majority of his class, he was something of a scholar, for he left behind him a work, “The Expert
Swordman’s Companion,” which contains a number of wise lessons for both the small and back sword; but perhaps the most interesting part of it is the account he gives of his life when serving in
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accused him of absence off guard, and punished him with a beating. With his honour as a soldier at stake, McBane challenged the corporal to a duel. During the fight he gave the corporal a mortal wound, and because duelling was illegal, he had to flee for his life. But such was the code of honour at
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for private instruction in swordsmanship, borrowed a sword, and then fought his "govenor", who beat him, took his sword and pawned it. This did not discourage him, however, and McBane took more lessons in small sword versus broad sword, and a second bout (rematch) ended in McBane's victory, and his
109:'s Regiment, where an old soldier was ordered to take care of Donald and "manage his pay" for him, with the result that Donald saw little of it. When he complained to an officer he was told to fight out the dispute, as was the custom at that time. McBane thereupon paid a
268:. McBane was quick to sense the opportunity of setting up a school for teaching the art of swordsmanship, and he established a good business after beating a score of duels with rival fencing masters, as well as a few murders "tolerated by their officers". He took a
253:. On the way it seems that McBane was seen as something of a liability by his captain who detailed a sergeant and four men to guard him in case he deserted, but the captain had misjudged him since it was the escort and not McBane that deserted.
241:, and then a drink or two re-sealed friendship. At his next school, McBane fell out with his master about his sister, and the usual duel ensued, which he won. He became such a proficient swordsman that he set up his own school at
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and
Marybone Fields, London, where he reportedly fought thirty-seven prizes. Among his opponents were some of the most celebrated swordsmen and fencing masters of the century, such as James Miller, Timothy Buck, and
287:(card tricks) by which they got a lot of money. Mcbane decided to have a share of that gain, and thus, he fought all four of them, one by one. While fighting the last one, who was lefthanded, his opponent took a
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THE Expert Sword-Man's
Companion: Or the True Art of SELF-DEFENCE. WITH An ACCOUNT of the Authors LIFE, and his Transactions during the Wars with France.: To which is Annexed, The ART of GUNNERIE
602:
The Expert Sword-Man's
Companion: Or the True Art of Self-Defence. With an Account of the Authors Life, and his Transactions during the Wars with France. To which is Annexed, the Art of Gunnerie
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By 1692 McBane owned his own sword and practised at the fencing schools, publicly beating the other fencing scholars. Then, on a mission to escort a draft of soldiers bound for
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under the great Duke of
Marlborough. There is a rough quaintness in the style of his narrative that adds flavour to the curious anecdotes of fights in which he was engaged.
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his company was disbanded again so he went home to
Inverness. McBane still did not want to carry on with his apprenticeship, and so with his mother's blessing, twenty
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that lasted until the night, when they agreed to give him a "Brace of Whoors and Two Petty Couns a week". With that and his school, McBane lived very well for that
327:(1709). McBane served in the Royal Regiment till the end of the war in 1712, and was recommended by his Colonel for the Chelsea Hospital). By the time of the
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371:. He said that he did it "at the request of several noblemen and gentlemen". Donald was now 63 and resolved to retire. He died on 12 April 1732.
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383:(1728). The book includes McBane's memoirs as well as his extensive treatise on the art of fencing, and is a major source for the study of
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The
British historian J. D. Aylward called McBane's memoir "possibly, the most ingenuous autobiography in the English language."
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While managing the school, McBane came to know that there was four good swordsmen in the Town that kept all the women,
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264:, he found there eight battalions of English, eight battalions of Dutch and Scots, and eight regiments of horse and
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331:, he was serving as a sergeant in General Honeywood’s Regiment of Dragoons and guarded the Colours at the
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first sword was returned to him. His autobiography mentions that he "then became master of his own pay".
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the time that his captain, and the dying corporal himself, aided his escape with money for a journey to
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154:
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177:, he was discovered by his former Captain, who exchanged McBane for two other men and took him back to
69:. He indulged in some fighting between the clans of Macdonald and Macintosh, who used sword and targe,
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in the muzzle of the guns. When his company was disbanded in 1688, McBane took service in
Colonel
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In 1726, in a duel at
Edinburgh, McBane gave his opponent seven wounds and broke his arm with a
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McBane also worked as a fencing master, and claimed to have participated in nearly one hundred
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579:
545:"Top Must-Read Autobiographies Part II: Expert Sword-man's Companion by Donald McBane (1728)"
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433:
387:. McBane's life and writings are featured in a number of classic works on fencing, including
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master, who is widely regarded as one of the most prolific and finest duelists of all time.
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with the other
British regiments and recovered from his wounds at Brussels. Next year, at
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319:(1701–1714), and taking part in fifteen skirmishes and sixteen battles, including
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and a new suit of clothes, he set out to seek his fortune. He got no further than
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The voyage from Cork to the Netherlands took five weeks, and when he landed at
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138:
619:
Schools and Masters of Fence: From the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century
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174:
130:
54:
23:
Portrait of Donald McBane, a Scottish fencing master, from Donald McBane's
503:"The Expert Swordsman, The True Art of Self Defence, Donald McBane, 1728"
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As a career soldier, he served throughout much of Europe, fighting in
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during the late seventeenth century. In 1687 McBane ran away from his
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The English master of arms from the twelfth to the twentieth century
403:(1901). Hutton describes McBane as a "first class swordsman," and,
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126:
18:
347:
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In 1691, Grant's unit was disbanded, and McBane joined Colonel
578:. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. i-vii.
295:, and fired at him, with one of the bullets going through his
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by mischance. Despite this setback, he marched from there to
153:'s Royal Regiment, and he fought with that regiment at the
85:, who had to oppose the Highland clans fighting for King
605:. Glasgow: James Duncan, and are to be sold at his shop.
339:), something only open to senior non-commissioned or
16:
Scottish swordsman, career soldier and fencing master
149:
was camped. In Brussels, McBane attached himself to
65:spinner to enlisting in the British army under the
350:. He fought as a gladiator at the Bear Gardens in
53:Donald McBane was born in the Highland town of
8:
666:. London: Routledge & Paul. p. 162.
639:. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover. pp. 288–289.
229:. McBane became an assiduous student at a
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434:"Six of the Finest Swordsmen in History"
622:. London: Bell & sons. p. 288.
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532:Expert Swordsmans Companion, page 140
276:among both Swiss and Dutch officers.
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555:from the original on 2 February 2017
513:from the original on 17 August 2023
379:McBane is best known for his book,
34:(1664 – 12 April 1732) was a noted
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317:The War of the Spanish Succession
217:Opening schools for swordsmanship
381:The Expert Sword-Man's Companion
25:The Expert Swordsman's Companion
245:. Then the regiment marched to
101:Fencing lessons and first duels
81:'s Regiment in the pay of King
221:At Glasgow he enlisted in the
1:
299:. The fight then went into a
272:soldier as a servant and got
432:Green, Joseph (2023-03-15).
393:Schools and Masters of Fence
233:(in Dublin) where sword and
93:in what became known as the
636:Sword Through the Centuries
401:The Sword and the Centuries
249:in order to embark for the
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337:The Royal Hospital Chelsea
223:Royal Regiment of Scotland
196:before he enlisted in the
125:, he got carried off from
204:. Shortly afterwards his
616:Castle, Egerton (1892).
198:Earl of Angus's Regiment
660:Aylward, J. D. (1956).
633:Hutton, Alfred (2002).
599:McBane, Donald (1728).
329:Jacobite Rising of 1715
95:Battle of Killiecrankie
414:
385:Scottish swordsmanship
157:in August 1692 in the
83:William III of England
41:, career soldier, and
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574:Kirby, Jared (2017).
507:www.aboutscotland.com
405:
155:Battle of Steenkerque
91:Pass of Killiecrankie
73:, and wooden-handled
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237:often clashed until
225:, then stationed at
549:Out of this Century
395:(1892) and Captain
352:Hockley-in-the-Hole
87:James II of England
67:Duke of Marlborough
438:Historic Mysteries
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179:Fort William
147:British Army
145:, where the
141:and then to
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107:James Forbes
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323:(1704) and
251:Netherlands
161:during the
151:Lord Orkney
646:0486425207
559:22 January
443:2024-07-24
420:References
363:Later life
357:James Figg
325:Malplaquet
167:Royal Scot
139:Maestricht
49:Early life
517:16 August
301:stalemate
291:from his
260:in Dutch
190:shillings
175:Rotterdam
131:Edinburgh
55:Inverness
39:swordsman
677:Category
553:Archived
511:Archived
410:Flanders
369:falchion
321:Blenheim
266:dragoons
243:Limerick
206:corporal
143:Brussels
119:Flanders
111:sergeant
97:(1689).
75:bayonets
36:Scottish
293:cockade
262:Brabant
211:Glasgow
202:pikeman
135:Haveluy
123:Belgium
89:at the
63:tobacco
43:fencing
27:(1728).
643:
582:
375:Legacy
305:winter
297:cravat
289:pistol
283:, and
274:pupils
227:Dublin
348:duels
270:Swiss
258:Baslo
194:Perth
133:) to
127:Leith
61:as a
641:ISBN
580:ISBN
561:2017
519:2023
247:Cork
235:foil
129:(at
399:'s
391:'s
169:he
121:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
