MS 862 is the number in the nineteenth-century Donaueschingen catalogue of a South German
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 ...
dating to ca. 1500. It is influenced by
Paulus Kal
Paulus Kal was a 15th-century German fencing master.
According to his own testimony, he was the student of one Hans Stettner, who was in turn an initiate of the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer. He served as fencing master at three different cou ...
and
Peter Falkner
Peter Falkner was a German fencing master, active in the late 15th century (roughly 1470s or 1480s), influenced by Paulus Kal.
He is the author of a fechtbuch, now KK 5012, at the ''Kunsthistorisches Museum'', Vienna. He wrote treatises on the us ...
, and was in turn drawn upon by
Jorg Wilhalm (1520s). The manuscript was up for auction at
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
in 2005.
It was acquired in 2008 by the
Musée National du Moyen Age in Paris, where it was on display {{As of, 2015, lc=y with inventory number CL23842.
Contents
* fols. 12r-57v, fencing with 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 ...
, 92 pictures, 37 of them with captions, showing two young men in combat, one dressed in pale red, one in blue.
* fols. 60r-69v, fighting with
großes Messer
A messer (German for "knife") is a single-edged sword with a knife-like hilt. While the various names are often used synonymously, messers are divided into two types:
''Lange Messer'' ("long knives") are one-handed swords used for self-defence ...
, 20 pictures, no captions, the same two young men in chivalric combat.
* foll. 72r-87v, fighting with
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, 32 pictures, one caption, the two young men again.
* foll. 95r-114v,
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 i ...
, 40 pictures, no captions, the same two young men demonstrating holds and throws and a hold to immobilise two assailants at once (fol.114v).
* foll. 118r-131v, fighting with a 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 an ...
, 28 pictures, no captions.
* foll. 133v-148r,n fighting on horseback, 29 pictures, including competing with lances (fols. 133v-136v), swords (fols.137r-140v), wrestling on horseback (fols. 141r-146r, including wrestling the opponent's horse too), and fighting when one contestant is on horseback and one on the ground (fols. 146v-148r).
* fols. 149r-178v, 58 pictures,
armoured
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 fr ...
combat, two with captions, fols.149r, 150r with lances), mostly with longswords, a scene of wounding on fol. 166r.
* fols. 180r-181v, 4 pictures, no captions,
franconian 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 ...
s with shields and clubs, shields alone, and shield against
swiss dagger.
* foll. 183r-191v, miscellaneous combats, 17 pictures, no captions, including
poleaxe
The poleaxe (also pollaxe, pole-axe, pole axe, poleax, polax) is a European polearm that was widely used by medieval infantry.
Etymology
Most etymological authorities consider the ''poll''- prefix historically unrelated to "pole", instead mea ...
s,
maces,
shield
A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...
s,
battle-axe
A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were deployed two-ha ...
s and
lance
A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier ( lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike si ...
s, some armoured.
* fols. 194r-v, 2 pictures, two men in loincloths with swords, and a woman with a ball on a chain fighting a man with a club standing in a pit (franconian judicial duels).
* fols. 195r-121v, on fighting in full armour, 36 pictures, one caption, fighting with swords but often held from the middle or the other end (a style of fighting known as Gladiatorial, derived from a manuscript now in the Jagellonian library in Cracow, formerly in Berlin; cf. H. Wegener, Miniaturen-Handschriften der Preussischer Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Die Deutschen Handschriften bis 1500, V, 1928, pp. 61–2).
References
* K. A. Barack, ''Die Handschriften der Fürstlich-Fürstenbergischen Hofbibliothek zu Donaueschingen'', 1865, 583.
* M. Wierschin, ''Meister Johann Liechtenauers Kunst des Fechtens'', 1965, no. 3.
* H.-P. Hils, ''Meister Johann Liechtenauers Kunst des langen Schwertes'', Frankfurt, 1985, no. 14, 46–50.
* H.-P. Hils in ''Die Deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters, Verfasserlexikon'', 2 ed., V, 1985, cols. 811–6.
* F. Heinzer, ''Die Neuen Standorte der Ehemals Donaueschinger Handschriftensammlung'', Scriptorium, XLIX, 1995, 317.
External links
Select images from the manuscript courtesy of the Musée National du Moyen Age.
16th-century illuminated manuscripts
Combat treatises