The Art of Swordsmanship
Hans Lecküchner
ins Englische übersetzt von Jeffrey L. Forgeng
Completed in 1482, Johannes Lecküchner's Art of Combat with the
"Langes Messer" (Messerfechtkunst) is among the most important
documents on the combat arts of the Middle Ages. The Messer was a
single-edged, one-handed utility sword peculiar to central Europe,
but Lecküchner's techniques apply to cut-and-thrust swords in
general: not only is this treatise the single most substantial work
on the use of one-handed swords to survive from this period, but it
is the most detailed explanation of the two-handed sword techniques
of the German "Liechtenauer" school dating back to the 1300s.
Lecküchner's lavish manuscript consists of over four hundred
illustrations with explanatory text, in which the author, a parish
priest, rings the changes on bladework, deceits, and grappling,
with techniques ranging from life-or-death escapes from an armed
assailant to slapstick moves designed to please the crowd in public
fencing matches.
This translation, complete with all illustrations from the
manuscript, makes the treatise accessible for the first time since
the author's untimely death less than a year after its completion
left his major work to be lost for generations. An extensive
introduction, notes, and glossary analyze and contextualize the
work and clarify its technical content.
Format 23.4x15.6 cm, Paperback, 481 Seiten, 443 s/w Abbildungen,
Best-Nr.: BB033
