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Medieval Swordsmanship - Book Resources
Medieval Swordsmanship - Reading Resources
We have been researching books on Medieval Swordsmanship. Below we list several books we found of interest. Each have gotten a variety of reviews which you can find online. It has been interesting reading the different perspectives as authors and historians piece together a clearer picture of warrior and the craft of swordsmanship during the Middle Ages.
Christian Tobler's Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship
In the late 14th century, Germany was a patchwork of warring principalities, bishoprics, mercantile leagues, and free-cities - all nominally united under the banner of the Holy Roman Empire. Besides full-scale wars of conquest, crusades and imperial succession, petty, “private wars,” were fought between every conceivable combination of princeling, town and bishop. Renegade “robber knights,” prayed upon travelers on the lonely roads through the dense, German forest. Yet, at the same time, roots of the Renaissance were already being lain. This was the dangerous, paradoxical world into which Johannes Liechtenauer was born, the premier master-at-arms of medieval Germany, whose martial art dominated German swordsmanship for over two centuries.
Liechtenauer spent his youth traveling through Central and Eastern Europe, studying with masters from locales as far-off as Krakow and Prague. Through these wanderings, he developed his own unique and deadly form of martial art, that fully integrated sword, spear, dagger and grappling, for use in and out of armour; on foot and horseback. Gathering a select circle of students around him, Liechtenauer transmitted his teachings into cryptic, mnemonic verses and swore his students to secrecy. These students, in turn, became masters-at-arms to the greatest noble-houses of the Empire.
In the 15th century, Sigmund Ringeck, master-at-arms to Albrecht, Count Palatine of the Rhine and Duke of Bavaria, and one of the descendants of the “Liechtenauer school,” broke the secrecy, and sought to explain the mysterious verses. Working through the verses line-by-line, he added explanatory commentary on the tactical and mechanical principles of the system. Ringeck’s commentaries reveal a sophisticated system of fighting, based on natural, underlying bio-mechanics, and a fighting philosophy built around maintaining control of initiative.
Christian Henry Tobler has rendered this key text into English for the first time, and provides photographic interpretation and commentary for each technique of this “secret” martial art. The result is a must for serious Western martial artists, students of medieval history, hoplologists, and medieval reenactors.
David Lindholm's Knightly art of Swordsmanship
This work is absolutly essential for anyone interested in the medieval art of swordsmanship. The text includes in-depth analysis along with illustrations that make it easily accessible for anyone. An added bonus is that the authors have included the original German text,lacking in Tobler's book "Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship", which gives me the option to evaluate the interpretations. Both Ringeck's comments and Lichtenauer's verses are included in German and translated to English in a parallel text. The book is a perfect handbook for anyone interested in starting practice with the longsword,or for the advanced student who wants to go deeper into the meaning and sayings of the old masters.
Medieval Swordsmanship: Illustrated Methods and Techniques By John Clements. Below is an excerpt from his book.
"The Medieval long-sword is not wielded in the standard "hack and slash" style so familiar from movies and TV. It has a different center of balance and is used in a tighter, closer manner that employs its hilt, utilizes thrusts, and emphases its length offensively and defensively. When swung with both hands long-swords are capable of delivering tremendous and devastating wounds. Used in this manner they have a well-rounded and symmetrical offense and defence. Parries are made with the flat of the blade and it’s cross-guard can be used to block, bind, or trap an opposing weapon. Its pommel can be grabbed to give power to thrusts or it can be used to strike with when close in. Those lighter more rigid blades with narrower tips can also make use of numerous thrusts and maneuvers allowing the armored second hand to be employed in helping guide the weapon or in grabbing the adversary. Such anti-armor blades are also further distinct in their handling from broader slashing blades. The brutal style of the Medieval long-sword is one of power and practical efficiency, but one with an artistry all its own.
The Swordman's Companion: A Manual for Training With the Medieval Longswordby Guy Windsor
This book outlines the basics of fencing in an easy to understand and accessable way. The book is clearly written by a man passionate for his art and who has devoted much time and thought to his study and who is as much a philosopher as a martial artist. Beginning from basic theory, and a brief history the author works his way through basic training drills and techniques to some of the more difficult and varied ways to handle the European Longsword either with one in your hands or not! Each technique is laid out in an easy to understand manner and with plenty of detailed and useful pictures. Although specifically for the longsword, parts of the manual would be useful for swords of any period and culture.
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