The Princess Bride’s Weird Sword Fighting Terms Explained

In Rob Reiner’s beloved 1987 romantic fantasy film “The Princess Bride,” the good-hearted kidnapper Inigo Monotya (Mandy Patinkin) is ordered by his boss Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) to dispatch a mysterious Man in Black (Cary Elwes) who has been following them up the Cliffs of Insanity. Inigo is a masterful swordsman, and rarely gets to ply his skills, so he immediately becomes itchy, eager for the oncoming fight. Because he is so polite, Inigo allows the Man in Black to sit and rest for a few moments before attacking, and the two have an amusingly casual conversation about Inigo’s motivations and how he got his sword. “You seem a decent fellow,” Inigo says, “I hate to kill you.” 

“You seem a decent fellow,” the Man in Black replies, “I hate to die.” 

They then begin. The fight choreography is astounding. Inigo was not just blowing smoke. Perhaps surprisingly, the Man in Black matches his skill, blocking and dodging every one of Inigo’s blows. While fighting, the two men have the following exchange: 

Inigo: “You are using Bonetti’s Defense against me, eh?”

Man in Black: “I thought it fitting, considering the rocky terrain.”

Inigo Montoya: “Naturally, you must suspect me to attack with Capo Ferro.”

Man in Black: “Naturally. But I find that Thibault cancels out Capo Ferro. Don’t you?”

Inigo Montoya: “Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa … which I have.”

The dialogue is meant to communicate that both Inigo and the Man in Black are sword fighting nerds. They know specific fencing terms and the names of specialized attacks and defenses. And while this seems to amuse the both of them, we poor audiences members are left scratching our heads. It’s unlikely that a casual viewer knows what Bonetti’s Defense is, or why it’s fitting for rocky terrain. 

Well, we here at /Film are here to finally clarify things for you. Below are clear definitions of Bonetti’s Defense, Capo Ferro, Thibault, and Agrippa. 

The four terms used are references to real-life 16th century fencing masters whose work would certainly be known in the world of “The Princess Bride.” Given that several characters make references to Australia being used as a penal colony, “The Princess Bride” likely takes place sometime in the late 1780s. (Of course, it’s a fantasy story that takes place in the fictional countries of Florin and Gilder, so the actual historical year can be fudged.)

“Bonetti’s Defense” is a reference to Rocco Bonetti (c. 1570), one of the best-known members of a widespread and long-lived tactical guild called the Masters of Defence. The guild is said to have stretched back to the early 1310s, beginning with a British fencer known as Master Roger, or le Skirmisour. It wouldn’t be until the reign of King Henry VIII in the 1530s, however, that the Masters of Defence were codified and regulated and turned into well-vetted schools. Rocco Bonetti opened his School of Arms in London in 1576, and was openly derided by other fencing master of the time. This is all taken from Nick Evangelista’s 1995 book, “The Encyclopedia of the Sword.”

What does Bonetti have to do with rocky terrain? Sadly, that part remains obscure. As related by the website Combative Corner, a story is told about Bonetti — wholly through hearsay — that he once lost a sword fight when he unexpectedly got staved in the head by an oar. Bonetti thereafter prepped for all fights by taking on a defensive stance, knowing where he was to step in an unfamiliar situation. Rocky terrain, the Man in Black argues, is an ideal spot to take on a defensive stance. 

Inigo points out that a good attack against Bonetti’s Defense is a technique called Capo Ferro. This is a reference to the Italian fencing master Ridolfo Capo Ferro da Cagli. In 1610, Capo Ferro published a widely read treatise on sword fighting called “Great Representation of the Art and Use of Fencing,” which can still be purchased to this day. Capa Ferro’s book goes into great detail as to how one should properly fence, including the exact proper length of a sword (it should extend from the user’s armpit down to the ground). The Combative Corner website points out that “Capa Ferro” is also the nickname for a decisive and aggressive type of fencing lunge. 

So if the Man in Black is using Bonetti’s Defense — that is, stepping behind himself to steady his stance on rocky terrain — then an expected countermove would indeed be an aggressive lunge, i.e. a Capa Ferro. The Italian author also wrote chapters on how to fight left-handed, which becomes a cute in-joke when Inigo declares that he is not left-handed later in the scene. Luckily, the actors were well-trained enough to avoid injury during this fight (but Elwes didn’t escape every scene unscathed). 

But then the Man in Black declares that “Thibault cancels out Capo Ferro.” This is a reference to the Dutch-born fencing master Gérard Thibault of Antwerp, author of the 1628 instruction manual “Academie de l’Espée,” or “The Academy of the Sword.” Thibault was known for his extensive use of geometry in formulating sword fighting techniques, always taking angles of attack and fencers’ personal reach into account. He focused on posture, fluidity of movement, and even the fineries of how a sword should be held in one’s hand.

A firm Capo Ferro lunge, then, is only academic to Thibault. In being so detailed about a fight’s circumstances, Thibault would indeed cancel out any lunge. A Capo Ferro wouldn’t necessarily work in every circumstance. 

So the Man in Black asserts that Thibault cancels out Capa Ferro, but Inigo points out that the assertion is only true if your opponent knows nothing of Agrippa. This is a reference to Camillo Agrippa, author of the 1553 book “Treatise on the Science of Arms with Philosophical Dialogue.” Like Thibault, Agrippa also wrote extensively about sword grips, but also covered various defense stances that can invite or repel attacks, depending on your foe’s own sword fighting habits. Agrippa was known for his logical approach to fencing, writing about how attacks should be returned and allowing the fighter to keep a level head. His techniques were simpler and easier to manage than what came before.

Agrippa’s techniques were said to influence Spanish fencing schools, which makes sense in the context of “The Princess Bride,” as Inigo is Spanish. The reference to Agrippa is also a “get back to basics” cry from Inigo. Thibault was all about complex geometry and calculation, while Agrippa was more of a simplified, less intellectual approach to sword fighting. Inigo, in studying both, knows when to be florid with his fighting, and when to simply do the footwork. 

So the sword fighting nerdery on display in “The Princess Bride” is somewhat authentic. At the very least, screenwriter William Goldman did his homework and allowed his fencing-master characters to geek out for a few moments while they clank rapiers. These characters aren’t brutes or murderers. They’re well-studied members of the intelligentsia. They just happen to carry devices of violence. 

Whether or not Elwes and Pantinkin are physically abiding by the stated techniques, however, will have to be confirmed by an actual medieval fencing master.