Line #123 Main/Swashbuckler


1	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/CaptainBlood https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1000009309.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Get ready for danger, romance, and [[{{Flynning}} spectacular swordfights]]!]]
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4	The swashbuckler is the most rigidly conventionalized of all the subgenres of the {{Adventure}} genre, and one with close affinities to the HistoricalFiction and {{Romance}} genres as well. A descendant of the ''capa y espada''[[note]]"cape and sword"[[/note]] plays of the classical Spanish stage, it is nearly always set at some remote date, usually in the distant past (TheMiddleAges and ''especially'' TheCavalierYears being favorites), generally either European or heavily Europeanized.
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6	Its [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe buckler-swashing]] hero (rarely a heroine) will be a GentlemanAdventurer, in ethos if not in rank; character motivations will be simplified to the point of BlackAndWhiteMorality, and the whole work will be heavily tilted toward the idealistic side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism. Expect a ''lot'' of these heroes to be ChaoticGood; this genre practically codified that alignment.
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8	It will nearly always include a love-story as an important factor of its plot; despite the historical setting, the RuleOfCool will inevitably trump historical accuracy and HollywoodHistory. One may expect the hero to wear a sword for the inevitable SwordFight. He may also display feats of acrobatics, such as a ChandelierSwing or a nimble climb through the rigging of a ship. [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade Historical Hero Upgrading]] and [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade Historical Villain Upgrading]] will also be along for the ride.
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10	The genre flourished most vigorously in the years in which the ideals of {{Romanticism}} dominated popular fiction, ''ca''. 1830-1950. It found its original inspiration in the historical novels of Sir Creator/WalterScott. The "juvenile historicals" of authors such as Harrison Ainsworth, G. A. Henty, Luise Mühlbach, Charlotte Yonge, and above all, Creator/AlexandreDumas, ''père'' further defined the genre.
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12	The "penny dreadfuls" of the mid-[[UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain Victorian era]], very often adaptations of the adventures of {{Folk Hero}}es such as Myth/KingArthur and Myth/RobinHood, contributed to the jettisoning of all the non-essential characterization and historicity of the stories, and when at the end of the period the genre was picked up by serious authors such as Richard Harding Davis, [[Literature/ThePrisonerOfZenda Anthony Hope]], and Creator/RobertLouisStevenson, it had essentially assumed the character it would bear throughout its future career, both in novels by authors such as Creator/JohnBuchan, [[Literature/{{Zorro}} Johnston McCulley]], Stanley J. Weyman, and Creator/RafaelSabatini, and supremely in the films (based, in theme if not in actual plot, on those novels) generally associated in the public mind with Creator/DouglasFairbanks and Creator/ErrolFlynn under the blanket of "{{Pirate}} movies." Swashbuckler tales ''can'' double as SeaStories, piratical or otherwise, although they tend to eschew or downplay the WoodenShipsAndIronMen tone for a more romantic and idealistic vibe.
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14	The measure of a true swashbuckler lies precisely in its mixture of the {{Adventure}}, HistoricalFiction, and {{Romance}} genres (''which compare and contrast''), combined with extreme simplification and stylization, particularly of the moral outlook. Since the swashbuckler is a mixture of other genres, its constituent elements will often be found in those genres.
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16	It can occasionally itself be mixed with other, less likely, genres, (as, say, ''Film/TheCourtJester'' is swashbuckler mixed with comedy, ''Film/ThePrincessBride'' is swashbuckler mixed with {{Fantasy}}, ''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars A Princess of Mars]]'' is swashbuckler [[PlanetaryRomance mixed]] with ScienceFiction, ''The Pirate'' and ''The Vagabond King'' are swashbucklers mixed with the {{Musical}}, and ''Film/TheMaskOfZorro'' and ''Film/TheLegendOfZorro'' are examples of a swashbuckler mixed with a {{Western}} ( ''Mask'' leaning more to the former and ''Legend'' more to the latter).
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18	Furthermore, the {{Superhero}} genre, partially inspired by ''Literature/{{Zorro}}'' itself, continues the Swashbuckler tradition in a usually contemporary setting with SF/Fantasy elements that can incorporate [[GenreRoulette any genre]] with as much character and/or moral complexity as the artists desire.
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20	Curiously enough swashbuckling heroes rarely get depicted wielding an actual buckler, even when the story is set in a period when the sword-and-buckler combo was a common choice of armament.
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22	Compare with {{Wuxia}} and {{Jidaigeki}}, the genre's East Asian (Chinese and Japanese, respectively) counterparts. See also {{Picaresque}}.
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24	Do not confuse with CloakAndDagger, which is the genre of modern spy fiction.
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27	!!Tropes Associated With the Swashbuckler Genre Include:
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29	* BlackAndWhiteMorality: One of the hallmarks of the genre: heroes will be entirely heroic, and even sympathetic villains will rarely be allowed to be ''too'' sympathetic. There's some UnbuiltTrope in play, as two of the earlier ones, ''Literature/ThePrisonerOfZenda'' and ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'' are fairly cynical and more like GrayAndGreyMorality (although the film versions of them tend to go for BlackAndWhiteMorality).
30	* TheCavalierYears: One of the favorite settings of the genre.
31	* ChandelierSwing: From the sparkly to the more prosaically thrifty... the odds are good you'll find ''some'' poor lighting fixture being used outside its intended purpose.
32	* ChaoticGood: While the heroes are presented as unequivocally good, they tend to not favor the law of the land as much as their own moral code. Indeed, many of the {{Trope Codifier}}s of the swashbuckler fall into this alignment, including Zorro, Robin Hood and the Three Musketeers. Thus, the bad guys tend to be LawfulEvil corrupt high-ranking members of state.
33	* ConservationOfNinjutsu: The heroes of the swashbuckler can take out any number of henchmen simultaneously in sword fights.
34	* DuelToTheDeath: The almost inevitable climax, nearly always fought out with [[SwordFight swords]].
35	* {{Flynning}}: The most usual [[{{Movies}} cinematic]] procedure for the SwordFight.
36	* GentlemanAdventurer: The typical hero of the swashbuckler is nearly always a gentleman in character, if not in actual social rank.
37	* GorgeousPeriodDress: One of the ''raisons d'etre'' of the genre, whose characters will be clothed in graceful, and often [[PimpedOutDress opulent]], versions of historical modes.
38	* HappyEnding: The swashbuckler will ''very'' rarely end on less than a happy note, though exceptions such as [[spoiler: ''Rupert of Hentzau'']] and [[spoiler: ''Literature/{{Amalia}}'']] exist.
39	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Occasionally, though rarely, used as the protagonist (''e.g.'' UsefulNotes/CharlesII in ''The Exile''), but frequently used as subsidiary characters (''e.g.'' Richelieu in ''The Three Musketeers'') or as figures in the background (''e.g.'' George II in ''Kidnapped'') to set the period.
40	* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: A concomitant of the BlackAndWhiteMorality of the genre.
41	* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: A concomitant of the BlackAndWhiteMorality of the genre.
42	* HollywoodCostuming: Since the emphasis of the swashbuckler is on action and beauty, those features of period costuming that detract from those qualities in the contemporary mind (''e.g.'', "millstone" ruffs, pea's-cod doublets, and trunk hose) will be omitted.
43	* HollywoodHistory: In what has been called the "In-Love-With-[[Creator/LorettaYoung Loretta-Young]]" school of history, great historical actions, such as wars, will be decisively influenced by the love affairs of the characters (''e.g.'' Buckingham's love for Anne of Austria in ''The Three Musketeers'').
44	* LoveableRogue / GuileHero: The swashbuckler hero is very often a "noble brigand", turning to the life of an outlaw to protect the oppressed and exact revenge on his nemesis. As a results, he has to resort to small-scale trickery to advance his noble goals.
45	* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Oddly enough, this trope is itself the TropeNamer. Even odder, bucklers almost never appear in Swashbuckler movies, and are not swashed if they do. The buckler, a very small round shield, was used by some 16th century sword fighters, and a man who "swashed" his buckler was banging or scraping his sword on his buckler to intimidate people or seek out a fight. In Swashbuckler stories, however, combatants' off-hands are usually empty or holding a main gauche dagger.
46	* MasterSwordsman: A swashbuckling hero will almost certainly be the best swordsman around.
47	* MiddleAges: A favorite period for the setting of the swashbuckler, second only to TheCavalierYears.
48	* {{Pirate}}: An extremely common occupation for both the hero of the swashbuckler and his opponents.
49	* PrincessClassic: The heroine of a swashbuckler is nearly always a high-born lady of quality, which commonly leads to the necessity of the hero's DefrostingIceQueen.
50	* {{Ruritania}}: An extremely common setting for the genre.
51	* {{Swordfight}}: An almost inevitable feature of the genre.
52	* WoodenShipsAndIronMen: Closely associated with the Genre
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54	!!Swashbuckler stories by media:
55	* Swashbuckler/{{Film}}
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57	* Many works by Creator/AlexandreDumas ''(père)'', including:
58	** ''The Corsican Brothers''
59	** ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' -- More in its [[DerivativeWorks/TheCountOfMonteCristo film adaptations]] than in the original novel.
60	** ''Twenty Years After''
61	** ''Le Vicomte de Bragelonne'' -- More in its film adaptations (like ''Film/TheManInTheIronMask'') than in the original novel.
62	* ''Literature/LeBossu'' by Creator/PaulFeval. See also [[DerivativeWorks/LeBossu its adaptations]].
63	* Many Works by Baroness Orczy, including:
64	** ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel'' and its film adaptations.
65	* Many works by Creator/RafaelSabatini, including:
66	** ''Bardelys the Magnificent''
67	** ''Literature/CaptainBloodHisOdyssey'' -- Adapted into an Creator/ErrolFlynn [[Film/CaptainBlood film]].
68	** ''Literature/{{Scaramouche}}''
69	** ''Literature/TheSeaHawk'' -- Though the 1940 [[Film/TheSeaHawk film]] is an adaptation InNameOnly.
70	* Many works by Sir Creator/WalterScott (though more in their [[FilmOfTheBook Movie Adaptations]] than the original novels), including:
71	** ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}''
72	** ''Quentin Durward''
73	** ''Literature/RobRoy''
74	** ''The Talisman'' -- Adapted into the unimaginatively titled film ''[[UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart King Richard]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheCrusades the Crusaders]]''
75	* Many works by Creator/RobertLouisStevenson, including:
76	** ''Literature/{{Kidnapped}}''
77	** ''Literature/TheMasterOfBallantrae''
78	* Many versions of the Myth/RobinHood mythos.
79	* The ''DerivativeWorks/{{Zorro}}'' series of [[LongRunningBookSeries novels, TV shows and films]], including ''[[Literature/{{Zorro}} The Curse of Capistrano]]'' -- the first appearance of the masked bandit, who is arguably the [[ProtoSuperhero first]] {{superhero}} to boot.
80	* ''Red Steel'' (in TabletopGame/{{Mystara}}). It's the setting which gave TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons fencing rules.
81	* Literature/{{Amalia}} features gentlemen dancing with swords against {{gaucho}}s wearing knives and lances.
82	* ''Literature/{{Lochinvar}}'' by S. R. Crockett.
83	* ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798224/combined Les Aventures de Philibert, capitaine puceau]]''[[note]]"The adventures of Philibert, virgin captain[[/note]] is a French AffectionateParody of the genre.
84	* ''WesternAnimation/AvezVousDejaVu'', a French series, also parodies the genre with ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGdonS3O_ds A swashbuckler made by flies]]''.
85	* ''Webcomic/BoundAdventures'' is an action adventure swashbuckling series with a dominatrix theme.
86	* ''Graustark''
87	* ''Monsieur Beaucaire''
88	* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' -- Will Turner was an Creator/ErrolFlynn {{expy}}.
89	* ''Rookwood''
90	* ''Under the Red Robe''
91	* ''ComicBook/{{Xanadu\|VickyWyman}}''
92	* The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3.5E supplement ''Complete Warrior'' adds a Swashbuckler base class, designed to fight with speed and agility rather than brute force. It's unfortunately extremely weak due to being dependent on critical hits. In 5th Edition it was turned into a subtype of the Rogue class.
93	* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' is your standard ''Assassin's Creed'' plot (search for an ancient powerful artifact, kill people to find out information so you can get it) with UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfPiracy trappings.
94	** In fact, [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII Ezio]] is himself quite a swashbuckler. So are [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity Arno]], [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRogue Shay]], and [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIIILiberation Aveline]]. In fact, many of the series' protagonists fit the swashbuckler bill whenever they fight with short/light swords and flintlock pistols.
95	* ''TabletopGame/LaceAndSteel'' is a TabletopRPG designed to invoke the classic swashbuckling adventure, albeit in a more magical fantasy AdventureFriendlyWorld.
96	* ''ComicBook/DeCapeEtDeCrocs'' follows two swashbucklers and their increasingly improbable adventures (involving pirates, tropical islands, and moon travel), though it takes a lot of tropes from theater and classic literature as well.
97	* [[WesternAnimation/ToucheTurtleAndDumDum Touché Turtle]] is an AffectionateParody of this genre using [[FunnyAnimal Funny Animals]] and ToonPhysics.
98	* ''Webcomic/DelilahDirk'' swashbuckles as hard as humanly possible. [[{{Sidekick}} Selim]] tries valiantly to keep up.
99	* ''ComicBook/NikolaiDante'' adds a sci-fi twist to the trope. Set in the 27th century in a resurgent Russian Empire, Dante is an archetypal swashbuckler based partly on Creator/ErrolFlynn's portrayal of Robin Hood and partly on Flynn himself. Dante is a notorious thief, pirate, military officer, and ladies' man.
100	* ''ComicBook/TheCavalier'' is a Golden Age {{Superhero}} who dresses like a swashbuckler and wields a RoyalRapier to battle evil.
101	* Puss in Boots of the ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' franchise is a swashbuckling adventuring feline inspired by Zorro, even bringing in Zorro actor Creator/AntonioBanderas to do the voice.
102	* The ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' novels, as well as the [[Series/HoratioHornblower series]] starring Ioan Gruffudd, present a more LawfulGood take on this, detailing the career of the title character, a brave, handsome, and capable British naval officer during the early 19th Century. The two other big Napoleonic War-era franchises it inspired, however, ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'' and the ''Literature/AubreyMaturin'' books, don't quite qualify, having a more cynical tone and more moral ambiguity.
103	* ''Film/CruzDiablo'' and its sequels.

Context Main / Swashbuckler