In the late 14th century, the German swordsman Johannes Liechtenauer developed and codified a system of armed combat with sword, spear and dagger that spread through the Holy Roman Empire and dominated German martial arts for nearly 300 years. By the end of the 15th century, a fellowship of swordsmen in Frankfurt known as 'the Brotherhood of Saint Mark,' or Marxbruder, had been granted an imperial charter to train and test swordmasters. Peter Falkner was a long-time member and sometime captain of this famed fencing guild, and it was during this tenure that he set about creating an illustrated fight book of his own; colourful, painted figures and short captions depict combat with a wide variety of weapons: the longsword, dagger, staff, poleaxe, halberd, dueling shield and mounted combat. Where his work excels, however, is in its extensive treatment of the falchion-like messer and the unique variations of core techniques of the Liechtenauer canon. In this first, printed edition of Falkner's work, German martial arts teacher and scholar Christian Tobler includes a full translation, transcription and analysis, combined with a photographic reproduction of the original manuscript. The end result is a lovingly rendered, English translation of a 500 year old picture-book that shows an adaptation of the Liechtenauer tradition, by a known master of its most prestigious school, as taught over a century after its foundation.

Captain of the Guild: Master Peter Falkner's Art of Knightly Defense

History

Tobler, Christian Henry

Europe

Freelance Academy Press

Christian Henry Tobler presents a how-to course of study for learning Liechtenauer's secret art. Topics include the concepts of timing, distance, and initiative, proper footwork, guards, strokes and thrust with the sword, including Liechtenauer's Master Strokes, and close quarters combat. Illustrated with hundreds of instructional photographs.

Fighting With The German Longsword

Sports & Outdoors

Individual Sports

Chivalry Bookshelf

Noted medieval combat authorities Dierk Hagedorn and Christian Henry Tobler join forces to present a transcription, translation, and analysis of the Peter von Danzig Fight Book, one of the finest manuscripts of the 15th century devoted to the fencing tradition of German grandmaster Johannes Liechtenauer. The codex features anonymous commentaries on Liechtenauer's own mnemonic verses, as well as treatises by other masters of his circle: Masters Lignitzer, Huntfelt, Ott, and Peter von Danzig himself. A compendium of teachings for how to fight with the long sword, spear, sword and buckler, dagger, as well as unarmed grappling, both in and out of armour, this volume is a valuable resource for historical martial artists, historians, and medieval reenactors.

The Peter Von Danzig Fight Book: The Complete 15th Century Manuscript

Hagedorn, Dierk

Freelance Academy Pr

The 14th century - a paradoxical time of world-shattering plague, the Hundred Years War, the Peasants' Revolt, but also literary and artistic innovation, formed the basis of the Renaissance. In the later years of this turbulent time a shadowy figure named Johannes Liechtenauer systematized lessons for swordsmanship, wrestling, armoured, and mounted combat. Recorded in cryptic, rhyming verses, it fell to masters of the 15th and 16th century to record, clarify and expand the grandmaster's instructions in an extensive body of fencing manuals. As the world of the knight receded into history, these texts - many extensively and beautifully illustrated - were forgotten by all but German-language antiquarians and fencing historians until the last decade of the 20th century, when they were rediscovered by a new audience of martial artists and historians. In Lance, Spear, Sword and Messer, Christian Tobler makes a 'deep dive' into these fighting traditions, creating a rich anthology that has extensive, instructional material on topics as diverse as the two-handed sword, spear, poleaxe, wrestling, and the use of long shields, combined with thought-provoking analysis and historical commentary that will occupy the mind - and challenge the preconceptions - of long-time students of medieval German martial arts. Finally, the martial career - in arms and in the literature of arms - of the famed Emperor Maximillian I, often called "the Last Knight," who was himself a devoted student of the tradition, serves as a capstone of this collection, much as his literary output, including a planned, but unwritten fight book, did in his own lifetime at the waning of the Middle Ages and start of the Northern Renaissance.

Lance, Spear, Sword, and Messer: A German Medieval Martial Arts Miscellany

This is a companion volume to the facsimile of Ms. Thott 290 2º. In its pages, you will find a description of the manuscript itself, a full transcription and translation by Rebecca Garber, and articles from some of the leading scholars in the field of historical European martial arts studies that highlight various aspects of the manuscript and its history.\nPaul Becker describes the life of Hans Talhoffer in unprecedented detail. Dierk Hagedorn discusses the many treatises of Talhoffer and their relationships to each other. Michael Chidester delves into the life of Konrad Kyeser and his treatise Bellifortis, which is the source for the manuscript’s war machines. Daniel Jaquet describes the judicial dueling culture and customs that Talhoffer existed in, and Ariella Elema discusses the background and history of the specialized dueling weapons that Talhoffer presents to readers. Finally, Christian Henry Tobler describes the strange collection of esoterica that forms the final, inverted chapter of the book.\nApart from the facsimile, the manuscript scans are also published in a paperback volume under ISBN 978-1-953683-25-0.

Alte Armatur und Ringkunst: The Royal Danish Library Ms. Thott 290 2º

Talhoffer, Hans

Jaquet, Daniel

Chidester, Michael

Becker, Paul

Elema, Ariella

HEMA Bookshelf

Bauman's Fight Book: Augsburg University Library Cod. I.6.4° 2 (Companion)

Finley, Jessica

This is a companion volume to the Bauman’s Fight Book facsimile. In its pages, you will find articles from some of the leading scholars in the field of historical European martial arts studies that highlight various aspects of the manuscript and the world it came from. 
It begins with a detailed description of the manuscript and its history by Michael Chidester, followed by a transcription by Dierk Hagedorn and a full translation by Christian Henry Tobler and Jessica Finley. 
In the discussion section, Finley and Tobler also introduce the contents of parts A and B in a paper that discusses the various teachings and explores relationships with the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer. Bartłomiej Walczak discusses the dagger section and uses it as a lens through which to examine the origins and structure of the Augsburg tradition as a whole. Lucien Lee discusses the Messer fencing and proposes connections to other pre-Lecküchner texts. Elias Flatscher evaluates the wrestling teachings and compares them to modern wrestling traditions. Charles Lin and Marlene Hurst present a discussion of the historical context of the fighting teachings of parts A and B and some advice on training them in ways that reflect that context. Finally, Dierk Hagedorn shows connections between the illustrations in part C and Gladiatoria. An appendix contains an edition of another manuscript with similar artwork by Reinier van Noort and Oskar ter Mors. 
Apart from the facsimile, the manuscript scans are also published in a paperback volume under ISBN 978-1-953683-29-8.

Bauman's Fight Book: Augsburg University Library Cod. I.6.4º 2 (Companion)

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