Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey ("Foundation of the Chivalric Art of Swordplay") is a German fencing manual by Andre Paurñfeyndt printed in 1516 in Vienna.[1] An original edition currently rests in the R. L. Scott Collection of the Glasgow Museums in Glasgow, Scotland;[2] a copy of the 1538 currently rests in the holdings of the Herzog-August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel, Germany.[3] The text shows some connection to the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, but with significant unique material.
Sydney Anglo notes that Paurñfeyndt's is likely the earliest printed treatise on swordsmanship that includes illustrations.[4]
Publication History
Paurñfeyndt's Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey was first published in Vienna in 1516 by Hieronymus Vietor. In 1538, it was translated into Middle Walloon (a language related to French) and published by Willem Vorsterman in Antwerp,[5] where it was retitled La noble science des ioueurs d'espee. This translation omits all of Liechtenauer's verse, but retains the balance of the content and the original images. Sections of Paurñfeyndt's text were also reproduced in a 1530s book by Christian Egenolff entitled Der Altenn Fechter anfengliche kunst.
Some time before 1520, the section on pole weapons was copied into the MS German Quarto 2020 by an unknown scribe; based on the timeline and geography, it's possible that Paurñfeyndt was directly involved in this venture. In 1564, David Lienhart Sollinger created a new manuscript copy of this text, which was later bound by Paulus Hector Mair into the Codex I.6.2º.2.
Contents
Gallery
Additional Resources
References
- ↑ According to page K4r
- ↑ Inventory number E.1939.65.357
- ↑ Inventory number Hn 236
- ↑ Anglo, Sydney. The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2000. p46.
- ↑ According to page 35v
