The Gladiatoria Group is a series of several 15th-century German
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...
s that share the same art style and cover the same material—various types of
armored combat. The texts are contemporary with the tradition of
Johannes Liechtenauer Johannes Liechtenauer (also ''Lichtnauer'', ''Hans Lichtenawer'') was a German fencing master who had a great level of influence on the German fencing tradition in the 14th century.
Biography
Liechtenauer seems to have been active during the mi ...
, but not directly influenced by it. Gladiatoria is thus one of very few glimpses into the characteristics of a potentially independent German martial tradition.
[Hils, Hans Peter. "''Gladiatoria'': Über drei Fechthandschriften aus der ersten Hälfte des 15. Jahrhunderts." ''Codici Manuscripti'' 13. Verlag Brüder Hollinek, 1987. pp. 1-54. Print.]
The core of the Gladiatoria group is a series of devices of armored fencing following the typical progression of a
judicial duel
Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...
: beginning with
spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
s and small
shields called ''ecranches'', moving to
longsword
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximate ...
s, then employing
dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...
s on foot and
on the ground
"On the Ground" is the debut solo single by Korean-New Zealand singer and Blackpink member Rosé. It was released on 12 March 2021 by YG Entertainment as the lead single from her debut single album, '' R''. It was written by Rosé alongside Am ...
. (Traditional dueling would begin on horseback before going to foot combat, and the ''ecranche'' is designed for mounted fencing, but Gladiatoria skips that stage entirely.) The diverse manuscripts in the group generally describe other kinds of fighting as well, such as the
sword and
buckler
A buckler (French ''bouclier'' 'shield', from Old French ''bocle, boucle'' 'boss') is a small shield, up to 45 cm (up to 18 in) in diameter, gripped in the fist with a central handle behind the boss. While being used in Europe since ant ...
of the Codex Guelf 78.2 August 2º or the
longshield of the Ms. German Quarto 16, but these teachings lack some of the common elements of the core Gladiatoria complex and are not considered to be part of it.
There are five known versions of the Gladiatoria treatise, found in the Ms. KK5013, the Ms. German Quarto 16 (the only version with a title page), the Ms. U860.F46 1450, the Codex Guelf 78.2 August 2º, and the Ms. CL23842. Hans-Peter Hils described a sixth lost manuscript identified as Ms. T in his 1987 edition of Gladiatoria,
but this was later determined to be identical with the MS U860 F46 1450 (which Hils did not have access to). Aside from these five, there are a few other extant manuscripts that some scholars have ascribed to the group. These include the Cod.11093 and part C of the
Codex Wallerstein
The so-called Codex Wallerstein or ''Vonn Baumanns Fechtbuch'' (Oettingen-Wallerstein Cod. I.6.4o.2, Augsburg University library) is a 16th-century convolution of three 15th-century fechtbuch manuscripts, with a total of 221 pages.
The inside o ...
. In each case, there are disqualifying factors that ultimately exclude them from the group.
While the three oldest texts in the Gladiatoria complex present a fairly identical set of devices, the slightly later Wolfenbüttel version of the treatise contains significantly more material, primarily in the dagger section. The origin of this additional material is unknown, and the textless nature of that version makes it difficult to place these plays in any sort of context. However, their existence may signify that the
archetype
The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ...
was much more extensive than any known copy.
Gallery
Here is a selection of images from the Ms. Germ. Quart. 16.
Jagiellonian Ms.Germ.Quart.16 (Gladiatoria) 01r.jpg
Jagiellonian Ms.Germ.Quart.16 (Gladiatoria) 07r - Longsword in armor.jpg
Jagiellonian Ms.Germ.Quart.16 (Gladiatoria) 09v - Longsword in armor.jpg
Jagiellonian Ms.Germ.Quart.16 (Gladiatoria) 55r - Messer and Hungarian shield.jpg
References
Additional Resources
* Hils, Hans-Peter. "Gladiatoria: Über drei Fechthandschriften aus der ersten Hälfte des 15. Jahrhunderts." ''Codices manuscripti''. Issue 13, 1987.
* Knight, Hugh T., Jr. ''The Gladiatoria Fechtbuch: A Fifteenth-Century German Fight Book''. Lulu.com, 2008.
* Walczak, Bartłomiej. "Judicial Armoured Dagger Combat of ''Gladiatoria'' and ''KK 5013''." ''Masters of Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts''. Ed. Jeffrey Hull. Boulder, CO:
Paladin Press
Paladin Press was a book publishing firm founded in 1970 by Peder Lund and Robert K. Brown. The company published non-fiction books and videos covering a wide range of specialty topics, including personal and financial freedom, survivalism and p ...
, 2008. {{ISBN, 978-1-58160-668-3
External links
Transcriptions, translation, and digital scans at Wiktenauer
Combat treatises
15th-century illuminated manuscripts