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Difference between revisions of "Johannes Liechtenauer"

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! <p>[[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Augsburg II Transcription]] (1553){{edit index|Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)}}<br/>by [[Werner Ueberschär]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Augsburg II Transcription]] (1553){{edit index|Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)}}<br/>by [[Werner Ueberschär]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Maister Liechtenawers Kunstbuech (Cgm 3712)|Munich III Transcription]] (1556){{edit index|Maister Liechtenawers Kunstbuech (Cgm 3712)}}<br/></p><br/>
 
! <p>[[Maister Liechtenawers Kunstbuech (Cgm 3712)|Munich III Transcription]] (1556){{edit index|Maister Liechtenawers Kunstbuech (Cgm 3712)}}<br/></p><br/>
! <p>[[Hans Endter Fechtbuch|Hans Entner Transcription]] (before 1562){{edit index|Hans Endter Fechtbuch}}<br/>by [[Carl Michael Wiechmann-Kadow]]</p>
 
 
! <p>[[Fechtbuch zu Ross und zu Fuss (MS Var.82)|Rostock Transcription]] (1563-71){{edit index|Fechtbuch zu Ross und zu Fuss (MS Var.82)}}<br/>by [[Dierk Hagedorn]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Fechtbuch zu Ross und zu Fuss (MS Var.82)|Rostock Transcription]] (1563-71){{edit index|Fechtbuch zu Ross und zu Fuss (MS Var.82)}}<br/>by [[Dierk Hagedorn]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Künnst zu fechten vonn dem Lienhartt Sollinger (Cod.Guelf.38.21 Aug.2º)|Wolfenbüttel II Transcription]] (ca. 1588){{edit index|Künnst zu fechten vonn dem Lienhartt Sollinger (Cod.Guelf.38.21 Aug.2º)}}<br/>by [[Kevin Maurer]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Künnst zu fechten vonn dem Lienhartt Sollinger (Cod.Guelf.38.21 Aug.2º)|Wolfenbüttel II Transcription]] (ca. 1588){{edit index|Künnst zu fechten vonn dem Lienhartt Sollinger (Cod.Guelf.38.21 Aug.2º)}}<br/>by [[Kevin Maurer]]</p>
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[The subsequent preface is almost the same as in the [[Codex Danzig (Cod.44.A.8)|Rome Codex]], only with slightly different orthographics. At the bottom of the page is a short horizontal rule with knights fighting whilst riding on goats.]
 
 
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daruff dich fasse  
 
daruff dich fasse  
 
Alle kunst haben leng~ vnd masse</poem>
 
Alle kunst haben leng~ vnd masse</poem>
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wir glauben  
 
wir glauben  
 
zu künsten gern zu kumen</poem>
 
zu künsten gern zu kumen</poem>
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<poem>'''[2v]''' {{red|Zorenhawe. krimp, twirg
 
Hat Schiler mit scheitlar.
 
Alber vorsetzt.
 
Nachryssen. Vberlauff. ha w leezt.
 
 
 
Dorchwechsel. zuck}}
 
'''[3r]''' {{red|Vberlauff. —}}</poem>
 
 
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jm des, vnnd vor nach
 
jm des, vnnd vor nach
 
an hurt dem krieg sey nit gach,</poem>
 
an hurt dem krieg sey nit gach,</poem>
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jm allem treffen,
 
jm allem treffen,
 
den maistern wilt du si <del>treff</del> Effen,</poem>
 
den maistern wilt du si <del>treff</del> Effen,</poem>
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an alle var
 
an alle var
 
Der Zweifel wirt er gewar</poem>
 
Der Zweifel wirt er gewar</poem>
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hastu vernomen,
 
hastu vernomen,
 
zu, schlagen mag er Cleine <del>khumen</del> kumen</poem>
 
zu, schlagen mag er Cleine <del>khumen</del> kumen</poem>
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das er nicht waiß fur war,
 
das er nicht waiß fur war,
 
wo er seyone var,</poem>
 
wo er seyone var,</poem>
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was sich wol tweret,
 
was sich wol tweret,
 
mit springen dem haubt gefert,</poem>
 
mit springen dem haubt gefert,</poem>
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zwiefachs furbas
 
zwiefachs furbas
 
schret jn linckh vnd bes nicht laß,</poem>
 
schret jn linckh vnd bes nicht laß,</poem>
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[sc]hill zu dem [o?]ben[?] haubt vnd hende,
 
[sc]hill zu dem [o?]ben[?] haubt vnd hende,
 
wilt du bedobern,</poem>
 
wilt du bedobern,</poem>
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die straich drucke,
 
die straich drucke,
 
mit schneiden si abzuckhe,</poem>
 
mit schneiden si abzuckhe,</poem>
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ochs pflug alber,
 
ochs pflug alber,
 
vom tag sein dir nicht vnmer,</poem>
 
vom tag sein dir nicht vnmer,</poem>
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secz an vier enden,
 
secz an vier enden,
 
bleib darauff ` lere wiltu enden,</poem>
 
bleib darauff ` lere wiltu enden,</poem>
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Nachraysen zwifach,
 
Nachraysen zwifach,
 
Trifft man den alten schnit mit mache</poem>
 
Trifft man den alten schnit mit mache</poem>
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dein arbait schwache,
 
dein arbait schwache,
 
oder hört druckh zwifache</poem>
 
oder hört druckh zwifache</poem>
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von baiden syten,
 
von baiden syten,
 
triff alle mal wilu schreiten</poem>
 
triff alle mal wilu schreiten</poem>
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wer auf dich bindet,
 
wer auf dich bindet,
 
durchwechsel jn schier findet,</poem>
 
durchwechsel jn schier findet,</poem>
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zuckht aller treffen,
 
zuckht aller treffen,
 
den maistern wilt du sy äff[en]</poem>
 
den maistern wilt du sy äff[en]</poem>
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wer gegen dir sterckh,
 
wer gegen dir sterckh,
 
durchlauff damit merckh,</poem>
 
durchlauff damit merckh,</poem>
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vier sind der [sc]hnit,
 
vier sind der [sc]hnit,
 
zwen vnden zwen oben mit,</poem>
 
zwen vnden zwen oben mit,</poem>
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<poem>Dein schneid wennde
 
<poem>Dein schneid wennde
 
zuflechen druckh die hende,</poem>
 
zuflechen druckh die hende,</poem>
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Jn allen gevert,
 
Jn allen gevert,
 
haw stich leger waich oder hert,</poem>
 
haw stich leger waich oder hert,</poem>
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hast du es vernomen
 
hast du es vernomen
 
zu schlageen mag er clein khumen</poem>
 
zu schlageen mag er clein khumen</poem>
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vnd pruff die gefert,
 
vnd pruff die gefert,
 
nicht mer nur waich oder hert,</poem>
 
nicht mer nur waich oder hert,</poem>
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Revision as of 00:35, 13 June 2017

Die Zettel
The Recital
Johannes Liechtenauer.png
Full Title A Recital on the Chivalric
Art of Fencing
Ascribed to Johannes Liechtenauer
Illustrated by Unknown
Date Fourteenth century (?)
Genre
Language Middle High German
Archetype(s) Hypothetical
Manuscript(s)
First Printed
English Edition
Tobler, 2010
Concordance by Michael Chidester
Translations

Johannes Liechtenauer (Hans Lichtenauer, Lichtnawer) was a German fencing master in the 14th or 15th century. No direct record of his life or teachings currently exists, and all that we know of both comes from the writings of other masters and scholars. The only account of his life was written by the anonymous author of the Nuremberg Hausbuch, one of the oldest texts in the tradition, who stated that "Master Liechtenauer learnt and mastered the Art in a thorough and rightful way, but he did not invent and put together this Art (as was just stated). Instead, he traveled and searched many countries with the will of learning and mastering this rightful and true Art." He may have been alive at the time of the creation of the fencing treatise contained in the Nuremberg Hausbuch, as that source is the only one to fail to accompany his name with a blessing for the dead.

Liechtenauer was described by many later masters as the "high master" or "grand master" of the art, and a long poem called the Zettel ("Recital") is generally attributed to him by these masters. Later masters in the tradition often wrote extensive glosses (commentaries) on this poem, using it to structure their own martial teachings. Liechtenauer's influence on the German fencing tradition as we currently understand it is almost impossible to overstate. The masters on Paulus Kal's roll of the Fellowship of Liechtenauer were responsible for most of the most significant fencing manuals of the 15th century, and Liechtenauer and his teachings were also the focus of the German fencing guilds that arose in the 15th and 16th centuries, including the Marxbrüder and the Veiterfechter.

Additional facts have sometimes been presumed about Liechtenauer based on often-problematic premises. The Nuremberg Hausbuch, often erroneously dated to 1389 and presumed to be written by a direct student of Liechtenauer's, has been treated as evidence placing Liechtenauer's career in the mid-1300s.[1] However, given that the Nuremberg Hausbuch may date as late as 1494 and the earliest records of the identifiable members of his tradition appear in the early 1400s, it seems more probable that Liechtenauer's career occurred toward the beginning of the 15th century. Ignoring the Nuremberg Hausbuch as being of indeterminate date, the oldest version of the Recital appears in the MS G.B.f.18.a, dating to ca. 1418-28 and attributed to an H. Beringer, which both conforms to this timeline and suggests the possibility that Liechtenauer was himself an inheritor of the teaching rather than its original composer (presentations of the Recital that are entirely unattributed exist in other 15th and 16th century manuscripts).

Treatise

Liechtenauer's teachings are preserved in a brief poem of rhyming couplets called the Zettel ("Recital"). These "secret and hidden words" were intentionally cryptic, probably to prevent the uninitiated from learning the techniques they represented; they also seem to have offered a system of mnemonic devices to those who understood their significance. The Recital was treated as the core of the Art by his students, and masters such as Sigmund ain Ringeck, Peter von Danzig zum Ingolstadt, and Jud Lew wrote extensive glosses that sought to clarify and expand upon these teachings.

Twenty-one manuscripts contain a presentation of the Recital as a separate (unglossed) section; there are dozens more presentations of the verse as part of one of the several glosses. The longest version of the Recital by far is found in the gloss from the Nuremberg Hausbuch, which contains almost twice as many verses as any other. However, given that the additional verses tend to either consist of repetitions from elsewhere in the Recital or use a very different style from Liechtenauer's work, they are generally treated as additions by the anonymous author or his instructor rather than being part of the standard Recital. The other surviving versions of the Recital from all periods show a high degree of consistency in both content and organization, excepting only the version attributed to H. Beringer (which is also included in the writings of Hans Folz).

The following tables include only those manuscripts that quote Liechtenauer's Recital in an unglossed form. Note that in the case of Beringer and Folz, the verse is presented in an alternative sequence; they have been reordered to match the others in this rendition, but you can find the original layout in their articles.

temp division

In addition to the verses on mounted fencing, several treatises in the Liechtenauer tradition include a group of twenty-six figuren ("figures")—single line abbreviations of the longer couplets, generally drawn in circles, which seem to sum up the most important points. The precise reason for the existence of these figures remains unknown, as does the reason why there are no equivalents for the armored fencing or unarmored fencing verses.

One clue to their significance may be a parallel set of teachings first recorded by Andre Paurñfeyndt in 1516, called the "Twelve Teachings for the Beginning Fencer".[18] These teachings are also generally abbreviations of longer passages in the Bloßfechten, and are similarly repeated in many treatises throughout the 16th century. It may be that the figures are a mnemonic that represent the initial stage of mounted fencing instruction, and that the full verse was taught only afterward.

Additional Resources

References

  1. Christian Henry Tobler. "Chicken and Eggs: Which Master Came First?" In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts. Wheaton, IL: Freelance Academy Press, 2010. p6
  2. The text diverges here, omitting Liechtenauer's couplet and inserting this quatrain instead:
    Dagge swert stãge lãse schon
    Messer bockler has vñ rõken
    Taegñ darde vnd schilt
    Miden allen zu ringe~ uff du wilt
  3. Kein eindeutiges z.
  4. The first letter has been corrected so that the word is ambiguous to identify.
  5. Written larger than normal.
  6. In the Bavarian dialect: freien = freuen, a freit = eine Freude.
  7. Gotha inserts the title Das ist der krieck in this position, but no other version separates it in that way.
  8. Between "Dupliere" and "doniden" there is a lack of space, possibly the "d" was added later.
  9. Corrected from »Im«.
  10. There is probably a missing letter here, making it "durchwechseln".
  11. W has been corrected to V.
  12. Talhoffer adds an additional couplet: [4r] Page:Ms.Thott.290.2º 004r.jpg
  13. should be "dreffen"
  14. "oder"
  15. The meaning is unknown, but may be a part of the bridle.
  16. There are dots above the e, but it is not clear whether it really is an umlaut.
  17. "Vecht" (sound shift b→v)
  18. Andre Paurñfeyndt, et al. Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey. Hieronymus Vietor: Vienna, 1516.