Welcome to the Swashbuckler's Society, a page dedicated to all of those heroes with a sense of style.
While the common perception of the swashbuckler, that of the musketeer or pirate-shirted fop swinging from
chandeliers with their rapier, is certainly a part of the tradition, I would like to include several others
in my definition as well. Swashbuckling isn't just a look, it's a way of life.

Here at the society our aim is to help you, the average guy, become the swashbuckler you always wanted
to be. To that end we will be looking at classic examples of the true swashbuckling style by the
masters in the field, as well as providing a few helpful tips.

A quick look at the OED provides a somewhat disheartening, not to say
disparraging, definition of the swashbuckler. To whit:

swashbuckler swo(hook).SbA:klr. f. swash v. + buckler sb.2; hence lit.
one who makes a noise by striking his own or his opponent's shield with his sword.

a. A swaggering bravo or ruffian; a noisy braggadocio.

The examples cited do nothing to dispel this image:

It is perhaps this last example that we will want to look at in greater detail.
For while it cannot be denied that many with the swashbuckling spirit have gone
slightly astray in the realm of manners and deportment (at their worst being too akin to the
ruffians mentioned above) the true swashbuckling hero is a man of honour, albeit
of an over-the-top and showy variety. Thus he is not the knight of chivalry
with his deep sense of humility...although even the occasional knight has shown
himself to be a swashbuckler at heart.

Masters of the genre

The Swashbuckling philosophy

The Swashbuckling look
Email me at lessingham@geocities.com in the meantime.
Please come back soon and visit me. More should be coming!

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