The medieval knight was a well-trained fighting man, expert in the use of sword, lance, spear and dagger, and member of a warrior aristocracy whose values, virtues and vices helped shape European society for over 500 years. As a window into the knight and his craft, In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts brings readers a treasure trove of historic combat treatises, musings on the culture and context of the martial arts in the late Middle Ages, and hands-on training exercises for wrestling, dagger, falchion, and poleaxe. Join medieval combat expert Christian Henry Tobler on an expansive journey into the lost world of chivalric fighting arts, certain to thrill martial artists, arms and armour enthusiasts, and lovers of history alike.

In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts

History

Tobler

Christian Henry

Europe

Freelance Academy Press

Perhaps no other weapon represents Renaissance Italian fencing like the rapier. But do we know how it was used and how it was taught? This book takes you to the fencing School, or Salle of celebrated renaissance rapier Master Nicoletto Giganti of Venice, one among the period teachers leaving instructions on the use of this weapon. More uniquely, his 1606 text The School, or Salle is a veritable training curriculum, with its stepwise lessons and easy-to-follow explanations on the use of the rapier alone and rapier and dagger. This faithful translation of Giganti's The School, or Salle by internationally-known rapier teacher Tom Leoni includes the complete text, original illustrations, and an introduction on rapier fencing that will make Giganti's text easy to follow. If you are a martial artist, a fencer, or have an interest in European martial culture, this book belongs on your shelf.

Venetian Rapier: Nicoletto Giganti's 1606 Rapier Fencing Curriculum

TOM.

Leoni

Martial Arts are literally "The Arts of Mars," the Roman god of war. For over two and a half millennia, the combat arts of Europe served the hoplite, gladiator, legionnaire, knight, duelist, boxer and wrestler on the battlefield, in the duel, as street defense and in the ring. Interest in these traditions has grown dramatically over the last twenty years, bringing together a unique combination of fighters and scholars in the quest to resurrect and preserve this proud heritage of fighting lore. The Western Martial Arts Workshop (WMAW) was founded in 1999 as a way for the students of these martial arts to meet, train, exchange research, and lay the foundation for an enduring Western martial arts community. In the Service of Mars, Volume One is both a compilation of some of the most popular and detailed lectures and class notes from WMAW's first decade, and a record of the growth of the Western martial arts community in depth and breadth over the same time. But it is not only a "best-of" anthology; most of the inclusions here are substantially different from the form in which they first appeared in the WMAW event guides. The contributions in this book have been substantially revised, expanded, and photo-illustrated, coming as close to recreating an actual class in the subject as the written word can ever replicate a physical discipline. From armoured axe combat to the elegant and swift rapier; the wrestling of Germany to the swordplay of the Scots Highlander, In the Service of Mars contains something new for every student of the Western martial arts, providing hours of training, food for thought, and a chronicle of the community's growth over the last decade.

In the Service of Mars: Proceedings from the Western Martial Arts Workshop 1999-2009, Volume I

Gregory, D.

Mele

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

Tobler, Christian Henry

Armizare ("the Art of Arms") was the name the warriors of medieval Italy gave to their martial art, which included the wielding of sword, axe and spear with wrestling, knife-fighting and mounted combat. In the waning years of the 14th century, Fiore dei Liberi was a famed master of this art, whose students included some of the most renowned and dangerous fighting men of his day. Toward the end of his life, Master Fiore preserved his teachings in a series of illustrated manuscripts, four of which have survived to the present day, and have become the basis of a world-wide effort to reconstruct this lost martial art. However, because medieval books were written for an audience with different expectations than the modern readers "how-to" manuals, today's students often have trouble understanding the old swordsman's choices in including, omitting or organizing information as he did. They may see that fighting art was a system, but lack the background to see the systematic instruction of the book itself. In Armizare: The Chivalric Martial Arts System of il Fior di Battaglia, Robert Charrette brings together his experiences as a martial artist and respected 14th century living historian with his skills as a professional author graphic artist to not only take readers on a walking tour of Master Fiore's manuscripts, but into the mindset behind its creation. More than just an interpretation of an old book's contents, this is a tool-kit that reveals Fiore dei Liberi's brilliance as not just a fighter, but as martial arts teacher. Whether a long-time student, a newcomer to the art or a more academic devote of the medieval warrior and his craft, readers will find themselves educated and entertained as a door is opened into another time and place - the training hall of the medieval knight.

Fiore dei Liberi's Armizare: The Chivalric Martial Arts System of Il Fior di Battaglia

Charrette

Robert N.

In late Victorian England, even as the sword was being rendered useless on the battlefield, swordsmanship was experiencing a unique revival. Captain Alfred Hutton and Egerton Castle, both devoted fencers and amateur historians, led a systematic study and reconstruction of combat with all the weapons of the Elizabethan arsenal - the elegant rapier, deadly sword and buckler, and the massive two-handed sword. Their work found practical expression in classes, exhibitions, academic lectures and theatrical combat, for audiences as diverse as school children, soldiers and the Prince of Wales. Yet for all of their efforts, Hutton and Castle did not establish a tradition of historical swordsmanship that survived their own generation. Instead, their books and essays were largely forgotten until the second revival of ancient swordplay in the late 20th century, and today's researchers often view these early efforts with a cavalier or dismissive eye. In Ancient Swordplay: the Revival of Elizabethan Swordplay in Victorian England, 19th c martial arts scholar, theatrical fight director and martial artist Tony Wolf reexamines Hutton and Castle's work, both through their own words and those of their enthusiasts, students and critics. Rather than earnest but misguided amateur scholars, they are revealed to be the inventors of a systematic study and practice of lost fighting arts that has only been exceeded in recent years, worthy of being celebrated as the true pioneers in the field.

Ancient Swordplay: The Revival of Elizabethan Fencing in Victorian London

WOLF

Tony

World

Writing in the mid-15th century, Master Paulus Kal was the agent, confidante and fencing master to the powerful Duke of Ludwig IX of Bavaria-Landshut. In his fencing book, prepared for this ducal patron, he presented standard and variant techniques in the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, in beautifully rendered and highly detailed illuminations of figures wielding the sword, sword and buckler, dagger, messer (falchion), spear and poleaxe, plus mounted combat. This English translation is presented in full-colour, oversize leather edition, complete with a protective slipcase.

In Service of the Duke: The 15th Century Fighting Treatise of Paulus Kal (Chivalry Bookshelf Signature Edition)

Kal, Paulus

Few images of chivalry are stronger in the popular mind than that of two armoured knights in a joust, crashing together astride their chargers. Yet, considering the importance of formal combat to the medieval aristocracy, we possess surprisingly few detailed accounts of tournaments, jousts or duels. As the great sporting event of its day, fans of feats of arms enjoyed hearing about them, but extensive descriptions of the actual events involving contemporary warriors were not what they were looking for. Sometimes, however, there was an upswing of interest that inspired poets and chroniclers to write more detailed descriptions of both combats and accompanying celebrations. One particularly rich time for source material are the years 1389-90, when diplomatic competition between Charles VI of France and Richard II of England inspired the kings to sponsor some of the most spectacular formal combats of the entire Middle Ages. These feats of arms attracted a great deal of attention from contemporary writers and they were not soon forgotten. As a result, we have valuable descriptions of how jousting was performed and appreciated at the highest social levels in the two great rival kingdoms of the West. Bringing together some of the most important accounts of medieval jousting, especially those of the jousts at St. Inglevert, Royal Jousts is a direct look at the sources that have influenced our modern notion, and every modern reconstruction, of late medieval jousting. It is also the first entry in our new Deeds of Arms series a series of short, colour-illustrated readers that make primary source accounts of famous displays of martial and chivalric prowess of the High and Late Middle Ages and early Renaissance accessible to a broad audience.

Royal Jousts at the End of the Fourteenth Century (Deeds of Arms)

Muhlberger, Steven

On March 27, 1351, sixty armed men gathered in a field in Brittany, halfway between the two enemy castles of Josselin and Ploermel. Representing the garrisons of those two strongholds, these two groups of thirty men at arms they had appeared in this field with no strategic or tactical goal, other than to make good on their captains promise: 'We will go to an open field and there we will fight as long as we can endure it.' The battle was fought until all on one side were dead or captured, and no one ran away. This showdown in the fields of Brittany attracted attention in its own time and the story has been retold in many eras since, standing as the subject of romantic inspiration and call to bold action for over six hundred years. But was the Combat of the Thirty an admirable deed? Even in the fourteenth century, opinions were divided: some thought that it was a fight for no sensible reason, 'the product of presumption and rashness,' while others considered it a great demonstration of prowess, a word that designates a heroic combination of skill and courage. Why did sixty men risk themselves in a fight to the finish on that spring day in Brittany six and a half centuries ago? Why did it attract attention and praise in its time? Why does it interest us still? In this volume Steven Muhlberger translates the historical accounts of the Combat and then examines both what contemporaries thought, and how the battle has been remembered through the centuries, giving readers a window into late medieval chivalric culture. As a bonus, renowned 14th century arms and armour scholar Douglas Strong includes an appendix analysing the equipment used by English, Breton and French forces on that bloody day in 1351.

The Combat of the Thirty (Deeds of Arms, 2)

STEVEN

Muhlberger

The term "medieval martial arts" conjures images of armoured knights wielding sword, lance, and axe. While the image is correct, at the foundation of knightly combat was a sophisticated form of close quarter combat, centered on fighting with-and against-the dagger, a deadly weapon of both self-defense and last resort.In Mastering the Art of Arms, Volume One: The Medieval Dagger, Guy Windsor presents a complete guide to the principles and practice of Italian dagger combat, as set down in Il Fior di Battaglia a manuscript written in 1410. Readers are guided step-by-step through the process of mastering this six hundred year old art, from choosing a dagger to striking with it; from guard positions to steps and turns; from disarms to locks and takedowns; from safe falling practice to formal drills, and finally pressure testing their skills with sparring.Both a primer on the art and a methodology for on-going training, this book will give the complete novice a solid starting point, while providing useful drills and ideas for advanced martial artists. Those who study other traditional knife arts, and modern military combatives, will find many familiar techniques present in this ancient system.

The Medieval Dagger (Mastering the Art of Arms)

Windsor, Guy

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