L'Art Des Armes Ou l'on donne l'application de la théorie à la pratique de cet Art, avec les principes méthodiques ...

L'Art Des Armes Ou l'on donne l'application de la théorie à la pratique de cet Art, avec les principes méthodiques adoptés dans nos Ecoles d'Armes; Ouvrage aussi utile que nécessaire à la Jeunesse, aux Militaires, et aux personnes dont l'état les oblige de porter l'épée, aussi celles qui veulent faire profession des Armes.
Paris. Herissant. 1766 XXXVIII, 247 p. Leather binding of the epoch, size 12.5 x 20 cm. Scuffed binding, Chenoux-Tournier ex-libris, traces of moisture, foxings, the owner's autograph on the title, a small tear in the flyleaf and the first pages at the bottom of the spine. Two engraved frontispieces, 33 engraved illustrations.

It is one of the most important manuals of the 18th century and a key work in the development of modern fencing. Danet upset a significant part of the French fencing establishment, but his methods were eventually adopted and he was appointed director of the Royal School of Arms.

Basically, Dan adheres to the principles adopted in the Academie des Armes, but his specialty was the "modern" classification of nine methods of injection. He sincerely believed that there were eighteen–no more, no less–"simple" defenses against them. However, on one point he disagrees with some generally accepted ideas. He did not see any tangible difference between what the masters called demi-contres and the actual contres.

This particularly annoyed Monsieur la Bessiere, one of the most prominent members of the corporation, known for being a member of the knightly Order of St. George and inventing wire masks

In the same year, La Bessiere published a pamphlet entitled "Remarks on a Treatise on the Art of Fencing" in defense of the true principles taught by Parisian fencing masters. It was written by a fencing master of the Royal Academy, known as the Society, " in which he spoke with bile about Dan, mocked his classification, "simple" defenses and especially ignorance of the subtleties of demi-contre.

Undeterred by the reception of the first volume, Dane released the second volume the following year with a refutation of criticism, because he could not ignore it, since it came from the academy. In the second volume, he presents his arguments in detail, basing them on a review of the history of fencing, although far from complete. Need I add that he puts the French school much higher than foreign ones.

However, Dane was too intelligent and too well-known a master to suffer for a long time from disagreements with the corporation, which he himself headed.

And indeed, ten years later he becomes director of the Ecole Royale d'Armes. On the occasion of his appointment, the second edition of Dane's work was published, which contains the "approval" of the masters of this school, who highly appreciated Dane's theories and stated that they were accepted at the academy. "For this reason, " it goes on, "we have no better way to express our gratitude than with this approval, without noticing the unfounded criticism that has fallen on them."

Among the signatures placed under the document, there is the name of Teyagori, famous in the history of fencing for being the first teacher of Angelo, as well as the names of famous representatives of his school, such as Chevalier d'Aeon, Marechal de Sax and Chevalier de Saint-Georges, this "wonderful Crichton" of the XVIII century.