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Masters of Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts
- Rediscovering the Western Combat Heritage

by John Clements, et al
Paladin Press, 2008

Master of Medieval and Renaissance Martial ArtsIn this new anthology more than a dozen respected names in Medieval and Renaissance fighting arts scholarship have come together to present a variety of fighting lore from the rich heritage of the European Masters of Defence, circa 1350 to 1675. Continuing to advance research into our lost Western martial heritage, this work explores a host of core issues and topics.

The list of key fighters and teachers of the era contained within these pages reads like a combat honor roll and includes Johannes Liechtenauer, Fiore dei Liberi, Giacomo di Grassi, Henry de Sainct Didier, Joseph Swetnam and Hugues Wittenwiller. Historical documents translated and analyzed include Das Solothurner Fechtbuch, Le Jeu de la Hache, and the Gladiatoria.

Because study of this martial literature requires one to be both scholar and practitioner, the translators and interpreters featured in this book are all researchers and/or martial artists - thus serious students of the emerging field of historical fencing studies. These contributions from Dr. Sydney Anglo, Dr. Grzegorz Zabinski, John Clements, David Lindholm, Brian Hunt, Jeffery Hull, and other modern scholars bring to life the words and fighting techniques of these experts of long ago.

This rediscovery of traditional close combat skills of Western civilization that have been proven over the centuries will breathe new life into the study and modern revival of Medieval and Renaissance martial arts and preserve this forgotten knowledge for generations to come. Expanding the frontier of the subject this pioneering work is a must read for any modern student.

Contents:fencing escrime schermia kunst des fechten

Editor's Foreword
by Jeffrey Hull

The Literary Tradition of Renaissance Martial Arts
by John Clements

The Teachings of Liechtenauer
by John Clements

Unarmoured Longsword Combat of Master Liechtenauer via Priest Döbringer
by Grzegorz Zabinski

Fiore Dei Liberi: 15th Century Master of Defence
by John Clements

Le Jeu de la Hache: A 15th Century Treatise on the Technique of Chivalric Axe Combat
by Sydney Anglo

Judicial Armoured Dagger Combat of Gladiatoria and KK 5013
by Bartlomiej Walczak

A Brief Introduction to the Boon of the English Flourysh
by Benjamin "Casper" Bradak and Brandon Heslop

The Fight-Book of Hugues Wittenwiller
by Jeffrey Hull

The Longsword Fight-Lore of Mertin Siber
by Jeffrey Hull

Mertein Hündsfelder: Fight-Lesson with the "Shortened Sword"
by Szabolcs Waldmann

Das Solothurner Fechtbuch: Giving It Voice
by David Lindholm

Paulus Hector Mair: Peasant Staff and Flail
by Brian Hunt

The Teachings of Giacomo Di Grassi, Master of Arms, 1570
by John Clements

The Single Sword of Henry De Sainct Didier
by Robert Preston Hyatt and Devin Wilson

Fundamentals of English Staff Fighting of Swetnam and Silver
by Stacy Clifford

Nicolaes Petter's Clear Instructions to the Excellent Art of Wrestling
by Gene P. Tausk

Fencing or Fighting? George Silver, Cyril Matthey and the Infantry Sword Exercise of 1895 - Rediscovering an Elizabethan Swordsman in Late Victorian England
by Sydney Anglo

Toward a New Perspective of Historical Fencing Studies
by John Clements

 
 

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