On 21 April 1578, large crowds of men and women flocked to the Bull Inn, one of London’s most popular inn playhouses. Those in attendance, however, were not there to see actors strut upon the stage, but rather to watch skilled swordsmen prove their prowess with weapons in an event known as a ‘prize’.

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Upon the scaffold stood two men. Both were expert fencers with years of experience – capable of delivering dexterous strikes and parrying or deflecting each other’s blows – and armed with large two-handed swords.

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