dArcy thank you for posting about AD 500 ~ AD 1500 Equipment, Combat, Skills, and Tactics, I am going to pick up a copy on your recommendation.

You’ve inspired me to review some of my library for ancient worlds.

The first three books I’m going to review are from the same author and cover the same subject matter. So they build on each other.

Fighting with German LongSword.by Christian Henry Tobler

Secrets of German LongSword.by Christian Henry Tobler

In Service of the Duke.by Christian Henry Tobler

All three of these books are on what we currently call the Liechtenauer tradition of medieval fencing. Those who studied this martial art system during Middle Ages called themselves Gesellschaft Liechtenauers (Liechtenauer's society). It seems that Johannes Liechtenauer was a fencing master who lived in Germany during the early 1300’s. We know very little about this patriarch other then the rhyming couplets that appear in every fight book. These rhyming couplets are believed to have been authored by the Johannes personally. The first mention (that we currently know about) of this system and Johannes comes to us form Codex ms. 3227a dated at 1389. Over the next few hundred years the system was developed and refined by a series of masters. Between 1389 and 1570 there are 18 fencing master that wrote on this subject. The last person to write about liechtenauer’s system was Joachim Meyer’s book Gründtliche Beschreibung der kunst des Fechten (in English, Fundamental Descriptions of the Art of Fencing) in 1570 . Now here is the rub, except for Meyer most of the Fechtbüchers or fight-books where written as cryptic poems with some illustrations. Liechtenauer’s system includes unarmored dueling, mounted combat, wrestling, armored dueling and pole-arm fencing. Basically every thing you would need to know if you where a professional Knight.

Christian has been studying these fight-books for several years rediscovering or reconstructing this martial arts system. He lives in Connecticut USA and reads several dialects of medieval german fluently. The book fighting with german longsword is a how to book on using the system directed at modern martial artist or living historians in a completely modern format covering and consolidating the system.

Secrets of German LongSword is a direct translation of Sigmund Ringeck’s partial manuscript currently called MS Dresd. C 487 written around 1440. Again this volume is aimed at modern martial artist with commentary by Christian complete with photographs of fencers illustrating the system.

The service of the duke is a faithful facsimile translation of Paulus Kal’s fight book originally written around 1460. The volume is oversized by modern book standards and includes full size copies of the over 200 illustrations from the original, a full transcription and English translation of the manuscript, a detailed analysis of every plate and its relationship to other works from the liechtenauer tradition.