Gérard Thibault d'Anvers

Gérard (or Girard) Thibault of Antwerp (ca. 1574–1627) was a fencing master and writer of the 1628 rapier manual Academie de l'Espée. Thibault was from the Southern Netherlands which is today Belgium. His manual is one of the most detailed and elaborate extant sources on rapier combat, painstakingly utilizing geometry and logic to defend his unorthodox style of swordsmanship.

Academie de l'Espée describes a unique system of combat whose closest known relative is the contemporary Spanish school of swordsmanship, also known as La Verdadera Destreza, as taught by masters such as Don Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza and Luis Pacheco de Narváez. Not unlike the Spanish, Thibault advocated the use of upright postures, walking steps instead of lunges, and non-linear footwork. However, Thibault differed from his Spanish counterparts in many areas, including his preferred stance and grip.