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Absetzen
Absetzen (abversetzen, Absatz, setting off) is one of the 17 Hauptstucke in the recital of Johannes Liechtenauer, and is a type of parry which winds against the incoming cut, typically followed by a thrust. Joachim Meÿer describes this technique as being executed with the strait edge.
Primary Sources
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Setting Aside
83 | Learn to set aside, To skillfully hinder stroke and thrust. |
84 | Who thrusts at you, your point hits and counters his. |
85 | From both sides hit every time if you want to step. |
leren abseczenn
hawe stich chunstiglichenn leczenn
wer auff dich bindet sticht
dein ort trifft vnd seine~ bricht
von beydenn seyten
triff alle mal wildu streÿtenn
Von absetzen
Lere absetzen
haw stich kunstlich letzen
wer au°ff dich sticht
Dein ort trifft vnd seinen pricht
Von paiden seitten
Triff alle mal wiltu schreiten
vom absetzen
kanstu die rechtn absetzen
All höw und stich sie dir letzen
der uff dich sticht
driff den ort daz im bricht
von baiden sitten
triff allemal darzu schritten
ler aff setze~ //
hav stich ku~stich letze~ /
wer uff dich sticht
Syne~ art driff myd dyne~ brich
van beiden syden
Driff almal wultu striden
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|von abseczenn
Lern ab seczenn
haw stich chunnstlich leczen
wer auf dich sticht
dein ort trifft vnnd seinen trift
von paiden seytten
trif alle wol schreitenn
Von abseczen
Lere abseczen
haw sch stich kunstlichen
wer vff dich sch sticht /
dein ort trifft vnnd sein an pricht
Von baiden saiten sÿtten /
triff all mal wilt du schrÿtten ~ ~:·
Lern abseczen /
hew° stich künstlich leczen
Wer vff dich sticht
sin ort bricht / der din trifft
Absetzen
Lere absetzen
haw stich kunstlich letzen
Wer auf dich sticht
dein ort trifft und seinen pricht
von paiden seytn
triff allemal wiltu schreyten
Die ausrichtung von dem absetsen
Lere absetsen
haw stich krum schnielgkeichen letzen
wer auff dich sticht
so lug das dein ortt [ ]riff und den seinen bricht
von baiden seitten
briff alln mal wilstu schreitten
+ Die ausrichtung von dem absetzen
Lere absetzen
haw stich krum schneligklichen letzen
wer auff dich sticht
so lug das dein ortt drift vnd dem seinen bricht
von baiden seiten
driff alle mal wilttu schreitten
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|[16v] Von abseczen,
Leere abseczen,
haw stich kunstlichen leczen,
wer auff dich sticht,
dein orte Trifft, vnd seiner pricht,
von baiden syten,
triff alle mal wilu schreiten
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|Die ausrichtung von dem absetzen
Lehren absetzen
hauw stich krum schneligkhlichen legen
wer auff dich sticht,
so lug dz dein ortt trifft, und sein seuckh? bricht
von baiden seitten
triff also nach? wiltu schreitten.
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Illustrations |
Archetype (1467) |
Kassel Version (1600s) |
Munich Version (1820)
Hans Talhoffer (Dalhover, Talhofer, Talhouer, Thalhoffer; fl. 1433-67) was a 15th century German fencing master. His martial lineage is unknown, but his writings make it clear that he had some connection to the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, the grand master of the German school of fencing. Talhoffer was a well educated man, who took interest in astrology, mathematics, onomastics, and the auctoritas and the ratio. He authored at least five fencing manuals during the course of his career, and appears to have made his living teaching, including training people for martial dueling and trial by combat. The first historical reference to Talhoffer is in 1433, when he represented Johann Ⅱ von Reisberg, archbishop of Salzburg, before the Vehmic court. Shortly thereafter in 1434, Talhoffer was arrested and questioned by order of Wilhelm von Villenbach (a footman to Albrecht Ⅲ von Wittelsbach, duke of Bavaria) in connection to the trial of a Nuremberg aristocrat named Jacob Auer, accused of murdering of his brother Hans. Talhoffer subsequently confessed to being hired to abduct Hans von Villenbach, and offered testimony that others hired by Auer performed the murder.[1] Auer's trial was quite controversial and proved a major source of contention and regional strife for the subsequent two years. Talhoffer himself remained in the service of the archbishop for at least a few more years, and in 1437 is mentioned as serving as a bursary officer (Kastner) in Hohenburg.[2] The 1440s saw the launch of Talhoffer's career as a professional fencing master. He purchased (and perhaps contributed to) the MS Chart.A.558, an anthology created in ca. 1448. The fencing portion is largely text-less and it may have been designed as a visual aid for use in teaching; in addition to these illustrations, the manuscript also contains a treatise on name magic and a warbook that might be related to Konrad Kyeser's Bellifortis. While Talhoffer's owner's mark appears in this manuscript,[3] his level of involvement with its creation is unclear. It contains many works by other authors, in addition to plays that are somewhat similar to his later works, and shows evidence of multiple scribes and multiple artists. It is possible that he purchased the manuscript after it was completed (or partially completed), and used it as a basis for his later teachings.[4] Most notable among the noble clients that Talhoffer served in this period was the Königsegg family of southern Germany, and some time between 1446 and 1459[5] he produced the MS ⅩⅨ.17-3 for this family. This work depicts a judicial duel being fought by Luithold von Königsegg and the training that Talhoffer gave him in preparation, but it seems that this duel never actually took place.[6] He seems to have passed through Emerkingen later in the 1450s, where he was contracted to train the brothers David and Buppellin vom Stain; he also produced the MS 78.A.15 for them, a significantly expanded version of the Königsegg manuscript.[7] In 1459,[8] Talhoffer commissioned the MS Thott.290.2º, a new personal fencing manual along the same lines as the 1448 work but expanded with additional content and captioned throughout. He appears to have continued instructing throughout the 1460s, and in 1467 he produced his final manuscript, Cod.icon 394a, for another of his noble clients, Eberhardt Ⅴ von Württemberg, count of Württemberg-Urach (who later became Eberhardt Ⅰ when the reunified Württemberg was elevated to a duchy in 1495).[9] This would be his most extensive work, and the count paid 10 Guilder as well as quantities of rye and oats for the finished work.[10] While only a few facts are known about Talhoffer's life, this has not stopped authors from conjecture. The presence of the Lion of St. Mark in Talhoffer's 1459 coat of arms (right) has given rise to speculation that he may have been an early or even founding member of the Frankfurt-am-Main-based Marxbrüder fencing guild, though there is no record of their existence prior to 1474.[citation needed] Additionally, much has been made of the fact that Talhoffer's name doesn't appear in Paulus Kal's list of members of the Fellowship of Liechtenauer.[11] While some have speculated that this indicates rivalry or ill-will between the two contemporaries, it is more likely that Talhoffer simply didn't participate in whatever venture the fellowship was organized for. Various otherwise-unidentified fencing masters named Hans have also been associated by some authors with Talhoffer. The 1454 records of the city of Zürich note that a master (presumed by some authors to be Hans Talhoffer) was chartered to teach fencing in some capacity and to adjudicate judicial duels; the account further notes that a fight broke out among his students and had to be settled in front of the city council, resulting in various fines.[12] In 1455, a master named Hans was retained by Mahiot Coquel to train him for his duel with Jacotin Plouvier in Valencienne; if this were Talhoffer, his training did little good as Coquel lost the duel and died in brutal fashion.[citation needed] Contents
TreatisesNot only did Talhoffer produce at least three distinct treatises in his lifetime, but his writings have been reproduced in every century up to the present. They exist in well over a dozen manuscripts created in the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries; they have also been published a number of times in facsimiles beginning in 1887, including translations into English and French. Talhoffer's writings cover a wide assortment of weapons, including the buckler, crossbow, dagger, flail, Messer, longshield, mace, poleaxe, spear, sword, and unarmed grappling, often both armored and unarmored, on horse and on foot, and in scenarios including tournaments, formal duels, and unequal encounters implying urban self-defense. Despite the obvious care and detail that went into the artwork, the manuscripts generally have only a few words captioning each page (and in many cases none at all); some were likely teaching aids and would need no detailed explanation, while the treatises for Königsegg, Stain, and Württemberg were probably intended as memory aids to review his teachings after he left. Though there is considerable overlap in the specific plays Talhoffer teaches, the organization and exact contents differ in each of the main treatises. For this reason, they are listed separately below (along with their derivative copies) rather than being combined into one giant mixed concordance that fails to capture the organization of any of them. Though his authorship of his first manuscript, the Gotha, cannot be proven, it is included below because it is a useful reference to compare to his authenticated works. In addition to the four manuscripts which reproduce most or all of the contents of the Gotha version, there are three others that only reproduce single sections. Wolfenbüttel Ⅰ (1465-80) reproduces only 15 of the 34 illustrated wrestling plays, and also omits their captions. These are not exact copies of the plays in the archetype, but are often depicted mirrored or with minor differences in hand or foot position. Conversely, the Wolfenbüttel Ⅱ and Coburg versions (which date to the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively) contain the full section on trial by combat with longshields, and they exceed the other versions in that they add captions for many of the illustrations. It's unclear who wrote this text or when it was written, but it's possible that the text is original to the treatise and the archetype for all later versions is just a draft or incomplete copy from another manuscript, now missing. In the absence of more information, it seems prudent to treat the text as authentic. To streamline the concordance, these additional sources are included at the far-right side of the respective tables and not included in any other sections. The earlest known copy made from the archetype, which was previously Cod.Ser.Nov.2978, was sold to an unknown private collector in the late 20th century and is no longer available for study. For this reason, it cannot be included in the concordances below. The Göttingen, Wolfenbüttel Ⅱ, and Coburg versions only include plays of the duel between man and woman, so to make the tables easier to read, they are omitted from all other sections and included at the far right side of that one. For further information, including transcription and translation notes, see the discussion page. Additional ResourcesThe following is a list of publications containing scans, transcriptions, and translations relevant to this article, as well as published peer-reviewed research.
References
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Illustrations |
Vienna Version (1495)
Peter Falkner (Peter Faulkner, Petter Falckner) was a 15th century German fencing master. His early life is uncertain, but he was certified as a Master of the Long Sword by the Marxbrüder in Frankfurt-am-Main some time before 1491.[1] Falkner was a witness of record to the guild's biannual treasury accounting in 1496, a task he performed again in 1506.[1] In 1502, he was elected as Captain (Hauptman) of the guild, and he seems to have served an unusual three consecutive terms.[1][2] In the 1490s, Falkner seems to have produced at least two manuscript fencing manuals (becoming the first member of the Brotherhood of Saint Mark to do so, unless Hans Talhoffer were also a member). Sadly, only the shorter of the two manuscripts, Kunste Zu Ritterlicher Were (MS KK5012),[3] survives. This fully-illustrated manuscript includes a sword section is based on Liechtenauer's Recital and a messer section based on that of Johannes Lecküchner (though in both cases with considerable alteration and elaboration by Falkner, and several short sections on other weapons which appear to be entirely original. The longer of the two manuscripts, known as the Falkner Turnierbuch, seems to have been destroyed by Prussian bombardment during the Siege of Strasbourg in 1870. What little we know about its contents comes from records made before this time, which seem to indicate a manuscript of at least 111 folia containing an anthology of treatises by other masters of the Liechtenauer tradition, as well as a few works of unknown origin. There is also a possible third Falkner manuscript, the apparently-anonymous MS Cl. 23842, whose illustrations bear a strong resemblance to the artwork in KK5012 and which seems to even directly allude to it.[4] Falkner's artwork resembles to some extent the earlier treatises of Paulus Kal, which may have been his inspiration, and his art seem in turn to have influenced Jörg Wilhalm (especially if he created Cl. 23842). Treatise
For further information, including transcription and translation notes, see the discussion page.
Additional ResourcesThe following is a list of publications containing scans, transcriptions, and translations relevant to this article, as well as published peer-reviewed research.
References
Warning: Default sort key "Falkner, Peter" overrides earlier default sort key "Talhoffer, Hans".
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Video Interpretations
{{#evp:youtube|iPpZIdP5kBY|Vectir (2010)|left}}
{{#evp:youtube|lo8q-BDLuzc| Sword Carolina (2015)|left}}
{{#evp:youtube|BaX3ZnKPPTA| Use of absetzen and related techniques compiled from Swordfish 2015 by Axel Pettersson (2015)|left}}
- French Translation
- Hungarian Translation
- Slovenian Translation
- Spanish Translation
- Translation
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Public Domain
- Copyrighted
- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- GNU GPLv3
- Masters
- German
- Archery
- Arming Sword
- Armored Fencing
- Dagger
- Flail
- Grappling
- Longshield
- Longsword
- Man vs. Woman
- Messer
- Mounted Fencing
- Physical Training
- Pole Weapons
- Staff Weapons
- Sword and Buckler
- German Translation
- Hauptstucke
- Other Techniques
- German Techniques