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| <p>Note the beginning of the technique that also derives from the four guards: When you want to do this seriously move your right foot forward and turn your pommel forward towards his face, thus you offer him an opening at your right armpit. If he means to seek or exploit your opening with a strong thrust then strike down with strength with your sword’s point. So you displace his thrust, and grab with the point from the outside in his left hollow of knee like you see it in the next picture.  
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| <p>Note the beginning of the technique that also derives from the four guards: When you want to do this seriously move your right foot forward and turn your pommel forward towards his face, thus you offer him an opening at your right armpit. If he means to seek or exploit your opening with a strong thrust then strike down with strength with your sword’s point. So you displace his thrust, and grab with the point from the outside in his left hollow of knee like you see it in the next picture. [Continued]
 
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| <p>And pull powerfully towards you so you can throw him on his back as you see it in the picture above. These are the first two techniques deriving from the four guards of the sword that are described before the other sword techniques.  
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| <p>[Continued] And pull powerfully towards you so you can throw him on his back as you see it in the picture above. These are the first two techniques deriving from the four guards of the sword that are described before the other sword techniques.  
 
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| <p>Note the third technique: If he wants to stab from below towards your visor and means to seek you here vigorously, then look and take your sword close [short?]. And just when he means to thrust at your visor, see that you hit him inside on his palm with your thrust thus you deprive him of his hand so that he cannot use it any more.  
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| <p>Note the third technique: If he wants to stab from below towards your visor and means to seek you here vigorously, then look and take your sword close [short?].<ref>This seems to suggest holding the sword well back—close to the body—so there is room to thrust up under the attacker's palm.</ref> And just when he means to thrust at your visor, see that you hit him inside on his palm with your thrust thus you deprive him of his hand so that he cannot use it any more.  
 
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| <p>Note the sixth technique of the sword: If he has set his right foot and has struck the Mortdschlag to your head, then catch the strike with your sword in between your hands and step with your left foot outside of his right foot and catch with your point at the left side of his neck so you can throw him onto his back as you see it in the picture above.
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| <p>Note the sixth technique of the sword: If he has set his right foot and has struck the ''Mortdschlag'' to your head, then catch the strike with your sword in between your hands and step with your left foot outside of his right foot and catch with your point at the left side of his neck so you can throw him onto his back as you see it in the picture above.
 
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| <p>Note the seventh technique of the sword: If he has set his left foot forward and tried to do the Mortdschlag to your head then catch the strike on your sword in between your hands and stride your right foot forward and catch with your pommel at the right side of his neck so you can throw him onto his back as you see it in the picture above.
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| <p>Note the seventh technique of the sword: If he has set his left foot forward and tried to do the ''Mortdschlag'' to your head then catch the strike on your sword in between your hands and stride your right foot forward and catch with your pommel at the right side of his neck so you can throw him onto his back as you see it in the picture above.
 
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| <p>Note the tenth technique of the sword which is called straß der glider: When one thrusts with full power and wants to drive the technique on the other then thrust your point towards the outside of his sword and drive through between his hands with your pommel and catch onto his right wrist and jerk towards you so that you break his arm or throw him as you see it in the picture above.
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| <p>Note the tenth technique of the sword which is called ''straß der glider'':<ref>What is ''straß der glider''? It is likely ''glider'' is ''glieder'' from modern German, meaning "joints". While the use of ''straß'' (probably "road") is confusing here, the contextual use in this and the following plate suggest these to be a class of techniques attacking joints. Other texts (e.g., ''[[Codex Wallerstein (Cod.I.6.4º.2)|Codex Wallerstein]]'' fol. [[Page:Cod.I.6.4º.2 015r.jpg|15r]]) use the term ''Armbrüche'' (lit. "arm breaks") for joint locking techniques so this might represent a separate kind of attack, especially one intended to disarm an opponent.</ref> When one thrusts with full power and wants to drive the technique on the other then thrust your point towards the outside of his sword and drive through between his hands with your pommel and catch onto his right wrist and jerk towards you so that you break his arm or throw him as you see it in the picture above.
 
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| <p>Note the eleventh technique of the sword which is the second part of the straß der glider: When one thrusts at the other and wants to drive the technique then thrust him at the outside of his sword and drive through between his hands with your pommel and hook him with the pommel at the outside of his upper left arm and pull quickly towards you so that you break his arm or throw him as you see in the picture above.
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| <p>Note the eleventh technique of the sword which is the second part of the ''straß der glider'': When one thrusts at the other and wants to drive the technique then thrust him at the outside of his sword and drive through between his hands with your pommel and hook him with the pommel at the outside of his upper left arm and pull quickly towards you so that you break his arm or throw him as you see in the picture above.
 
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| <p>Note the twenty-seventh technique of the sword: If he come towards you in the Crowding and has grabbed your point with his hand then jerk your sword towards you. If he doesn’t allow this then push your pommel into his right side and grab his knee with your left hand and jerk towards you and push his left shoulder with your right hand so you can throw him as you see in the picture above.
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| <p>Note the twenty-seventh technique of the sword: If he come towards you in the Crowding<ref>''Dringen'' = Crowding. This refers to pressing into one's opponent after lodging one's point in the opponent's mail in armored halfsword combat and is the same as Ringeck and von Danzig's Fourth Guard of the halfsword.</ref> and has grabbed your point with his hand then jerk your sword towards you. If he doesn’t allow this then push your pommel into his right side and grab his knee with your left hand and jerk towards you and push his left shoulder with your right hand so you can throw him as you see in the picture above.
 
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<p>Note the technique of the wrestling from the wag and it is the forty-sixth technique of the sword: When both thrust towards the face on the inside then push his point away with strength with your sword and release your right hand from your sword and grab behind his left elbow with it and move your right foot forward behind his left foot and quickly grab around his body with your right arm and throw him as seen in the picture above.
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<p>Note the technique of the wrestling from the ''wag''<ref>"''Wag''" might be ''Waage'' or scale, which in the [[Codex Wallerstein (Cod.I.6.4º.2)|Wallerstein Codex]] (fol. [[Page:Cod.I.6.4º.2 003r.jpg|3r]]) is used to refer to the Balance Stance of the feet.</ref> and it is the forty-sixth technique of the sword: When both thrust towards the face on the inside then push his point away with strength with your sword and release your right hand from your sword and grab behind his left elbow with it and move your right foot forward behind his left foot and quickly grab around his body with your right arm and throw him as seen in the picture above.
 
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| <p>Note the technique which is the forty-seventh technique of the sword: When both of you have lost their means of defense and grab each other for wrestling and he gets hold of you then try to knock off his arm. If he holds tight and does not let go then glide with your right arm half thumb through and push his elbow inwards and quickly grab his left hand with your left hand so you force him back and place your right foot forward so you can throw him as seen in the picture above.
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| <p>Note the technique which is the forty-seventh technique of the sword: When both of you have lost their means of defense and grab each other for wrestling and he gets hold of you then try to knock off his arm. If he holds tight and does not let go then glide with your right arm half thumb (???)<ref>Perhaps this refers to the angle of your hand as you reach through?</ref> through and push his elbow inwards and quickly grab his left hand with your left hand so you force him back and place your right foot forward so you can throw him as seen in the picture above.
 
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Revision as of 03:45, 28 August 2014

Gladiatoria Group
MS Germ.Quart.16 01r.jpg
Author(s) Unknown
Illustrated by Unknown
Patron Unknown
Date ca. 1430s
Genre
Language Early New High German
Archetype(s) Currently lost
Manuscript(s)
First Printed
English Edition
Knight, 2008
Concordance by Michael Chidester and
Dierk Hagedorn
Translations Traduzione italiana

The Gladiatoria Group is a series of several 15th century German manuscripts that share the same art style and cover the same material—various types of armored combat. These are interesting texts in that they seem to be contemporary with the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, but not directly influenced by it.[citation needed] Gladiatoria is thus one of very few glimpses into the characteristics of a potentially independent German martial tradition.

The core of the Gladiatoria group is a series of devices of armored fencing following the typical progression of a judicial duel: beginning with spears and small shields called ecranches, moving to longswords, then employing daggers on foot and on the ground. (Traditional dueling would begin on horseback before going to foot combat, and the ecranche is designed for mounted fencing, but Gladiatoria skips that stage entirely.) The diverse manuscripts in the group generally describe other kinds of fighting as well, such as the sword and buckler of the Codex Guelf 78.2 August 2º or the longshield of the MS German Quarto 16, but these teachings lack some of the common elements of the core Gladiatoria complex and will not be covered on this page. They may be found on the individual manuscript pages.

There are currently five known versions of the Gladiatoria treatise, found in the MS KK5013, the MS German Quarto 16 (the only version with a title page), the MS U860.F46 1450, the Codex Guelf 78.2 August 2º, and the MS Cl. 23842. Hans-Peter Hils mentions a sixth lost manuscript identified as MS T in his edition of Gladiatoria,[1] but Dierk Hagedorn has since determined that this is the MS U860 F46 1450 (which Hils did not have access to). Aside from these five, there are several other manuscripts that some scholars have ascribed to the group. These include the the Cod.11093 and part C of the Codex Wallerstein (also known as pseudo-Gladiatoria for this reason). In each case, there are disqualifying factors that lead us to exclude them from the group, but additional research may reverse these decisions.

While the three oldest texts in the Gladiatoria complex present a fairly identical set of devices, the slightly later Wolfenbüttel version of the treatise contains significantly more material, primarily in the dagger section. The origin of this additional material is unknown, and the textless nature of that version makes it difficult to place these plays in any sort of context.

Treatise

Due to the fact that Wolfenbüttel version is a mixed anthology combining multiple sources, only those images that are reflected in at least one other version of Gladiatoria are included in the concordance below.

Additional Resources

  • Hils, Hans-Peter. "Gladiatoria: Über drei Fechthandschriften aus der ersten Hälfte des 15. Jahrhunderts." Codices manuscripti. Issue 13, 1987.
  • Knight, Hugh T., Jr. The Gladiatoria Fechtbuch: A Fifteenth-Century German Fight Book. Lulu.com, 2008.
  • Walczak, Bartłomiej. "Judicial Armoured Dagger Combat of Gladiatoria and KK 5013." Masters of Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts. Ed. Jeffrey Hull. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58160-668-3

References

  1. Hils, Hans Peter. "Gladiatoria: Über drei Fechthandschriften aus der ersten Hälfte des 15. Jahrhunderts." Codici Manuscripti 13. Verlag Brüder Hollinek, 1987. pp. 1-54. Print.
  2. Es läßt sich nicht zweifelsfrei ausmachen, ob das Wort durchgestrichen oder die Tinte nur verwischt wurde
  3. Zwischen „gew“ und „omen“ befindet sich ein Zeichen, daß wie eine schließende Klammer aussieht.
  4. Könnte auch „deim“ heißen.
  5. Beim ´z´ ist zwar ein Aufstrich am Beginn des Wortes zu sehen, dieser geht aber nicht über das Niveau des ´z´. Das Wort wird deshalb als „zukch“ anstatt „tzukch“ transkribiert.
  6. Last letter in the inner fold not visible.
  7. Über dem Wort befindet sich ein kurzer Strich. Es ist nicht ersichtlich, ob es sich dabei um einen Nasalstrich handelt oder den Umlaut ´ä´ oder ´ö´ kennzeichnen soll. Hier wird es als ´ä´ transkribiert.
  8. Der Anfangsbuchstabe ist eindeutig als ´v´ zu identifizieren, das Wort muß aber „recht“ heißen. Vergleiche auch 30r 2. Zeile 1. Wort „resch“
  9. Der Schreiber hat das erste ´l´ zu tief gezogen, so dass es einem ſähnelt, es wird hier dennoch als ´vallen´ transkribiert.
  10. Der Schreiber fügt dem Buchstaben l meist einen kurzen Aufstrich an, womit das Wort wie „zwelifft“ aussieht, dies wird hier aber vernachläßigt
  11. Das Wort ist nicht lesbar und läßt sich auch mit Hilfe der Ms. germ. Quart. 16 nicht ergänzen, da dieses dort fehlt.
  12. Disappears into the margin.
  13. Difficult to decipher from «als er». The text reaches into the lower, clipped off margin.
  14. vor dich nicht eindeutiges so
  15. The left margin is clipped off, so the initial letters are missing occasionally.
  16. Geschrieben ist „ärtt“, sinngemäß ist ortt gemeint.
  17. This seems to suggest holding the sword well back—close to the body—so there is room to thrust up under the attacker's palm.
  18. Neben dem s befinden sich 2 Punkte und ein halbhoher Schaft. Dies könnte auch auf die Kombination „sü“ hinweisen, wird aber hier als „si“ transkribiert
  19. „darhin“ könnte auch nur „darin“ heißen. Das ´h´ sieht hier eher wie eine schließende Klammer aus und könnte auch auf einen Abschreibfehler hindeuten
  20. Difficult to read due to a speck.
  21. A speck has made portions of the text difficult to read.
  22. What is straß der glider? It is likely glider is glieder from modern German, meaning "joints". While the use of straß (probably "road") is confusing here, the contextual use in this and the following plate suggest these to be a class of techniques attacking joints. Other texts (e.g., Codex Wallerstein fol. 15r) use the term Armbrüche (lit. "arm breaks") for joint locking techniques so this might represent a separate kind of attack, especially one intended to disarm an opponent.
  23. nach bruch setzt der Schreiber drei Punkte, offenbar um anzuzeigen das der Satz durch das in den Text ragende Bild nicht unterbrochen ist.
  24. Die r-Abbreviatur befindet sich am Ende des Wortes, wird hier aber sinngemäß mit andern transkribiert.
  25. korrekt wohl: wenn ainer den andern das ort an dye prust hat gesetzt
  26. Dringen = Crowding. This refers to pressing into one's opponent after lodging one's point in the opponent's mail in armored halfsword combat and is the same as Ringeck and von Danzig's Fourth Guard of the halfsword.
  27. dreyvndreyßigst fälschlich für Zweiundreissigstes ?
  28. nhd : davon
  29. Wer es ... gemalet siest Hierbei müßte es sich um das 38. Stück handeln
  30. „tenken“ wurde aberhalb der Zeile ergänzt.
  31. Hs: als du es oben gemalt ist, du wurde vom Hg. getilgt
  32. Partially illegible due to clipping.
  33. The rest of the line disapears in the margin.
  34. „auffs“ wurde oberhalb der Zeile ergänzt.
  35. "Wag" might be Waage or scale, which in the Wallerstein Codex (fol. 3r) is used to refer to the Balance Stance of the feet.
  36. Perhaps this refers to the angle of your hand as you reach through?
  37. The last line diappears in the margin.
  38. Some words illegible because of clipping.
  39. 39.0 39.1 Underlined by a later hand in pencil
  40. Hs: ob du er dir, du wurde vom Hg. getilgt
  41. Über dem Wort befindet sich ein Nasal- oder ein Zierstrich, wird aber in der Transkription vernachlässigt.
  42. Über dem Wort befindet sich ein Nasal- oder ein Zierstrich, wird aber in der Transkription vernachlässigt.
  43. tencken korrigiert für teincken ? temcken ? trincken ?
  44. Wurde am oberen Rand des Blattes durch eine andere Hand ergänzt, ist aber nicht vollständig zu lesen.
  45. „oben“ wurde oberhalb der Zeile ergänzt.
  46. Wurde am oberen Rand des Blattes durch eine andere Hand hinzugefügt.
  47. The rest of the line disappears in the clipped margin.
  48. „zum´“wurde sinngemäß ergänzt, da im Text, durch eine Beschädigung des Blattes nur ein ´z´ und ´m´ erkennbar sind.
  49. Das Wort ist im Text nur fragmentarisch erkennbar, da das Blatt hier beschädigt ist und wurde deshalb sinngemäß ergänzt.