Historical European martial arts is a neologism describing martial arts of European origin, used particularly to refer to arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms. Modern reconstructions of some of these arts exist and are practiced today. Historical European martial arts are often known as "Western martial arts".
During the Late Middle Ages, the longsword had a position of honour among these disciplines, and sometimes Historical European Swordsmanship (HES) is used to refer to swordsmanship techniques specifically. Unlike modern sport fencing, historical martial arts are no sport, because most of them were created to defend or attack persons in deadly combats.
