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Johannes Liechtenauer/Michael Chidester LS 2025

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Download this translation as a PDF here.

Eight years ago (in 2017), Harry R. posted something remarkable: a free, complete translation of Hans Liechtenauer’s famous poem called the Zettel (or “Record”)—but one which rhymed like the original.

When a 15th century reader looked at a gloss of the Zettel, what they saw was a poem (crude in some places, elegant in others) accompanied by explanations of its meaning, all written in their own language using fairly simple, straightforward words and grammar.

Sadly, this is a reading experience that we often fail to capture in our English translations for a number of reasons (attachments to certain German words is one of them, but a reluctance to try to write poetry is definitely another). Indeed, I’ve heard more than one HEMAist express surprise upon learning that the Zettel rhymed in German and was a real poem, not just some funny little sentence fragments.

Harry’s translation was groundbreaking to me, and I’ve used versions of it (with permission) in most of my Liechtenauer-centric projects since then, including my Medieval Gloss and a book I published with Dierk Hagedorn titled The Long Sword Gloss of GMN Manuscript 3227a. Harry likewise published it in 2019 in a book called Peter von Danzig.

However, as I’ve done more Liechtenauer translations of my own, my ideas of what the Zettel is and what it means have diverged more and more from Harry’s and his poem was less and less a good fit for my work (even with all the changes in wording I’d made to it by that point). When Dierk’s and my newest book, Pieces of Ringeck, was coming together in 2024, I initially approached Harry about using his work again, but in the end I used a non-rhyming translation that lined up with the rest of the text.

A month ago, I decided it was time to try to create my own rhyming translation from scratch, to better reflect my ideas of what it means and also play with the text in ways that aren’t really available when striving for a ‘literal’ translation. This document is the result.

Liechtenauer’s poem is written in free Knittelvers, a poetic form popular in the German Middle Ages. Rather than try to replicate that, I chose a loose iambic tetrameter (a common English form) for my version. This means four vocal stresses per line with one unstressed syllable in between—i.e., da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM, where the first da can be left out and/or a final da added if need be. Among other things, this gave me extra space to unpack ideas that are a single word in German but not English.

Within this structure, I tried to stick close to the German text, preserving as much of the explicit meaning as possible while also exploring the subtext and underlying themes in ways that a literal translation doesn’t always allow. I also tried to make sure that verses phrased similarly in the German were likewise phrased similarly in English so that the parallels remained obvious.

Over this project, I looked at every English translation I could find with no obvious dependence on others to look for unusual readings that could make the poem better—I’m thus deeply indebted both to Dierk for all the transcription and translation work he has done over the years and to Stephen P. Cheney, Falko Fritz, Rebecca L. R. Garber, Per Magnus Haaland, Jeffrey Hull, Jens-Peter Kleinau, David Lindholm, Thomas Stoeppler, Christian Henry Tobler, Christian Trosclair, Cory Winslow, and Grzegorz Żabiński for their translation efforts.

My initial pass was focused on the versions of the Zettel included in nine Ainring manuscripts that were the topic of Pieces of Ringeck, though I consulted other versions to look for interesting variations. After I finished with Ainring, I then attacked the variations and “extra” verses in ms. 3227a. The nature of the translation meant that minor differences in wording rarely had an impact, but all significant differences in meaning resulted in changes to the translation. In this document, you’ll find both translations side-by-side for easier comparison. The couplets of the Zettel are numbered in the usual way, with 3227a’s unique verses having Roman numerals; other non-Zettel poems are lettered A–F to distinguish them. No German text is offered here because the Ainring text is a combination of several.

These translations will eventually make their way into my books as new editions are released, but since it was a free translation that got me started on this path, it seems fitting that I give back and put this out into the wild to hopefully start others on new paths as well.

These poems are licensed for free use under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0 License. Feel free to use them, quote them, post them, and share them around, but don’t try to make money off them without permission or fail to credit me as the author.

If you have suggestions for how these poems could be better, please let me know! And if you'd like to support me in working on projects like this, please consider supporting my patreon.



The Record[1] of the chivalric art of fighting, which was composed and created by Johannes Liechtenauer (God rest his soul), grand master of the art, begins here: first with the extended sword,[2] then with the lance and sword on horseback and with the retracted sword in the duel. Since the art belongs to princes, lords, knights, and soldiers, and they should learn and know it, he allowed this art to be written down. But because of frivolous fencing masters[3] who would trivialize the art, it's written in obscure and cryptic words (as you'll find written below) so that not just anyone will learn or understand it, and that way those masters can't make his art common or open among people who won't treat it with proper respect.

The Preface[4][5][6]

1 Young knight, learn first: have love for god,
 And honor women—that I laud.[7]
2 So that your honor great may grow,
 Practice chivalry and know[8]
3 Arts that adorn you well in play
 And bring you fame in war some day.[9]
4 Gain wrestling's artful holds with might;
 With lance, spear, sword, and knife do fight,[10]




5 And wield them all with gallant hand,[11]
 So that against you none may stand.[12][13]


6 Cut here and there and close with this;[14]
 Charge through and you will hit or miss.[15]
7 The wise ones hate and will disdain
 All those who praise themselves in vain;
8 So grasp when all is said and done:
 All art needs measure, moderation.[16]

A common lesson[17]

9 If you would bring the art to light,
 See left advance and strike with right,
10 For you will find that left with right
 Is how you may most strongly fight.
11 Who waits and follows after blows,
 Will little joy in this art know.[18]
12 Cut close to them; your will revealed,[19]
 No changer comes to breach your shield;[20]
13 Toward head and body, forth you race,
 The skirmish you should then embrace.[21]
14 And always fight with all your strength,
 Your body tight at any length.[22]


15 A simple rule you should not slight:[23]
 Fence not from left when you are right.
16 If on your left is how you fight,
 You'll be quite clumsy on the right.[24]
17 Before and After, these two things:[25]
 The font from which all true art springs.
18 With Strong and Weak, you'll rule the bind;[26]
 The word ‘Within’ bear well in mind.[27]
19 Learn onward in this art until
 You can defend and work with skill.
20 But if you easily get spooked,
 Then fencing is a poor pursuit.[28]

[29]

21 Five strikes you must now learn to heed,
 Perform them with your right hand’s speed;


22 Those fencers skilled whose art we vow
 To reward well will show us how:[30]

The text[31]

23 The wrathful one hates crook and cross;[32]
 So cock your eye and parting cause.[33]
24 A fool will parry all strikes, so
 Pursue, run down, and set the blow.[34]


25 Change it through, pull your point back,
 Run through, slice off, or hands attack.
26 Then angle, turn, expose them more,
 Strike, catch, sweep, and push your point fore.[35]

The cut of wrath

27 When from above they cut in near,
 The point of wrath makes danger clear.
28 If they should sense the threat and shove,
 Care not, just take it off above.
29 Or if they're strong, then more strength show
 And thrust—if seen, take it below.
30 Bear this in mind once in the fray:
 Cut, thrust, then Hard or Soft you lay,[36]
31 ‘Within’, and then drive after more,
 But calmly—do not rush to war;


32 If at the war above they aim,
 Go down below and bring them shame.[37]
33 In every turn inside the bind,[38]
 Cut, thrust, and slice you'll learn to find;
34 You also must learn to assess
 Which one of them would serve you best,
35 So that, whenever steel meets steel,
 The masters you'll confound with zeal.[39]

The four exposures

36 Know there are but four exposures;[40]
 Clear your path and aim for closure,[41]
37 In every threat, in each attack,
 Without regard for how they act.

38 If first they strike, revenge is sweet;
 Exploit these four exposures neat:[42]
39 To strike above you should redouble;[43]
 Transmute below to cause them trouble.
40 Now let me make this plain and clear:
 No one defends without some fear,


41 And if this truth one learns and knows,
 Then scarcely can they come to blows.[44]

The curve

42 Throw a curve with crooked grace;[45]
 Onto their hands your point will race.
43 Curve in to set aside down low,
 And step to hinder many blows.
44 Cut crookedly up toward the flat,
 Subvert the masters' strength with that.
45 When steel on steel above should spark,
 Stand fast and I will praise your art.[46]
46 Curve not: cut short, your plan concealed,
 Then with it, changing through reveal.
47 Who crookedly leads you astray,
 The noble war will them dismay;
48 They'll truly have no way to know
 Where they'd be safe from any blow.

The crosswise

49 The cross takes what from sky comes down,[47]
 Rewarding all with glory's crown.
50 The cross in Strength performed its deed,
 Your work remains, take careful heed.
51 When to the plow you drive across,
 Yoke it hard then to the ox.
52 Cross yourself and take a leap,
 And threaten heads while yours you keep.
53 Mislead by missing skillfully;
 Go low and harry willfully.[48]
54 Inversion forces and constrains;
 Run through and wrestling holds you'll gain:
55 Their elbow take; be sure, then leap;
 Done right, their balance you will reap.
56 Now then, miss twice, and when you hit,
 Just make a classic slice with it.[49]
57 The second time you miss, I say
 To step in left, and don't delay.

The cockeye

58 When buffalo will cut or thrust,
 The cockeye breaks and enters thus.[50]
59 If, with the changer, threat they lay,
 The cockeye robs them anyway.
60 If you see that they're shorting you,
 Take your revenge by changing through.
61 Down to their point you cock your eye,
 But, fearless, take their neck up high.
62 Or cock your eye up to their part,
 If you would spoil their hands with art.

The parter

63 Cut from your part to seek your prize[51]
 And threaten them under the eyes.
64 Then turn and take it down below,
 And threats against their heart bestow.
65 Whatever from your part descends,
 Their lofty crown can well defend.
66 Slice through their crown, refuse to kneel,
 Its glory broken by your steel.
67 With sweeping cuts press your attack;
 Slice through and then pull yourself back.

The lairs

68 In four lairs only should you lie;[52]
 Hold there and vulgar guards decry.
69 The ox that plows, the foolish one,[53][54]
 And from the day you should not shun.[55]

Displacement

70 Now four displacements learn with care,[56]
 Which also flush them from their lair.[57]
71 Be mindful of displacement's game,
 It guards you well or brings you shame.
72 Should you become displaced at last,
 However this has come to pass,
73 Then listen now to what I say:
 Wrench off, cut in, and don't delay.
74 Set on to four extremities,
 Learn to remain and end with ease.

Pursuit

75 Learn to pursue, then learn it twice;
 Or into their defenses slice.
76 When they're outside, there take them on
 In two forms; start what work you want.[58]
77 Then gauge each threat with hand and blade:
 If pushing Hard or Softly laid;[59]
78 For this you must learn how to feel;
 The word ‘Within’ cuts deep as steel.
79 Pursue again, and if you hit,
 Then make the same old slice with it.[60]

Overrunning

80 If down below your sword they aim,
 Flow over them and bring them shame.[61][62]
81 When steel on steel above should spark,
 Stay strong and I would praise your art.[63]
82 Work onward then with skill and ardor,
 Or press them hard and press them harder.

Setting aside

83 Learn how to set aside, and thus,
 With art you'll hinder cut and thrust.
84 Whoever tries to stab at you,
 Your point meets theirs and breaks on through.
85 From either side, both left and right,
 Your swords will meet if forth you stride.[64]

Changing through

86 Learn to change through, your sword untied,[65]
 Then thrust sharply from either side.
87 Whomever tries to bind on you
 You'll swiftly find by changing through.

Pulling

88 Now step in close, engage the bind,
 Then pull, and what you seek you'll find.
89 Pull back; if sword you meet, pull more;
 Devise a work that hurts them sore.
90 Pull back whenever steel meets steel
 And masters you’ll confound with zeal.[66]

Running through

91 Hold pommel high, let blade hang down,
 Run through and wrestling abounds.
92 When strength would press and oppress you,
 Remember this: just run on through.

Slicing off

93 Whenever hardness blocks your plays,
 Slice off from underneath both ways.
94 There are four slices you must know:
 Two falling high, two rising low.

Pressing hands

95 Turn every slice to serve your end,
 Their hands to press and arms to bend.

Angles



96 Two angles rise upon command,[67]
 Up from the earth, out of your hand.
97 In every threat, in each foray,
 Cut, thrust, then Hard or Soft you lay.[68]

Spreading window

98 Spread windows wide that speech may flow;[69]
 Stand cheerful and hear their case so;[70]
99 But snap the windows shut upon
 Whoever tries to cut and run.
100 Now let me make this plain and clear:
 No one defends without some fear,
101 And if this truth one learns and knows,
 Then scarcely can they come to blows.[71]

Turns[72]

102 If you lead well and break through right,
 To this end you may guide the fight,
103 And breaking in with flashing steel,
 Three wonders of the sword reveal.[73]
104 Angle point in straight and true,
 And turn your sword to follow through.
105 Now eight turns note with thoughtful mind,
 And weigh the paths that each may find:
106 In each and every turn of sword,
 Three wonders wait to be explored.
107 They thus expand to twenty-four
 Count one by one, you won't need more.
108 From either side, both left and right,
 Learn these eight turns when forth you'd stride.[74]
109 Then gauge each threat with hand and blade:
 But pushing Hard or Softly laid.[75]
  1. ↑ Zettel is a tricky word to translate. The closest English cognate is “schedule” (both come from the Latin schedula), but only in the more obscure legal sense of a formal list, not the familiar sense of a timetable. It’s commonly used in modern German to denote a short list or a scrap of paper that could hold a list (like a receipt). Zettel is translated as “record” here (and capitalized and italicized as the title of a written work), but other common translations include “epitome”, “notes”, and “recital”.
  2. ↑ The literal translation here would be “long sword”, but since it isn’t the sword that’s long and instead it’s holding the sword with both hands on the grip that ‘lengthens’ it, “extended sword” seems clearer. Compare “retracted sword” in the dueling lessons, which refers to placing the left hand on the blade. An alternative interpretation might be that the amount of blade extending in front of the hands is long in the langen Schwert grip and short in the kurtzen Schwert grip.
  3. ↑ The spelling Schirmeister is ambiguous. A Schirmmeister is a fencing teacher, using the late medieval term for fencing (schirmen rather than fechten). A Schirrmeister is an aristocrat’s stablemaster, or a logistics officer in a military setting in charge of animals and anything pulled by animals (wagons, cannon, etc.). ‘Schirmeister’ could be a spelling of either one; Hans Medel reads it as the former. The Leichmeistere ridiculed by the author of ms. 3227a in their introduction, often translated as “dance masters” or “play masters”, might be a shortening of this phrase (leichtfertigen schirmaister).
  4. ↑ The individual section headings don't seem to be part of Liechtenauer's original Record—or at least, the scribes seem to have treated them as non-authoritative and felt free to expand, contract, modify, or omit them entirely. They are only included here in abbreviated form and can be hidden along with the footnotes.
  5. ↑ Jay Acutt has pointed out that the structure of the Record of the extended sword could be framed in terms of Classical rhetoric following Cicero and others, in which case this preface is the exordium, the introduction that appeals to the audience by declares the speaker's or writer's ethos.
  6. ↑ This preface to the Record is quoted by the glossators but rarely glossed by them (see the notes below for exceptions).
  7. ↑ Many in the Kunst des Fechtens community are inclined to discard or this verse or openly declare it fraudulent or evidence of some kind of LARP (Live-Action RolePlay), but all of the known students of early masters in Liechtenauer's tradition were indeed knights and princes, so there's no basis on which to argue that Liechtenauer was directing his teachings to anyone by members of the nobility. ‘Liechtenauer’ is a non-noble surname as are most of the other names associated with his tradition, but that should be no surprise considering the occupation of fencing master was typically one that the lower classes performed for the nobility, just like hunting master and any number of other such services.
  8. ↑ Jens P. Kleinau has pointed out that in the first couplet, the second line is much longer than most in the Record, while in this second couplet, the version used by the Lew gloss only includes the first line and the version appearing in H. Beringer and Hans Folz only includes the second line. This may be evidence of combining two early proto-Records, each of which mentioned loving god in the first couplet and honoring women as the first line of the second couplet. See his 2020 blog post for more details.
  9. ↑ In the same blog post, Jens P. Kleinau points out that the mention of Ehre (rendered “fame" in this line to avoid repetition) may be a later addition to the text, since some versions have sehre instead of zu Ehre, which makes the phrase and meter smoother; additionally, the idea of warfare as an avenue of increasing one's honor is mostly absent from contemporary literature. Hofieren is to serve, often in a feudal or courtly sense, so the alternate rhymed version would be “And serve you well in war some day”.
  10. ↑ Messer is a term that we often associate with the iconic German machete-like knife taught by Johannes Lecküchner and others, but both historically and today it can refer to any kind of knife; mentions of it in the Record are usually interpreted as referring to daggers by the glossators.
  11. ↑ Literally “manly”, not “gallant”, but I've used ungendered language for the most part in this translation because I want readers to be able to more easily see themselves and their training partners in it regardless of their genders.
  12. ↑ Bederben and verderben could be read as synonyms in Early New High German (ENHG), both meaning “to destroy”, but that doesn't make sense in context so we tend to read bederben in its Middle High German (MHG) definition of “to use”. Beringer uniquely has ‘bedurfen=need or make use of’, which reinforces this reading and could represent an earlier, less ambiguous phrasing.
  13. ↑ Jens-Peter sees a division here where the moralistic/inspirational address to the young knight ends and practical advice to a fencing student begins. I disagree, and think couplets 6–9 are still about mindset and morality in fighting.
  14. ↑ I will generally translate the verb hauwen as “to cut” since that's the common parlance, but note well that while it describes a cutting motion, there's no connotation that the intent is to cleave or or otherwise directly hit your opponent. The word is instead often used to describe a ‘cutting motion’ that will set up further techniques (such as cutting in order to hit with a thrust).
  15. ↑ This couplet isn't directly glosses, but is discussed by the author of ms. 3227a in his gloss of the common lesson.
  16. ↑ These two terms are translated in all kinds of ways, from the abstract/geometric (dimension and extension) to the colloquial (time and place, weighed and measured) to the fencing-specific (distance and reach). My translation goes with a more moralistic read, outlining two qualities the young knight needs to develop, both of which point to the cardinal virtue of temperance. This line is sort of glossed in sword section of the Augsburg Group manuscripts.
  17. ↑ Classical rhetoric would label this section the narratio, the statement of basic facts and the nature of the things being discussed.
  18. ↑ This is interpreted as an admonition against passively waiting for your opponent's actions in the early glosses, but I phrased it in a way that it could also lead Andre Paurenfeyndt and Joachim Meyer to turn it into a teaching about footwork.
  19. ↑ This line is contentious because it encapsulates two approaches to striking among students of Liechtenauer in the 21st century: it either advises you to approach close to your opponent and then cut so you're sure of hitting their head or body with your edge, or it advises you to cut so that your sword approaches close to your opponent and then hit their face or chest with your point; I hold with the latter interpretation, which seems most in line with the instructions in the Sigmund ain Ringeck, Pseudo-Peter von Danzig, and Lew glosses (RDL).
  20. ↑ ‘Schilt=shield’ is often treated as synonymous with the flanges that appear on some 15th-16th century fencing swords, but there's no textual support for this (no, not even in Joachim Meyer's treatises). ‘Shield’ instead seems to refer to the entire lower portion of the sword most often used for defense: the crossguard, the Strength of the blade (see below), and yes, also any flanges that appear near the shoulder of the sword.
  21. ↑ Zecken is typically translated with a variety of words suggesting minor strikes (and Zeck also means “tick”, leading some to read it as something like “bug bites”), but the Lexer gives an alternative reading of “skirmish” or harassing actions. Rühren is “to stir up”, “to cause something to move”, and “to touch or hit” (including “to land a blow in fencing”); I summarize these senses as “harrying”. Zeckrühr doesn’t appear in Grimm or the Lexer, so I read it as a compound of these two words and render it as “harrying strikes” to express the idea of harrassing during a skirmish. (Thanks to Christian Trosclair for digging up the zecken lemma.) The terms Zecken and Zeckrühr are not used again in the Record or in the glosses for any other section, so it’s hard to be sure what this term means. There are hints, though: Hans Medel’s gloss repeats this couplet when it covers the take-away (after couplet 28), the misser is described as rühren (see couplet 53), and two specific pieces are given in the gloss of this couplet in Pseudo-Peter von Danzig and Lew. Based on these examples, I surmise that it's the term for actions that exit a bind and strike to a new exposure, creating a nice contrast between the skirmish and the ‘Krieg=war’ (described further on, in which you remain in the bind and attack by turning your sword).
  22. ↑ More literally “When you want to drive something strongly, fence with your whole body”, but I went with this translation because one of my objectives was to make this stick in people's brains, and “always fight with all your strength” has been part of our collective subconscious in Kunst des Fechtens ever it since was used by Sigmund ain Ringeck translators at the turn of the 21st century. Also, not much rhymes with ‘strength’.
  23. ↑ Schlecht often means “bad”, but it can also mean “straight, direct, simple”, and that makes more sense here. (Thanks to Stephen Cheney for pointing this out.)
  24. ↑ This quatrain is typically interpreted as referring to right- and left-handed fencers and translated accordingly, but the text just says “right” and “left” and it’s not clear whether it’s referring to handedness, which side of the body the sword is held on (regardless of handedness), or which foot is forward (thus echoing the first lesson, just as the fourth lesson—on Before and After—echoes the second lesson—on attacking to provoke a parry rather than waiting to parry the opponent's attack).
  25. ↑ This line is the same as the first line of dueling couplet 62.
  26. ↑ RDL read this as referring to the parts of the sword—the ‘Strength’ of the sword is the part closer to the hand and the ‘Weakness’ of the sword is part near the tip (perhaps specifically from the center of balance to the cross and from the center of percussion to the tip, as swordsmith Paul Champagne (God rest his soul) once opined.); in between is the ‘middle’, and this is where two other words, ‘Hardness’ and ‘Softness’, are felt. Conversely, the author of ms. 3227a doesn't clearly distinguish these two sets of words and typically refers to things as being both “Hard and Strong” or “Soft and Weak” (perhaps owing to their love of hendiadys).
  27. ↑ The meaning of the word Indes changes significantly from MHG to ENHG. It may be translated “within” or “inside” in both languages, but in MHG, Indes was primarily a spatial adverb (i.e., within a place or location) and in ENHG it became primarily a temporal adverb (i.e., within a time or event). Liechtenauer’s Record seems to have been written in the midst of this transition and straddles both senses: the word ‘Within’ is used to describe actions the instant (time) when you have felt the pressure of the bind (place) and must choose a response. By the time of Joachim Meyer, this linguistic evolution was complete and this is perhaps what lead him to accuse masters who taught a spacial interpretation of Indes to be conflating it with the Latin word Intus, which does indeed align closely with the MHG
  28. ↑ Erschricken is often translated as “frighten”, but according to Grimm, it's in the sense of a ‘jump-scare’ rather than a feeling of terror. This verse isn't about cowardice or running away, but rather about panicking and doing something stupid when attacked. (Thanks to Jessica Finley for first pointing this out to me.)
  29. ↑ This quatrain is often appended to the end of the common lesson, but the author of ms. 3227a places it as the beginning of the list of main pieces of the Record, and I think it makes the most sense there, where the five are actually listed and named.
  30. ↑ This couplet is omitted from the Record in ms. 3227a; it's also worded awkwardly (in German) and doesn't rhyme. It's possible that this was a late addition to the Record and perhaps even not authored by Liechtenauer.
  31. ↑ In Classical rhetoric, the third segment would be the partitio, the outline of the argument.
  32. ↑ Krumm und twer is an expression meaning something like “to and fro” (per Jessica Finley). Likewise, the cut of wrath is described by both RDL and the author of ms. 3227a as a ‘schlect haw=straight cut’, and schlect und krumm is an expression meaning “straight and crooked” (per Christian Trosclair). But since this couplet is clearly designed to be mnemonic rather than a functional description, I devised something memorable.
  33. ↑ Schiller mit Scheitler is listed as one of the six techniques that the Brotherhood of St. Mark would test prospective masters on, but neither RDL nor the author of ms. 3227a make any effort to explain these two things in context with each other. Hans Medel offers a play that he labels that way, though, and Hans Talhoffer modifies a verse in the Schiller to include a reference to the Scheitel (see below).
  34. ↑ This couplet is strange; it can be read as describing the first five main pieces, but if that were the intent, we'd expect to see Leger, Versetzt, / Nachreisen, überlauff, absetzt (which would even have the same meter). Instead, it says ‘Alber=poplar tree or foolish’ instead of Leger in the first line and and ‘haw setzt=set the cut’ (or, more commonly, ‘haw letzt=hinders cuts’) instead of absetzt' in the second. This might signify that it was manipulated to make it more memorable than a simple list would be, so I similarly tried to phrase it into a narrative sentence. (Lew is unique in that the Record quoted there does indeed have absetzt, but no extant copy of the Record has Leger instead of Alber.)
  35. ↑ Stossen and zucken are an opposing word pair meaning “push” and “pull”, so this is phrased to emphasize that parallel. They might be translated even better as “shove” and “yank”, emphasizing the violence of the action, but I hate both of those words so I'm going with push and pull.
  36. ↑ This line is the same as the second line of couplet 97, in the section on the angles.
  37. ↑ This couplet uses similar phrasing to 80, in the section on overrunning, and dueling couplet 36.
  38. ↑ I render winden as “to turn”, following Harry R. and Dierk Hagedorn, which I agree makes the text read more smoothly. It also avoids some of the stranger meanings that people have tried to impose based on the more popular translation of “to wind”.
  39. ↑ This couplet is very close to 90, in the section on pulling, and dueling couplet 63.
  40. ↑ Could also be “openings”, but I think “exposure” is more evocative of what's being expressed. When fighting in literal armor, you do indeed attack the openings (i.e., gaps) in their armor, but unarmored, it's all about which parts of your opponent are left exposed by their movements.
  41. ↑ I generally read this verb as ‘rehmen=aim, strive for, frame’, but it could also be ‘raumen=clear away, make space for’ (which is how Andre Paurnfeindt and his followers render it). In this instance, I was able to fold in both meanings.
  42. ↑ I read this as ‘brauchen=apply, use, exploit, abuse’, but it could also be intended as ‘brechen=break, counter’; the latter doesn’t seem to make sense here since whenever brechen is used elsewhere, it describes countering an action or position of the opponent, not an inherent quality of their anatomy/geometry.
  43. ↑ This would literally just be “doubling”, but “redoubling” has the same meaning in English and ‘doubling’; has taken on the very different meaning of “simultaneously hitting and being hit” in the parlance of the Kunst des Fechtens community.
  44. ↑ This quatrain is very close to 100–101, in the section on the angles.
  45. ↑ Krumm can mean both “curved” and “crooked”; it specifically describes a thing that is usually straight but has unnatural curvature. I use “curved” as the adjective form and “crookedly” as the adverb.
  46. ↑ This couplet uses similar phrasing to 81, in the section on overrunning.
  47. ↑ Twer is translated as both “crosswise” and “across”, depending on which fits the sentence better.
  48. ↑ A Fehler is the opposite of a ‘Treffer=hitter’ and signifies something that doesn’t hit whatever target it was aimed at. Here, it’s clearly an intentional miss.
  49. ↑ This couplet uses similar phrasing to 79, in the section on pursuit.
  50. ↑ Schielen is a tricky verb because it has a double meaning of “askew” and “cross-eyed” (once upon a time called ‘squint-eyed’), and the text relies on both meanings. “Cockeyed” is the closest we can get to both meanings in one English word. (Thanks to Christian Trosclair for suggesting this translation.) When shielen is used to tell you to look at rather than strike something, it’s rendered “cock [i.e, turn] your eye”.
  51. ↑ Scheitel refers to the top of the front of the head, the hairline, and the part of the hair. The verb scheiden means “to divide or separate”, and the noun Schaiden refers to damage or harm. Thus, while Sigmund ain Ringeck is clear that the name refers to starting from the part of your hair (i.e., over your head) rather than targeting their hairline, the other potential meaning of “to part” (divide the opponent in half) may also be intended.
  52. ↑ A Leger is a lair or place to lie down and also a military encampment (especially a siege camp). A Hut is a defensive position or guard. It has been proposed based on these meanings that Leger could have originally indicated a position used offensively and Hut a position used defensively, but there’s no evidence of this distinction in any treatises from Liechtenauer’s tradition and the terms are used interchangeably.
  53. ↑ While ‘oxen’ refers to bovines trained as draft animals—usually castrated males, but sometimes bulls or cows—the term Ochs also encompassed the aurochs, the wild ancestor of domestic cows that was prized for its leather and hunted to extinction by the 17th cen. Unlike domestic cattle, the aurochs had large horns that pointed inward.
  54. ↑ Albern is an adjective meaning “foolish” whereas Alber is a noun meaning “poplar tree”; Joachim Meyer interprets it as the former, which he justifies with the explanation that only a fool would use such a worthless guard; Paulus Hector Mayr reads it as the latter, and his Latin translator renders it ‘populus arbor=poplar tree’ without any explanation (PMM: 89r.2–90r.3). There’s no way to be sure which one Liechtenauer intended, but PD: 2r renders it Alwer, a MHG word meaning “simple or worthless”, and Hans Medel uses ‘alberlich=foolishly’ in relation to it (HM: 32r.5), giving the barest suggestion of a shared understanding early in the tradition.
  55. ↑ Could also be ‘von Dach=from the roof’. I went with “day” to match the pastoral theme of the others, and for the similarity to H. Beringer, which uniquely has ‘von himmel=from the sky’.
  56. ↑ In the 15th century, the word Versetzen encompassed both ‘versetzen=to move or shift location’ and ‘vorsetzen=to place in front’, and in this text it usually refers to a defensive action we might label a “parry”.
  57. ↑ The various glossators uniformly ignore the word ‘auch=also’ in this line: the author of ms. 3227a focuses on the first line and introduces four parrying actions without discussing guards, while RDL focuses on the second line and alludes to ways of attacking guards that were covered earlier in the five strikes with no mention of parrying.
  58. ↑ The second word in the name of this piece is sometimes spelled ‘myn=form’ and sometimes ‘nym=take’. Myn tends to appear more commonly in the 15th cen. and nym in the 16th, but both appear in the earliest witnesses so it’s hard to say which one is the original term. Either would capture the essence of the piece, which is actions from a bind on the “outside” (left) instead of the “inside” (right). I decided to use both in this translation.
  59. ↑ This couplet is very close to 109, in the section on the turns.
  60. ↑ This couplet uses similar phrasing to 56, in the section on the misser. The “old slice” is probably meant to convey ‘the previous slice’, referring to that verse.
  61. ↑ This is ‘overrunning’ in the sense of a river that overruns its banks or a cup that runneth over.
  62. ↑ This couplet uses similar phrasing to 32, in the section on the cut of wrath, and dueling couplet 36.
  63. ↑ This couplet uses similar phrasing to 45, in the section on the curved cut.
  64. ↑ This couplet uses similar phrasing to 108, in the section on the turns.
  65. ↑ Both durchwechseln and zucken are sometimes translated as “disengaging”, presumably in a misguided attempt to impose terminology from Modern Olympic Fencing on Liechtenauer's teachings. It isn't the literal meaning of either verb, and imposing it on the text just seems to add more potential for misunderstanding.
  66. ↑ This couplet is very close to 35, in the section on the cut of wrath, and dueling couplet 63.
  67. ↑ “To hang” is the cognate for hengen, but as much as I like cognates, “angle” is the definition that will make the most sense and be the most actionable for most readers. (Paulus Hector Mayr’s Latin translator agrees and used ‘inclinatio=inclination or angle’.)
  68. ↑ This line is the same as the second line of couplet 30, in the section on the cut of wrath.
  69. ↑ Sprechfenster is often read as Sprachfenster, literally “window for speaking” and the term for the screen through which cloistered monastics could communicate with the outside world (but not, as far as I can tell, a small window inside a door that can be used to talk without opening the door). However, Paulus Hector Mayr’s Latin translator renders it ‘fenestra patula=spread-open window’, which seems to be based on reading it as Spreichfenster from ‘spreien=spread’. This is an intriguing possibility, and I incorporated both meanings here. (Liechtenauer could, of course, have also intended it to be read both ways.)
  70. ↑ This could equally be meant as ‘freilich=freely’ or ‘safely (due to freedom)’ or ‘fröhlich=joyfully, cheerfully, or funnily’; both spellings are attested in early witnesses of Liechtenauer’s Record. (Again, it could be intended to encompass both.)
  71. ↑ This quatrain is very close to 40–41, in the section on the four exposures.
  72. ↑ Perhaps the strongest argument for the Record being intended to follow the structure of Classical rhetoric is that this final section is typically labeled the conclusion or resolution of the Record (i.e., the peroratio required by that structure) despite the fact that it summarizes little and instead introduces new concepts and techniques just like most previous sections.
  73. ↑ Sometimes translated as “three wounders”, based on ‘Wunde=wound’, but this form of the word doesn’t seem to be supported in Grimm or Lexer or any other source I've consulted. Wunder is pretty much always “miracle”, “wonder”, or similar. Thanks to Rebecca L. R. Garber for pointing this out to me. It’s possible, of course, that readers were expected to notice the parallelism between these two words and read “thing that wounds” into the term, but there’s no way to be sure of that. Since this is the only part of the Record and gloss that uses the term, the specific meaning may not actually be all that important. (Since I wrote this note, Christian Trosclair has succeeded in locating a single Swiss source that seems to use wunder to refer to ‘one who wounds’, so it's no longer out of the question, but I remain unconvinced that that's the intended meaning, and I still don't think it's very important what the word specifically means.)
  74. ↑ This couplet uses similar phrasing to 85, in the section on setting aside.
  75. ↑ This couplet is very close to 80, in the section on pursuit.
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