Combining the history of universities, history of mentalities and history of sport, this study seeks to answer the question of the role of fencing in the lives of students at European universities in the early modern period, and how universities dealt with the issue of students' weapons and armed disorder. After the initial prohibitions, fencing instruction was gradually introduced into the curricula of universities and academies, and the 'regulated' fencing thus acquired contributed significantly to the consolidation of a culture of behaviour among university students who considered themselves a privileged social class.