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! <p>{{rating|C}} (2022)<br/>by [[Christian Trosclair]]</p>
 
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! <p>{{rating|C}} (2006)<br/>by [[Thomas Stoeppler]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Pol Hausbuch (MS 3227a)|Nuremberg Version]]{{edit index|Pol Hausbuch (MS 3227a)}}<br/>by [[Dierk Hagedorn]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Pol Hausbuch (MS 3227a)|Nuremberg Version]]{{edit index|Pol Hausbuch (MS 3227a)}}<br/>by [[Dierk Hagedorn]]</p>
 
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! <p>{{rating|C}} (2017)<br/>by [[Christian Trosclair]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|C}} (2017)<br/>by [[Christian Trosclair]]</p>
 +
! <p>{{rating|C}} (2006)<br/>by [[Thomas Stoeppler]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Pol Hausbuch (MS 3227a)|Nuremberg Version]]{{edit index|Pol Hausbuch (MS 3227a)}}<br/>by [[Dierk Hagedorn]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Pol Hausbuch (MS 3227a)|Nuremberg Version]]{{edit index|Pol Hausbuch (MS 3227a)}}<br/>by [[Dierk Hagedorn]]</p>
  

Revision as of 22:54, 17 October 2022

Here begins Master Liechtenauer's art of fencing
Hie hebt sich an meister lichtenawers kunst des fechtens
Author(s) Unknown
Ascribed to Pseudo-Hans Döbringer
Date before 1495
Genre
Language Early New High German
Manuscript(s) MS 3227a
First Printed
English Edition
Żabiński, 2008
Translations

"Pseudo-Hans Döbringer" is the name given to an anonymous 15th century German fencing master.[1] At some point in the 15th century (or possibly the last decade of the 14th), he dictated a gloss on and expansion of the teachings of the grand master Johannes Liechtenauer, including the only biographical details of the master yet discovered; it is even speculated that he was personally acquainted with Liechtenauer, who was still alive at the time of the writing.[2] These comments were written into MS 3227a, a commonplace book, by an equally unknown scribe.

Textual History

Modern HEMA

The first transcription of the long sword gloss was completed in 2001 by Grzegorz Żabiński and posted on ARMA-PL. This was the foundation of the first translations.

In 2005, David Lindholm ("and friends") completed the first English translation of the long sword and posted in on the ARMA site. A second English translation, including all fencing sections, was completed in 2006 by Thomas Stoeppler; he intended to contribute it to a never-realized book with a complete translation of MS 3227a and never released it publicly until he allowed it to be posted in Wiktenauer in 2013. The first Spanish translation of the long sword was also completed in 2006 by Francisco Uribe (based on Lindholm's English) and posted on esgrimahistorica.cl; the first French translation of the long sword was then completed in 2007 by an anonymous author and posted on the ARDAMHE site.

In 2008, Żabiński's English translation of the long sword was published by Paladin Press, along with his transcription, as “Unarmored Longsword Combat by Master Liechtenauer via Priest Döbringer” in Masters of Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts. 2008 also saw the first transcription of all fencing teachings in 3227a by Dierk Hagedorn for his site Hammaborg, and a German modernization of the long sword by Bertram Koch which was posted on Lupi-venaritis. Hagedorn's transcription formed the basis of Francesco Lanza's Italian translation, which he posted on a blog called “Hanko Döbringer in Italiano” from 2009-11.

A new English translation was self-published by Jay Acutt in 2010 (under the pen name James Wallhausen) as Knightly Martial Arts: An Introduction to Medieval Combat Systems. The first Polish translation was authored by Maciej Hammer and submitted to the Uniwersytet Jagielloński as part of his master's thesis.

In 2017, Christian Trosclair authored a new translation of the long sword as part of his ongoing project to translate the entire Liechtenauer tradition, and he donated it to Wiktenauer.

Most recently, a new English translation by Michael Chidester and a revised transcription by Dierk Hagedorn was published by HEMA Bookshelf in 2021 as “The Foundation and Core of All the Arts of Fighting”: The Long Sword Gloss of GNM Manuscript 3227a.

Treatise

Additional Resources

  • Alderson, Keith. “Arts and Crafts of War: die Kunst des Schwerts in its Manuscript Context.” Can The Bones Come to Life? Insights from Reconstruction, Reenactment, and Re-creation 1: 24-29. Wheaton, IL: Freelance Academy Press, 2014. ISBN 978-1-937439-13-2
  • Burkart, Eric. “The Autograph of an Erudite Martial Artist: A Close Reading of Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Hs. 3227a.” Late Medieval and Early Modern Fight Books. Transmission and Tradition of Martial Arts in Europe: 451-480. Ed. Daniel Jaquet, et al. Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2016. ISBN 978-9004312418
  • Burkart, Eric (in German). “Informationsverarbeitung durch autographe Notizen: Die ältesten Aufzeichnungen zur Kampfkunst des Johannes Liechtenauer als Spuren einer Aneignung praktischen Wissens.” 2020. doi:10.26012/mittelalter-25866doi:10.1163/9789004324725_017
  • Chidester, Michael. The Long Sword Gloss of GNM Manuscript 3227a. Somerville, MA: HEMA Bookshelf, 2021. ISBN 978-1-953683-13-7
  • Chidester, Michael and Hagedorn, Dierk. “The Foundation and Core of All the Arts of Fighting”: The Long Sword Gloss of GNM Manuscript 3227a. Somerville, MA: HEMA Bookshelf, 2021. ISBN 978-1-953683-05-2
  • Dürer, Albrecht and Wassmannsdorff, Karl. Die Ringkunst des deutschen Mittelalters. Liepzig: Priber, 1870.
  • Hammer, Maciej. Tłumaczenie traktatu szermierczego zawartego w rękopisie Nürnberger Handschrift 3227a z wyszczególnieniem trudności zaistniałych podczas przekładu [unpublished thesis]. Uniwersytet Jagielloński Wydział Filologiczny, 2015.
  • Vodička, Ondřej. “Origin of the oldest German Fencing Manual Compilation (GNM Hs. 3227a).” Waffen- und Kostümkunde 61(1): 87-108, 2019.
  • Wallhausen, James. Knightly Martial Arts: An Introduction to Medieval Combat Systems. Self-published, 2010. ISBN 978-1-4457-3736-2
  • Welle, Rainer. “...und wisse das alle höbischeit kompt von deme ringen”. Der Ringkampf als adelige Kunst im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert. Pfaffenweiler: Centaurus-Verlagsgesellschaft, 1993. ISBN 3-89085-755-8
  • Żabiński, Grzegorz. “Unarmored Longsword Combat by Master Liechtenauer via Priest Döbringer.” Masters of Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts: 59-116. Ed. Jeffrey Hull. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58160-668-3

References

  1. This name stems from the false assumption of many 20th century writers identifying him with Hans Döbringer. It has been argued that this name is inappropriate because the treatise attributed to pseudo-Döbringer (and also pseudo-Peter von Danzig) are not true pseudepigrapha—they are internally anonymous. However, many Ancient and Medieval pseudepigraphic texts were originally anonymous and were assigned their false attributions by later readers, and this is also the case with these two glosses in our fledgling tradition.
  2. The manuscript uniformly lacks the typical prayer for the dead when mentioning his name.
  3. Here the author seems to be referring to (and disagreeing with) an earlier writing about Liechtenauer which stated that he invented the art of fencing. There’s no way to know what writing this is referring to, but the glosses of Sigmund Ainringck, Pseudo-Peter von Danzig, and Nicolaus all make this claim, and it is therefore likely to have come from the original ur-gloss of that tradition. If that is what the author is referring to, it is yet another sign that this gloss was written in the 15th century (and also evidence that the author had access to those teachings, even though he didn’t incorporate them into his gloss).
  4. Leichmeister is a pun that I can’t capture in English: leich means a dance or other rhythmic movement, and leiche means corpse. Leichmeister seem to be masters who teach fencing that is more like dancing than fighting, and get their students killed if they ever have to fight a duel. "Masters of the deadly dance" might capture the double meaning, but it makes them sound awesome which is hardly the intent. Alternatively, the pseudo-Danzig gloss makes reference to leichtfertigen schirmaister ("careless/frivolous fencing masters"), and leichmeister could be read as a shortening of that epithet.
  5. False masters
  6. Place of combat
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Leychmeistere
  8. Vorschlag
  9. Liechtenauer’s
  10. the steps or movements
  11. The silver "soon" was added later above the line
  12. This folio, containing two poems and a lesson on continual motion, marks the beginning of the second quire. It's made of parchment and is a remnant of the cover that the quire had when it was a separate booklet (prior to being bound into the manuscript). Since they're written on the cover and no other quire had its cover written on, it's possible that these writings were added after the rest of the text was written.
  13. lit: entirely finished sword
  14. lit: verses
  15. Vor
  16. Nach
  17. Weich
  18. Hart
  19. Indes
  20. Stossen; Jeffrey Hull made the suggestion that Stossen might also refer to pushing someones body, either away or to the side. This is also a possible interpretation.
  21. This final quatrain is taken from the Recital, verses 40-41 and 100-101.
  22. Motus
  23. 23.0 23.1 Latin
  24. The following part has proven as untranslatable so far and here I can only guess the meaning! "And this should fool him prior I even have to move." – I guess this is about the concealed quality of the strikes, but I am not sure.
  25. Frequens motus
  26. Nachschlag
  27. Possibly: "If one cannot flee, then do something cunning, that is my advice."
  28. blossfechten
  29. I believe Döbringer is referring to strikes. But it might also be opponents
  30. Text is blacked out.
  31. Wechsler
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 Czucken
  33. 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 33.4 33.5 33.6 33.7 Indes
  34. 34.00 34.01 34.02 34.03 34.04 34.05 34.06 34.07 34.08 34.09 34.10 34.11 34.12 34.13 34.14 34.15 34.16 34.17 Winden
  35. Hawende
  36. Stechende
  37. Sneydende
  38. Abe und czutreten
  39. Umbeschreiten
  40. Springen
  41. Ort
  42. Sneiden
  43. 43.0 43.1 43.2 Gehilcze
  44. Klos
  45. Verse 9.
  46. the opponent
  47. Liechtenauer
  48. In front of the words “denne” and “her” there are oblique insertion marks, which indicate a reverse order – as shown here.
  49. Verse 17.
  50. Harnusche
  51. Blos
  52. Verse 6.
  53. Verses 40-41 (also 100-101).
  54. 54.0 54.1 54.2 54.3 54.4 54.5 Vorschlag
  55. 55.0 55.1 Abweisest or Abeleitest
  56. 56.0 56.1 56.2 Nachschlag
  57. The text beginning with this paragraph and going to the end of the section is written on an extra bifolium (double-page) inserted into the book late in the creation process.
  58. This paragraph is somewhat ambiguous about who is who, and some other translators interpret it as saying that *you* can always deliver a following strike faster than your opponent. This is an equally valid read language-wise, but I don't think it makes as much sense with the overall thrust of the teachings.
  59. Liechtenauer
  60. 60.00 60.01 60.02 60.03 60.04 60.05 60.06 60.07 60.08 60.09 60.10 60.11 60.12 60.13 60.14 Twerhaw
  61. 61.00 61.01 61.02 61.03 61.04 61.05 61.06 61.07 61.08 61.09 61.10 Twer
  62. Here the writing is cut off by manuscript trimming.
  63. 63.0 63.1 63.2 63.3 63.4 63.5 63.6 Wind
  64. his
  65. Veste
  66. Weich
  67. "On Interpretation", the second section of Aristotle's Organon. This, along with "Categories" (the first section), was the only work by Aristotle known to Western Europeans during most of the Middle Ages, and only through a 6th-century Latin translation by Boethius. These works nevertheless formed an important foundation of Scholasticism. By the time of Liechtenauer, though, many other writings of Aristotle had been rediscovered in the Middle East and made widely available across Europe.
  68. This doesn't match any recognizable Aristotelian quotation, though the idea is present in many places in his work.
  69. conflicting
  70. pushes you aside
  71. Verse 78.
  72. Verse 99.
  73. Alternative interpretation: keep your blade on top of his.
  74. Verse 12.
  75. Limpf
  76. Masse
  77. Verse 22 is omitted for unknown reasons.
  78. 78.0 78.1 78.2 Alber
  79. 79.0 79.1 79.2 Vorsetzen
  80. Zuckt
  81. When the manuscript was being written, the scribe included small guide letters to tell the rubricator what large red initial letters to add. In this case, the rubricator was careless and changed the word Wer to Der.
  82. 82.0 82.1 82.2 82.3 82.4 82.5 82.6 82.7 Keren.
  83. Maciej Talaga reads this as "when they cut over you".
  84. "Wisely" inferred from the summary
  85. Wrath strike
  86. Thrust exchange from the bind
  87. striking the wrist and arms
  88. point
  89. Strike from above
  90. Zornhaw
  91. or slide?
  92. Oberhaw
  93. Supplemented according to fol. 29v.
  94. Verse 27.
  95. strike from above
  96. strike from below
  97. the next sentence is unfinished
  98. The two words “hewe” and “ander” are interchanged in the manuscript, as indicated by corresponding insertion characters.
  99. At this point there is an ink stain which might hide an original “g” (which can only be seen indistinctly).
  100. 100.0 100.1 100.2 100.3 100.4 100.5 100.6 100.7 Wenden.
  101. Literally "half an ell"; the length of a Medieval ell varied by city and region, but is generally based on either the length someone's elbow to fingertips, or six times the width of someone's hand. I find the hand-breadth measure to be easier to visualize.
  102. first strike
  103. turning-off
  104. roughly 30 cm
  105. Vorreben?
  106. 106.0 106.1 106.2 106.3 Wenden
  107. 30–40cm
  108. Note that Medieval people generally wore their belts at the top of their waists, meaning at their navels or just below their ribs.
  109. Blossen
  110. Duplier
  111. Mutier
  112. "With your" and "their sword" are inserted over the deletions and seem intended to replace them. However, the deletions describe the typical teaching of the curved cut, whereas the insertions seem to represent a unique idea or teaching. For this reason, unlike other instances of deletion, both the original and the replacement text are translated here for comparison.
  113. to the side, apart, sideways
  114. 114.0 114.1 114.2 Krumphaw
  115. 115.0 115.1 115.2 115.3 115.4 115.5 Krum
  116. the other
  117. feint
  118. 118.0 118.1 Veller
  119. feint
  120. inverse strike
  121. feint
  122. Cut to the hands and then cut the throat
  123. The page is clipped. only 'cut' remains. This manuscript spells 'haupte' as 'cutpte'
  124. transversal strike
  125. from above; the high guard
  126. upper opening
  127. lower opening
  128. crossing strikes
  129. 129.0 129.1 129.2 Pflug
  130. Ochsen
  131. von dem tage
  132. "Hew" is inserted in the margin.
  133. 133.0 133.1 133.2 133.3 133.4 133.5 133.6 Abwenden.
  134. first strike
  135. i.e. for your life
  136. 136.0 136.1 136.2 136.3 136.4 Abwenden
  137. Twerhaw
  138. 138.0 138.1 138.2 Ochs
  139. Verwenden.
  140. Text ends here abruptly.
  141. The comment ends here and remains unfinished
  142. 142.0 142.1 142.2 142.3 142.4 Schilhaw
  143. 143.0 143.1 Schiler
  144. or a fool
  145. Wechsel
  146. 146.0 146.1 146.2 146.3 146.4 Schil
  147. probably the opponent’s right side, but it could be your own as well
  148. schilende
  149. a peasant, that is
  150. At first glance, this appears to be a poem of the author's own devising, but many of the verses are based on couplets from Liechtenauer's Recital (the ones written in grey ink); the couplets in grey italics are based on those of the Recital on short sword fencing. The lines in black text are original, but several of them appear elsewhere in this text and only three couplets are completely unique.
     This is a fine example of the Medieval practice of using the text of a mnemonic (like the Recital) to teach different, distinct lessons, through paraphrase and reorganization. Here, he seems to have stitched together fragments from those sources in order to present a new teaching: a general lesson on fencing from the draw.
     Because the verses are rarely in their exact normal form, the rhyming translation has not been used and instead they are translated more literally.
  151. In all other extant versions this is "point"
  152. Vorschlag
  153. Nachschlag
  154. Vertex strike
  155. crown displacement technique
  156. Scheitelhaw
  157. Scheitler
  158. 158.0 158.1 Kron
  159. Scheitelhaw
  160. Unlike other places where there are definitely passages originally forgotten and inserted with a caret, such is missing here. Thus, it can be conjectured that this is a later addition or comment.
  161. This proverb doesn't come from the Recital and doesn't appear in any other source in the Liechtenauer tradition.
  162. Guards
  163. Ox
  164. Plough
  165. fool
  166. high guard
  167. Liechtenauer
  168. Leger or Hut
  169. dueling yard
  170. Vier Leger
  171. 171.0 171.1 Vom Tag
  172. Leger or Huten
  173. parrying
  174. Absetzen
  175. Schranckhut
  176. Pforte
  177. Alber
  178. your opponent
  179. Hengen
  180. Nochreizen
  181. This last sentence was added after the rest of the text on the page, in the same ink and script as the text at the top of the page.
  182. High guard
  183. Langen Ort
  184. The text here runs into the destroyed corner of the page, and what remains is ut ptu͞it s. Based on 22v, I read this ut patuit s[upra].
  185. This verse is phrased similarly to 43.
  186. versetzen
  187. that is, when the opponent parries
  188. Illegible deleted character.
  189. Nochvolgen
  190. strike from above
  191. strike from below
  192. This verse is phrased similarly to both 35 and 90.
  193. This verse is phrased similarly to 14.
  194. adhering
  195. Nochreisen
  196. Ewsere nymme
  197. overreaching
  198. Oberlawfen
  199. setting aside
  200. Abesetczen
  201. changing through
  202. with your thrust
  203. Durchwechsel
  204. or with doing the changing through, do it at once
  205. pulling
  206. or perhaps strike at you
  207. Durchlawfen
  208. Rangen
  209. Vorkeren
  210. in this case inverting is also possible
  211. cutting off
  212. adhering
  213. Abschneiden
  214. alone?
  215. a possible meaning is do not waste time stepping when you cut, but do it as a stationary movement
  216. The gap between the verse and the explanation here, along with the lack of a gloss label (which is present in every other section with commentary), makes it questionable whether this text is intended to explain the verses on hand-pressing or to be a separate teaching.
  217. pressing the hands
  218. Hende drucken
  219. you catch the attack
  220. Verses 100-101 (also 40-41).
  221. Verse 17.
  222. hanging
  223. speaking window
  224. lower hanging
  225. upper hanging
  226. high strike and low strike
  227. speaking window
  228. skilled
  229. Hengen
  230. 230.0 230.1 Sprechfenster
  231. Ober
  232. away from his body since he is pushing yours
  233. In motu seist
  234. This is the only place in the treatise where verses from the Recital are presented out of order. Furthermore, verses 102-104 are omitted entirely, as is 109 (though 109 is itself a repetition of verse 77).
  235. latin: dampno => damno => harm
  236. The word »Nicht«, which cannot be clearly assigned, is added on the side of the page.
  237. Text cuts off here, and the rest of the page is blank.
  238. Latin passage follows; very difficult.
  239. Grzegorz Żabiński offers: ++ rape radices viole et mitte contare tibi hinssis debtem urgre et quocumque tetigeris suas operis
  240. Please note that there are only three methods described against the turning-out.
  241. Korrigiert aus »sin«.
  242. Alternate description follows, it hopefully should make the method clearer:
    If he holds you by the shoulders, and you grab his shoulders from the outside. Then you sling your right arm with the elbow over his left and below his right, and push downwards, so his right arm moves up. Take this arm over your head and secure the grip with your left hand behind your head; and then push against his chest with your right again. This will lead to a painful breaking lock.
  243. This is a partner exercise, similar to one I know in chinese shuai chiao
  244. Oder »slosse«? Unleserlich.