Martial Arts Of The World - Webs
Martial Arts Of The World - Webs Martial Arts Of The World - Webs
148 Gongfu Although providing martial training for use outside the arena was not the primary function of the lanistae (trainers of gladiators), it did serve as a secondary source of income. The techniques that worked so well in the bloody arenas were obviously also useful on the street. Gladiatorial combat was an element of the paganism that ruled Roman society until the conversion of the emperor Constantine to Christianity in the fourth century. Rome was a polytheistic society, and the temples of the deities and demigods from dozens of nations all vied for attention in the capital city. Gladiatorial events were often part of pagan religious festivals. Also, despite the fact that Romans prided themselves on their society of law, the idea of the supremacy of the state, including the state-supported cults, was paramount. The individual, along with the value of individual life, was subordinated to the empire. For a person to die in front of adoring crowds was thought to be an honor, especially if the emperor, often thought to be a deity himself, was present in the arena. After Constantine made Christianity the official state religion, the practice of paganism, in any form, was discouraged. The gladiatorial games, therefore, lost their official patronage. Also, the Judeo-Christian emphasis on the individual and the sanctity of life was at odds with the violence and casual disregard for humanity often found in the arena. As Christianity, with this ethos, spread throughout the empire, the spectacle of gladiatorial combat became a symbol less of bravery than of bloodlust. The Western Empire fell in A.D. 476, and while the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire lasted for a thousand more years, this date marked the end of the Roman world for what would later be known as Western Europe. The upheavals and barbarian incursions that accompanied the end of the Roman Empire sealed the end of the gladiators. Finally, the gladiators found themselves the victims of changing social conditions. Gene Tausk See also Europe; Pankration; Swordsmanship, European Medieval; Wrestling and Grappling: Europe References Burton, Richard F. 1987. The Book of the Sword. London: Dover. Cary, M., and H. H. Scullard. 1975. A History of Rome. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Dudley, D. R. 1980. Roman Society. London: Pelican. Grant, Michael. 1967. Gladiators. New York: Barnes & Noble. Gongfu See Kung Fu/Gung Fu/Gongfu
Gunfighters Gunfighters, also known as gunslingers, shootists, pistoleers, or simply gunmen, were a fixture of the nineteenth-century American West. The term is applied generally to individuals who were celebrated for their proficiency with handguns and their willingness to use them in deadly confrontations. Because fights between men armed with “six-shooters” were common on the frontier, the gunfighter is often viewed as the prototypical westerner. Yet not all westerners used (or even carried) guns, and only a fraction used them to settle disagreements. The term is therefore best applied more narrowly to those who employed guns in a regular, professional capacity. This would exclude mere hotheads armed with pistols and would include lawmen, professional criminals, and quasi-legal figures like private-army “regulators” and bounty hunters. The word quasi-legal suggests an important proviso. During the gunfighter’s heyday—roughly the three decades following the Civil War—social order on the frontier was shaky at best. With centers of legal authority widely dispersed, a large vagrant population, and suspected crimes often punished by impromptu hangings, there was truth to the literary image of the Wild West. The cattle culture in particular precipitated violence, both on the range, where rustlers battled regulators, and at the railheads, where inebriated cowboys sometimes “shot up the town.” In this milieu, a gunman’s ability to keep order was often more respected than legal niceties; hence, some of the most famous gunfighters of western legend were ambiguous characters like the hired gun William (Billy the Kid) Bonney (1859–1881) and the gambling “civilizer” James Butler (Wild Bill) Hickock (1837–1876). The intermediary status of such historical characters is reflected in the movies’ fascination with the “good bad man”—a central figure since the days of actor William S. Hart (1872–1946). Hickock was the first gunfighter to attain legendary status, and his career illustrates the importance of a mythmaking machinery. Born James Butler Hickock in 1837, he acquired the nickname “Wild Bill” in the 1860s, after he allegedly made a lynch mob back down. After working as a Union Army scout, a wagon master, and a gambler, he rose to national prominence in 1867 on the strength of a Harper’s Magazine story that depicted him as a superhuman “Scout of the Plains.” Dime novel treatments fleshed out the formula, highlighting the shooting of this “Prince of Pistoleers.” Although he served only two years as a frontier lawman, popular media made him a national icon, the swiftest and deadliest practitioner of his trade: Anecdotes about his, in Joseph Rosa’s words, “almost hypnotic” marksmanship are firmly in the frontier “roarer” tradition (1969, 61–76). Later, thanks to Gary Cooper’s portrayal in the 1937 film The Plainsman, Gunfighters 149
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148 Gongfu<br />
Although providing martial training for use outside the arena was not the<br />
primary function of the lanistae (trainers of gladiators), it did serve as a secondary<br />
source of income. <strong>The</strong> techniques that worked so well in the bloody<br />
arenas were obviously also useful on the street.<br />
Gladiatorial combat was an element of the paganism that ruled Roman<br />
society until the conversion of the emperor Constantine to Christianity<br />
in the fourth century. Rome was a polytheistic society, and the temples<br />
of the deities and demigods from dozens of nations all vied for attention in<br />
the capital city. Gladiatorial events were often part of pagan religious festivals.<br />
Also, despite the fact that Romans prided themselves on their society<br />
of law, the idea of the supremacy of the state, including the state-supported<br />
cults, was paramount. <strong>The</strong> individual, along with the value of<br />
individual life, was subordinated to the empire. For a person to die in front<br />
of adoring crowds was thought to be an honor, especially if the emperor,<br />
often thought to be a deity himself, was present in the arena.<br />
After Constantine made Christianity the official state religion, the<br />
practice of paganism, in any form, was discouraged. <strong>The</strong> gladiatorial<br />
games, therefore, lost their official patronage. Also, the Judeo-Christian<br />
emphasis on the individual and the sanctity of life was at odds with the violence<br />
and casual disregard for humanity often found in the arena. As<br />
Christianity, with this ethos, spread throughout the empire, the spectacle of<br />
gladiatorial combat became a symbol less of bravery than of bloodlust. <strong>The</strong><br />
Western Empire fell in A.D. 476, and while the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire<br />
lasted for a thousand more years, this date marked the end of the Roman<br />
world for what would later be known as Western Europe. <strong>The</strong> upheavals<br />
and barbarian incursions that accompanied the end of the Roman Empire<br />
sealed the end of the gladiators. Finally, the gladiators found themselves the<br />
victims of changing social conditions.<br />
Gene Tausk<br />
See also Europe; Pankration; Swordsmanship, European Medieval;<br />
Wrestling and Grappling: Europe<br />
References<br />
Burton, Richard F. 1987. <strong>The</strong> Book of the Sword. London: Dover.<br />
Cary, M., and H. H. Scullard. 1975. A History of Rome. New York:<br />
St. Martin’s Press.<br />
Dudley, D. R. 1980. Roman Society. London: Pelican.<br />
Grant, Michael. 1967. Gladiators. New York: Barnes & Noble.<br />
Gongfu<br />
See Kung Fu/Gung Fu/Gongfu