Hans Talhoffer (Dalhover, Talhouer, Thalhoffer, Talhofer; – after 1482) was a German fencing master. His martial lineage is unknown, but his writings make it clear that he had some connection to the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, the grand master of a well-known

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

German school of fencing. Talhoffer was a well-educated man who took interest in

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

, mathematics,

onomastics Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An '' orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, ...

, and the

auctoritas ''Auctoritas'' is a Latin word which is the origin of English " authority". While historically its use in English was restricted to discussions of the political history of Rome, the beginning of phenomenological philosophy in the 20th century ...

and the

ratio In mathematics, a ratio shows how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8:6, which is equivalent to the ...

. He authored at least five fencing manuals during the course of his career, and appears to have made his living teaching, including training people for

trial by combat 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 th ...

Life

The first known reference to Talhoffer is in 1433, when he represented

Johann II von Reisberg Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning " Yahweh is Gracio ...

, archbishop of Salzburg, before the Vehmic court. Shortly thereafter in 1434, Talhoffer was arrested and questioned by order of Wilhelm von Villach (a footman to Albrecht III von Wittelsbach, duke of Bavaria) in connection to the trial of a

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aristocrat named

Jacob Auer Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jac ...

, accused of murdering of his brother. Auer's trial was quite controversial and proved a major source of contention and regional strife for the subsequent two years. Talhoffer himself remained in the service of the archbishop for at least a few more years, and in 1437 is mentioned as serving as a bursary officer (''Kastner'') in Hohenburg. The 1440s saw the start of Talhoffer's career as a professional fencing master. His first fencing manuscript, the Ms. Chart.A.558, was a personal reference book created in ca. 1443. The fencing manual portion is largely text-less and it may have been designed as a visual aid for use in teaching; in addition to these illustrations, it also contains an astrological treatise and a version of Konrad Kyeser's famous war book ''Bellifortis''. Most significant among the noble clients that Talhoffer served in this period was the Königsegg family of southern Germany, and some time between 1446 and 1459 he produced the Ms. XIX.17-3 for this family. This work depicts a judicial duel being fought by Luithold von Königsegg as well as the training that Talhoffer gave him in preparation, but it seems that this duel never actually took place.

Talhoffer's name appears again in the records of the city of

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

in 1454, where he was chartered to teach fencing in some capacity and to adjudicate judicial duels. The account notes that a fight broke out among his students and had to be settled in front of the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, resulting in various fines. He seems to have passed through

Emerkingen Emerkingen is a municipality in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Emerkingen situated on a hill on the southern edge of the Danube valley, about 35 km southwest of Ulm. Neighboring communities The munic ...

later in the 1450s, where he was contracted to train the brothers David and Buppellin vom Stain; he also produced the Ms. 78.A.15 for them, a significantly expanded version of the Königsegg manuscript. In 1459,Internally dated on folio 103v. Talhoffer commissioned the Ms. Thott.290.2º, a new personal fencing manual along the same lines as his 1443 work but expanded with additional content and captioned throughout. He appears to have continued instructing throughout the 1460s, and in 1467 he produced his final manuscript, the Cod. icon. 394a, for another of his noble clients, Eberhardt I von Württemberg. This would be his most comprehensive work, and the count paid 10

Guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' " gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman E ...

as well as quantities of rye and oats for the finished work. While only a few facts are known about Talhoffer's life, this has not stopped authors from conjecture. The presence of the Lion of St. Mark in Talhoffer's 1459 coat of arms (right) has given rise to speculation that he may have been an early member or even a founder of the Frankfurt-am-Main-based

Marxbrüder The Brotherhood of Saint Mark (german: Marxbrüder, Marx brothers) was the name of the most important organization of German swordsmen in the 16th century. History The brotherhood originated in the 15th century, but it is not known when exac ...

fencing guild, though there is no record of their existence prior to 1474. Additionally, much has been made of the fact that Talhoffer's name doesn't appear in Paulus Kal's list of members of the Society of Liechtenauer. While some have speculated that this indicates rivalry or ill-will between the two contemporaries, Kal's list seems to be a memorial to masters who were already deceased, so it is more likely that Talhoffer was simply still alive in ca. 1470 (just three years after writing his final treatise).

Works

Talhoffer's writings exist in well over a dozen manuscripts created in the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries; they have also been published a number of times beginning in 1893, including translations into English and French. His writings cover a wide assortment of weapons, including the arming sword, buckler,

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fir ...

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 ...

, flail, longknife, longshield, longsword,

mace Mace may refer to: Spices * Mace (spice), a spice derived from the aril of nutmeg * '' Achillea ageratum'', known as English mace, a flowering plant once used as a herb Weapons * Mace (bludgeon), a weapon with a heavy head on a solid shaft used ...

, poleaxe, spear, and unarmed

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling is ...

, often both

armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or ...

ed and unarmored, on

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

and on foot, and in scenarios including tournaments, formal duels, and unequal encounters implying urban self-defense. Despite the obvious care and detail that went into the artwork, the manuscripts generally have only a few words captioning each page (and in many cases none at all). There are four known archetype copies of Talhoffer's works: * The Ms.Chart.A.558 was probably created in 1443. The original currently rests in the holdings of the Universitäts- und Forschungsbibliothek Erfurt/Gotha in Gotha, Germany. This is the earliest of the four known archetypes and Hils speculates that it was created as a personal reference book. Aside from Talhoffer's own work, this manuscript also contains Johannes Hartlieb's and Johannes Liechtenauer's . * The Ms.XIX.17-3 was created some time between 1446 and the creation of the Thott manuscript in 1459. The original currently rests in the private collection of the Königsegg-Aulendorf family in Königseggwald, Germany. This manuscript may possibly have been commissioned by the very Luithold von Königsegg who is featured in several of Talhoffer's works. * The Ms.Thott.290.2º was created in 1459; it was scribed by Michel Rotwyler and illustrated by Clauss Pflieger. The original currently rests in the holdings of Det Kongelige Bibliotek in

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. This manuscript was likely a reference book created for Talhoffer's personal use, and is much more lavish than the 1443. Aside from his own teachings, this manuscript also includes Liechtenauer's and Konrad Kyeser's ("Battle Force"). On the final ten folia, the text is inverted and opening the book from the back reveals a brief treatise on a variety of esoteric subjects by

Jud Ebreesch Jud may refer to: People People with the surname * Leo Jud (1482–1542), Swiss reformer * Jakob Jud (1882–1952), Swiss linguist People with the nickname or given name *Jud Birchall (1855–1887), American baseball player * Jud Birza (born 19 ...

. * The '
Fechtbuch von 1467 (Cod.icon. 394a)
'' -- the "Fight Book" or Combat Manual of 1467 -- was created in 1467 on the commission of Count Eberhardt I von Württemberg. The original currently rests in the holdings of Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, Germany. This is Talhoffer's final work, as well as the only one to treat the topic of unarmored longsword at length. For a complete list of the known manuscripts incorporating Talhoffer's work, see the infobox. File:Ms.XIX.17-3 16v.png, From MS XIX.17-3 showing a technique for armoured knights File:Ms.Thott.290.2º 017r.jpg, From Ms.Thott.290.2º which contains colourful images of various devices as well as fighting techniques File:Ms.Thott.290.2º 080r.jpg, From Ms.Thott.290.2º showing a duel between a man and a woman File:De Fechtbuch Talhoffer 014.jpg, From Cod.icon. 394a showing a technique for unarmored longsword

Life

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links