Joachim Meyer
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Joachim Meyer (ca. 1537–1571) was a self described Freifechter (literally, Free Fencer) living in the then
Free Imperial City In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
of
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
in the 16th century and the author of a
fechtbuch Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, specifically designed to be learnt from a book. Many books detailing specific techniques of martial arts are often erroneously called manuals but were written as treatises. Pros ...
'' Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens'' (in English, ''Thorough Descriptions of the Art of Fencing'') first published in 1570.


His Works

In 1570, Joachim Meyer wrote a comprehensive, multi-weapon treatise entitled '' Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens'' or, in English, ''Thorough Descriptions of the Art of Fencing''. It is seen as one of the most complete systems within
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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
. Meyer's book was reprinted in 1600, and may have been an influential source for other 16th- and 17th-century German fencing books, including a 1612 book by Jacob Sutor. His book mostly consists of descriptive text, with only a few dozen
woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
s, each of which depicts several players enacting various techniques described in the text itself. The book consists of five chapters, covering the
long sword 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 approximately ...
,
dussack A dusack (also ''dusägge'' and variants, from Czech ''tesák'' "cleaver; hunting sword", lit. "fang") is a single-edged sword of the cutlass or sabre type, in use as a side arm in Germany and the Habsburg monarchy during the 16th to 17th centur ...
(a training weapon not unlike the messer),
rapier A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Impor ...
,
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 ...
, and
pole weapon A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly ...
s. Meyer's system generally flows from, and uses the terminology of, the
German school of swordsmanship The German school of fencing (') is a system of combat taught in the Holy Roman Empire during the Late Middle Ages, Late Medieval, German Renaissance, and Early Modern periods. It is described in the contemporary Fechtbuch, Fechtbücher ("fenci ...
as set down by Johannes Lichtenauer, though Meyer's civilian system also appears to draw from contemporary Italian swordplay, including
Achille Marozzo Achille Marozzo (1484–1553) was an Italian fencing master, one of the most important teachers in the Dardi or Bolognese tradition.Castle, Egerton (1885), ''Schools and Masters of Fenc'', Londra, G. Bell, rist. (2003) ''Schools and Masters of Fen ...
. Meyer's book itself consists of detailed explanatory text describing the guards or postures (''huten'') for each weapon, cuts, footwork and specific and often quite complex plays or devices (''stücke''), accompanied by a series of finely executed
woodcuts Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
, each of which depicts scenes set amongst somewhat fantastical fight school (''fechtschule'') settings. These woodcuts typically depict the postures, cutting schemes (signs or 'segno' in Italian) as well as several players enacting various techniques described in the text itself. The book consists of five sections, covering the
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 approximatel ...
,
dussack A dusack (also ''dusägge'' and variants, from Czech ''tesák'' "cleaver; hunting sword", lit. "fang") is a single-edged sword of the cutlass or sabre type, in use as a side arm in Germany and the Habsburg monarchy during the 16th to 17th centur ...
(a training weapon not unlike the Messer),
rapier A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Impor ...
(in Meyer's case, a single-handed sword utilised for both cut and thrust),
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 ...
and wrestling, and
polearms A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly ...
including the
quarterstaff A quarterstaff (plural quarterstaffs or quarterstaves), also short staff or simply staff is a traditional European pole weapon, which was especially prominent in England during the Early Modern period. The term is generally accepted to refer t ...
,
halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The word ''halberd'' is cognate with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from ...
and
pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...
. In common with earlier German sources, Meyer's system gives pride of place to the
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 approximatel ...
, which is both the first weapon discussed, and the weapon treated in most detail, forming an exemplar-teaching tool for the rest of the system. However, the rapier, dagger and polearm techniques and devices described in Meyer's book do not appear to concede much to sporting considerations, featuring as they do the thrusts omitted from the longsword section, as well as a range of possibly lethal fight ending techniques. Furthermore, the longsword section of Meyer's book in particular shows definite descent from the earlier corpus of the
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 m ...
tradition (Meyer mentions Liechtenauer by name), and remains one of the most detailed, systematic and complete sources for this weapon.


Life

Meyer's book was reprinted in 1600 in
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
, and became a highly influential source for other 16th- and 17th-century German fencing books, including the aforementioned book by Jacob Sutor and a book from 1672 by an Italian,
Theodor Verolinus Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore (name), Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * ...
. Both versions were simplified redactions of Meyer's more detailed work. Meyer is mentioned in a brief Latin treatise on martial arts by Heinrich von Gunterrodt (1579) and is also the only German among the famous masters listed in the late 17th century fencing treatise by
Giuseppe Morsicato Pallavicini Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giuse ...
. Little is known about Meyer himself. Some information on Meyer's life has come to light as a result of recent scholarship (Dupuis). "Originally from
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
, he (Meyer) became a burgher of Strasbourg by marrying a widow in 1560, most likely during his apprenticeship as a cutler. He made a living as both a cutler and a professional fencer until 1570, in which year he published the book that was to make him famous. The making of this book left him deeply indebted, and the search for potential buyers led him to leave Strasbourg and work as a Master-of-Arms at the court of the Duke of
Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...
. Unfortunately, death seized him a short time after his arrival, leaving the burden of his debt to his widow and brother-in-law."Dupuis, Olivier. Joachim Meyer, escrimeur libre, bourgeois de Strasbourg (1537 ? - 1571). In ''Maîtres et techniques de combat''. Dijon : AEDEH, 2006.


References


External links


Die Freifechter
A partial transcription of the first (1570) printing. * https://web.archive.org/web/20160808115319/http://www.freifechter.com/ International Fencing Guild with a mission to educate people on the efficacy and art of Medieval & Renaissance martial arts. {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Joachim 1530s births 1571 deaths German historical fencers