I.33
Encyclopedia
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
" because of its long stay in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, is the usual name for the earliest known surviving European fechtbuch
Fechtbuch
Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, detailing specific techniques of martial arts.Prose descriptions of martial arts techniques appear late within the history of literature, due to the inherent difficulties of describing a technique rather than just demonstrating...
, although it deals only with the sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
and buckler
Buckler
A buckler is a small shield, 15 to 45 cm in diameter, gripped in the fist; it was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat during the Medieval and Renaissance, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons but useful in deflecting the blow of...
. The illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
, of German origin, is now in the collection of the Royal Armouries
Royal Armouries
The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and...
at Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is also referred to as British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
No. 14 E iii, No. 20, D. vi.
The 64 page treatise shows a martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
system of defensive and offensive techniques between a master and a pupil, referred to as sacerdos (priest) and scolaris (student), each armed with a sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
and a buckler
Buckler
A buckler is a small shield, 15 to 45 cm in diameter, gripped in the fist; it was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat during the Medieval and Renaissance, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons but useful in deflecting the blow of...
, drawn in ink and watercolour and accompanied with Latin text, interspersed with German fencing terms. On the last two pages, the pupil is replaced by a woman called Walpurgis. The priestly teacher can be recognized by his tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
.
The manuscript has not been conclusively dated in printed publication; Alphonse Lhotsky in a handwritten note suggested the late 13th century and identified the scribe as a secretary to the bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, but other experts tend to assign it to the early to mid-14th century.
The manuscript is first mentioned by Henricus a Gunterrodt in his De veriis principiis artis dimicatoriae of 1579, where he reports it to have been discovered by a friend of his, one Johannes Herbart of Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
. The manuscript was part of the ducal library of Gotha until it disappeared in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and resurfaced at a Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
auction in 1950, where it was purchased by the Royal Armouries
Royal Armouries
The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and...
. The author of the treatise may be a cleric called Lutegerus (possibly a Latinised form of the German proper name Liutger appearing in the text).
The fencing system is based on a number of wards
Ward (fencing)
A ward or guard is a defensive position in the German school of swordsmanship. In Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 the concept is rendered as custodia "guard"....
(custodie) which are answered by displacement
Displacement (fencing)
In fencing, a displacement is a movement that avoids or dodges an attack.Fencers commonly use displacement when attacking while not having priority. Attacking into the opponent's right-of-way is known as a counter-attack...
s (obsessiones). The wards are numbered 1 to 7 on the first two pages and supplemented by various 'special' wards later in the text. The seven basic wards are:
- under the arm (sub brach)
- right shoulder (humero dextrali)
- left shoulder (humero sinistro)
- head (capiti)
- right side (latere dextro)
- breast (pectori)
- 'long-point' (langortLangortLangort is a position in the German School of historical fencing. In the Langort position, the point of the sword is extended. The term appears first in Royal Armouries Ms. I.33....
)
The German terms appearing in the Latin text are the following:
- albersleiben (possibly the fool's guard position)
- durchtreten, durchtritt ('stepping through')
- halpschilt ('half shield', one of the obsessiones)
- krucke ('crutch', a defensive position)
- langortLangortLangort is a position in the German School of historical fencing. In the Langort position, the point of the sword is extended. The term appears first in Royal Armouries Ms. I.33....
('long-point', may be either a custodia or an obsessio) - nucken ('nudge', a specific attack)
- schiltslac ('shield-blow')
- schutzen ('protect')
- stich ('stab')
- stichschlac ('stab-blow')
- vidilpoge ('fiddle-bow', a specific custodia)
Sporadic dialectal elements in these terms (notably nucken and halpschilt) suggest a location of composition consistent with the reported discovery in a Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
n monastery in the wider area of Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
.
Literature
- Jeffrey L. Singman (now Forgeng), The medieval swordsman: a 13th century German fencing manuscript, Royal Armouries Yearbook 2 1997, 129-136.
- Jeffrey L. Forgeng, The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship, A Facsimile & Translation of the World's Oldest Personal Combat Treatise, published jointly with the Royal Armouries at Leeds, The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2003; ISBN 1-891448-38-2
- Paul Wagner & Stephen Hand, Medieval Sword And Shield: The Combat System of Royal Armouries MS I.33, The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2003.
- Franck Cinato & André Surprenant, Le livre de l’art du combat. Liber de arte dimicatoria. Édition critique du Royal Armouries MS. I.33, collection Sources d'Histoire Médiévale n°39, CNRS Editions, Paris, 2009. ISBN 978-2-271-06757-9
- Herbert Schmidt, Schwertkampf Band 2, Der Kampf mit Schwert und Buckler, Wieland Verlag, ISBN 978-3938711293
External links
- Full text of I.33 and translation (Freywild)
- A Partial, Possible Interpretation of the I.33 Manuscript by John Jordan
- Demonstration of basic attacks includes slow-motion video clips (Higgins Armory Sword Guild)
- Anonymous Fechtbuch: Manuscript I.33 (The Association for Renaissance Martial ArtsAssociation for Renaissance Martial ArtsAssociation for Renaissance Martial Arts is an international educational non-profit organization dedicated to the study and practice of historical European martial arts of the 15th to 17th centuries...
) - A comparative pictorial study of the Wards and techniques of the I.33 or Tower Fechtbuch by Brian Hunt (The Association for Renaissance Martial ArtsAssociation for Renaissance Martial ArtsAssociation for Renaissance Martial Arts is an international educational non-profit organization dedicated to the study and practice of historical European martial arts of the 15th to 17th centuries...
)