Reclaiming the Blade

The documentary takes up the sword itself. Medieval and Renaissance blades came from the hands of master artisans. They were complex to make, but had a single purpose. The film looks at the knowledge behind the object. The Renaissance martial arts that brought the sword into being were long forgotten. The masters of that time left what they knew in their manuscripts. Today there is an effort to bring that knowledge back from those manuscripts. The account follows both the effort and the history of swordsmanship. John Rhys-Davies, Viggo Mortensen and Karl Urban appear in the film. Bob Anderson is in it as well. Daniel McNicoll’s American documentary, ninety minutes long, was completed in 2009.