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

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions." Tre ...

s. Prose descriptions of martial arts techniques appear late within the

history of literature The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...

, due to the inherent difficulties of describing a technique rather than just demonstrating it. The earliest extant manuscript on armed combat (as opposed to unarmed wrestling) is

Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 is the earliest known surviving European ''fechtbuch'' (combat manual), and one of the oldest surviving martial arts manuals dealing with armed combat worldwide. I.33 is also known as the Walpurgis manuscript, after a fig ...

("I.33"), written in

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

around 1300. Not within the scope of this article are books on military strategy such as

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period of 771 to 256 BCE. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of '' The ...

's ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...

'' (before 100 BC) or Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus' '' De Re Militari'' (4th century), or military technology, such as ''

De rebus bellicis ''De rebus bellicis'' ("On the Things of Wars") is an anonymous work of the 4th or 5th century which suggests remedies for the military and financial problems in the Roman Empire, including a number of fanciful war machines. It was written af ...

'' (4th to 5th century).

Predecessors

Some early testimonies of historical martial arts consist of series of images only. The earliest example is a fresco in tomb 15 at

Beni Hasan Beni Hasan (also written as Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) ( ar, بني حسن) is an ancient Egyptian cemetery. It is located approximately to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as Middle Egypt, the area between Asyut and Mem ...

, showing illustrations of

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

techniques dating to the 20th century BCE. Similar depictions of wrestling techniques are found on Attic vases dating to Classical Greece. The only known instance of a book from

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 466 Papyrus Oxyrhynchus III 466 (P. Oxy. III,466) is a fragmentary 2nd century Greek papyrus manuscript containing instructions for wrestling, including the description of various grips and holds, constituting the earliest historical European martia ...

from the 2nd century CE, detailing

Greek wrestling Greek wrestling ( grc-gre, πάλη, pálē), also known as Ancient Greek wrestling and Palé, was the most popular organized sport in Ancient Greece. A point was scored when one player touched the ground with his back, hip or shoulder, or conced ...

techniques. There are some examples in the

Chinese classics Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confuci ...

that may predate the turn of the

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the o ...

: the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'' by Sima Qian (c. 100 BCE) documents

, referring to earlier how-to manuals" of the

Western Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

(2nd century BCE), which have however not survived. An extant Chinese text on wrestling is "Six Chapters of Hand Fighting" included in the 1st-century CE ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. ...

''. All other extant manuals date to the

Middle Ages 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 ...

or later. The "combat stele" at

Shaolin Monastery Shaolin Monastery (少林寺 ''Shàolínsì''), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a renowned monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin Kung Fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the So ...

dates to 728 CE. The earliest text detailing Indian martial arts is the ''

Agni Purana The ''Agni Purana'', ( sa, अग्नि पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also co ...

'' (c. 8th century), which contains several chapters giving descriptions and instructions on fighting techniques. It described how to improve a warrior's individual prowess and kill enemies using various methods in warfare whether they went to war in chariots, horses,

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

s or on foot. Foot methods were subdivided into armed combat and unarmed combat.J. R. Svinth (2002)
A Chronological History of the Martial Arts and Combative Sports.
''Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences''. The former included the bow and arrow, the sword,

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 ...

noose A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can ...

, armour, iron dart, club,

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 ...

chakram Chakram ( sa, , script=latn; pa, , script=latn) is a throwing weapon from the Indian subcontinent. One of its major purposes is to protect the turban and the head from sword/melee attacks. It is circular with a sharpened outer edge and a diame ...

and

trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mari ...

. The latter included wrestling, knee strikes, punching and kicking methods. The oldest extant

European martial arts Historical European martial arts (HEMA) are martial arts of European origin, particularly using arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms. While there is limited surviving documentation of the martia ...

manual is

(c. 1300). "Illustrations only" manuals do not become extinct with the appearance of prose instructions, but rather exist alongside these, e.g. in the form of the Late Medieval German illuminated manuscripts.

Historical European martial arts

German Fechtbücher

(plural ) is Early New High German for 'combat manual', one of the manuscripts or printed books of the late

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

containing descriptions of a martial art. Usually, the term is taken to include 15th- and 16th-century German manuals, but the nature of the subject matter does not allow a clear separation of these from treatises from other parts of Europe on one hand (particularly from the Italian and French schools), and from manuals of later centuries on the other hand. A list of include: *Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 ("Walpurgis Manuscript") (c. 1300, predating

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 ...

) * Nürnberger Handschrift GNM 3227a (c. 1389) *Fechtbuch of

Sigmund Ringeck Sigmund Schining ein Ringeck (Sigmund ain Ringeck, Sigmund Amring, Sigmund Einring, Sigmund Schining) was a German fencing master. While the meaning of the surname "Schining" is uncertain, the suffix "ain Ringeck" may indicate that he came from the ...

(1440s) * Codex Vindobonensis B 11093, kept in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and "

Gladiatoria The Gladiatoria Group is a series of several 15th-century German manuscripts 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, but ...

", discovered in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, both dating to the mid-15th century and largely uninfluenced by Liechtenauer. * of

Hans Talhoffer 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 ...

(several surviving manuscripts dating from 1443–1467). * of Peter von Danzig,

Cod. 44 A 8 Cod. 44 A 8 also known as MS 1449, Bibliotheca dell'Academica Nazionale dei Lincei e Corsiniana, is a Fechtbuch compiled by Peter von Danzig in 1452. Danzig was a 15th-century German fencing master. He was counted among the 17 members of the "soc ...

, 1452 *Jud Lew Cod.I.6.4°.3 (1450s),

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 ...

* of

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 ...

(1460s) * Cgm 558, a Swiss treatise of the later 15th century only loosely related to the German school. *

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 ...

(), 1470s,

*Solothurner Fechtbuch, no text, dependent on Paulus Kal, 1470s,

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

* Johannes Lecküchner Cod. Pal. Germ. 430,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

(1478), Cgm. 582,

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 ...

(1482) *Cod. Guelf. 78.2, ''Herzog August Bibliothek''

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

(late 15th century) * Peter Falkner P 5012, ''Kunsthistorisches Museum'',

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Hans Folz Hans Folz ( 1437 – January 1513) was a German author of the late medieval or early Renaissance period. Folz was born in Worms. He was made a citizen of the city of Nuremberg, Germany in 1459 and master barber of the city in 1486. Folz was a refo ...

Q566 (c. 1480),

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

Hans von Speyer Hans von Speyer was a 15th-century German scribe. He was probably born near Speyer, Germany in the mid-15th century. In c. 1491, he produced the MS M.I.29, a fencing manual compiling several significant treatises from the tradition of Johannes ...

(MS M I 29) (1491) * MS 862, c. 1500, influenced by Kal and Falkner, drawn upon by Wilhalm. * Glasgow Fechtbuch (1505) *Hans Wurm, grappling, (c. 1505) *"Goliath (manuscript)" (1510s) * Albrecht Dürer's fechtbuch HS. 26-232 (1512), Michigan State University * Andre Pauernfeindt, ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 1516 * Cologne Fechtbuch, anonymous (early 16th century) * by Jörg Wilhalm (1520s) *Egenolph: , anonymous, printed by Christian Egenolff, 1529,

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. This is largely derived from Pauernfeindt's 1516 manual. *Hans Czynner MS. 963 (1538), Graz *the compendia of

Paulus Hector Mair Paulus Hector Mair (1517–1579) was a German civil servant fencing master from Augsburg. He collected Fechtbücher and undertook to compile all knowledge of the art of fencing in a compendium surpassing all earlier books. For this, he engaged the ...

(1540s). * Johannes Lecküchner (1558) (this is a reprint from the , printed by Egenolph). *

Joachim Meyer Joachim Meyer (ca. 1537–1571) was a self described Freifechter (literally, Free Fencer) living in the then Free Imperial City of Strasbourg in the 16th century and the author of a fechtbuch '' Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechten ...

"" (1570) *Gunterrodt: "" (1579),

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...

*Codex Guelf. 83.4 (c. 1591) * Jakob Sutor von Baden (1612) * Hanko Döbringer, Cod.ms.3227a (1389)

Italian treatises

The Italian school is attested in an early manual of 1410, at which time it is not yet clearly separable from the German school. Indeed, the author Fiore dei Liberi states that he has learned much of his art from one "Master Johannes of Swabia". The heyday of the Italian school comes in the 16th century, with the Dardi school. * Fiore dei Liberi's ''

Flos Duellatorum The Flos Duellatorum is the name given to one of the manuscript versions of Fiore dei Liberi's illuminated manuscript fight book, written in 1410 (dated to 1409 in the old reckoning). There are five other surviving recensions, under the title ...

'' (1410) *Filippo Vadi's ''

De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi ''De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi'' was written by Italian fencing master Filippo Vadi between 1482 and 1487. It consists of an opening prologue describing the art of fencing followed by colored plates illustrating specific techniques for the longsw ...

'' (1485) * Pietro Monte (1509) *Anonimo Bolognese M-345/6 (c. 1510s) *

Antonio Manciolino Bolognese Swordsmanship, also sometimes known as the Dardi school, is a tradition within the Italian school of swordsmanship which is based on the surviving fencing treatises published by several 16th century fencing masters of Bologna, As early as ...

(1531) *

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 ...

(1536) * Camillo Agrippa, ''Trattato di Scienza d'Arme'' (1568) *

Giacomo di Grassi Giacomo is an Italian name. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob. People * Giacomo (name), including a list of people with the name Other uses * Giacomo (horse) Giacomo (foaled February 16, 2002 in Kentucky) is a champion America ...

, ''His True Art of Defense'' (1594) *

Vincentio Saviolo Fencing master Vincentio Saviolo (d. 1598/9), though Italian born and raised, authored one of the first books on fencing to be available in the English language. Saviolo was born in Padua. He arrived in London at an unknown date and is first ...

, ''His Practice'' (1595) *

Salvator Fabris Salvator Fabris (1544-1618) was an Italian fencing master from Padua. During his life he taught in various European countries, most notably in Denmark where he was the fencing instructor of King Christian IV. It was during his time in Copenhagen ...

(1606) *

Ridolfo Capo Ferro Ridolfo Capo Ferro da Cagli (Ridolfo Capoferro, Rodulphus Capoferrus) was an Italian fencing master in the city of Siena, best known for his rapier fencing treatise published in 1610. He seems to have been born in the town of Cagli in the Provin ...

(1610) *

Francesco Alfieri Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri was a master of fencing of the 17th century. He was a representative of the Venetian school of fencing and “Maestro D’Arme” to the Accademia Delia in Padua in 1640. Alfieri was originally from Padua, which at t ...

, ''La Scherma'' (1640) * Giuseppe Colombani (1711)

French manuals

Similar to the situation in Italy, there is one early manual (c. 1400, dealing with the

pollaxe 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 ...

exclusively), and later treatises set in only after a gap of more than a century. *'' Le jeu de la hache'' (c. 1400) *Andre Pauernfeindt, (1528)—This is a French translation of Pauernfeindt's 1516 work. One notable difference between it and the original is that the "noble science" print has colored images, unlike the German. * Henry de Sainct-Didier, (1573) * Gérard Thibault d'Anvers, (1623) *Monsieur L'Abbat, ''The Art of Fencing, or, the Use of the Small Sword'' (1734)

British manuals

;England Apart from three rather opaque texts of the later 15th century, the native English tradition of fencing manuals begins with

George Silver George Silver (ca. 1550s–1620s) was a gentleman of England during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, who is known for his writings on swordplay. He is thought to have been the eldest of four brothers (one of whom, Toby, was also a swordsm ...

's ''

Paradoxes of Defense George Silver (ca. 1550s–1620s) was a gentleman of England during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, who is known for his writings on swordplay. He is thought to have been the eldest of four brothers (one of whom, Toby, was also a swordsman ...

'' (1599). * Harliean Manuscript 3542 (''The Man Who Wol''), late 14th–early 15th century *

Cotton Titus This is an incomplete list of some of the manuscripts from the Cotton library that today form the Cotton collection of the British Library. Some manuscripts were destroyed or damaged in a fire at Ashburnham House in 1731, and a few are kept in othe ...

, 15th-century English

greatsword The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a double e ...

and staff *Additional Manuscript 39564, 15th century *

, ''

'' (1599) *

Joseph Swetnam Joseph Swetnam (died 1621) was an English pamphleteer and fencing master. He is best known for a misogynistic pamphlet and an early English fencing treatise. Three defensive responses as pamphlets were made by Rachel Speght, Ester Sowernam and ...

, ''Schoole of the Noble and Worthy Science of Defence'' (1612) *Sir

William Johnstone Hope Vice Admiral Sir William Johnstone Hope, GCB (16 August 1766 – 2 May 1831) was a prominent and controversial British Royal Navy officer and politician in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain, whose career experienced fleet ...

, several books (1690s) *Captain John Godfrey, ''A Treatise Upon the Useful Science of Defence, Connecting the Small and Back-Sword'' (1747) * John Musgrave Waite, ''Lessons in

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

singlestick Singlestick is a martial art that uses a wooden stick as its weapon. It began as a way of training soldiers in the use of backswords (such as the sabre or the cutlass). Canne de combat, a French form of stick fighting, is similar to singlestick p ...

, sabre & bayonet, and sword feats'' (1880) *

Alfred Hutton Alfred Hutton FSA (10 March 1839 – 18 December 1910) was a Victorian officer of the King's Dragoon Guards, writer, antiquarian, and swordsman. He originated the first English revival of historical fencing, together with his colleagues Eger ...

, ''Cold Steel, A Practical Treatise on the Sabre'' (1889), ''Old Sword-Play'' (1892) ;Scotland Scottish manuals detailing the use of the basket-hilted Scottish broadsword, besides other disciplines such as the

smallsword The small sword or smallsword (also court sword, Gaelic: or claybeg, French: or dress sword) is a light one-handed sword designed for thrusting which evolved out of the longer and heavier rapier of the late Renaissance. The height of the small ...

and

spadroon A spadroonP. G. W. Annis (1970). ''Naval Swords, British and American Naval Edged Weapons, 1660-1815'', Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, p. 38. is a light sword with a straight-edged blade, enabling both cut and thrust attacks. This English term ...

, were published throughout the 18th century, with early and late examples dating to the late 17th and early 19th centuries, respectively: * Sir William Hope, ''The Scots Fencing Master (the Complete Smallswordsman)'' (1687) * Sir William Hope, ''Advice to his Scholar from the Fencing Master'' (1692) * Sir William Hope, ''Complete Fencing Master'' (1691–1692) * Sir William Hope, ''The Swordsman's Vade-Mecum'' (1692) * Sir William Hope, ''New Short and Easy Method of Fencing'' (1st edition, 1707)Highland Swordsmanship: Techniques of the Scottish Sword Masters, by Mark Rector (editor) and Paul Wagner (editor), Published by The Chivalry Bookshelf (Nov 15, 2001) * Sir William Hope, ''New Short and Easy Method of Fencing'' (2nd edition, 1714) * Sir William Hope, ''A Few Observations upon the Fighting for Prizes in the Bear Gardens'' (1715) * Sir William Hope, ''A Vindication of the True Art of Self-Defence'' (1724) * Donald McBane, ''Expert Swords-man's Companion'' (1728) * Captain James Miller, ''A treatise on backsword, sword,

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 ...

, sword and

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 ...

, sword and great gauntlet, falchon,

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 ...

'' (1737) * Thomas Page, ''The Use of the Broad Sword'' (1746) * Captain G. Sinclair, ''Anti-Pugilism – Anonymous'' (1790)Highland Broadsword:Five Manuals of Scottish Regimental Swordsmanship, by Paul Wagner (editor) and Mark Rector (editor), Published by The Chivalry Bookshelf (July 2004) * Captain G. Sinclair, ''Cudgel Playing Modernized and Improved; or, The Science of Defence, Exemplified in a Few Short and Easy Lessons, for the Practice of the Broad Sword or Single Stick, on Foot'' * Archibald MacGregor, ''Lecture on the Art of Defence'' (1791) * Thomas Rowlandson, ''The Guards of the Highland Broadsword'' (1799) *

Henry Angelo Henry Charles William Angelo (1756–1835) was an English memoirist and fencing master, as a member of the Angelo family of fencers and son of the Italian master, Domenico Angelo. As the leader of his father's Angelo School of Arms fro ...

and son, ''Hungarian & Highland Broadsword'' (1799) * John Taylor, ''The Art of Defence on Foot with Broadsword and Saber'' (1804) * Thomas Mathewson, ''Fencing Familiarized; or, a New Treatise on the Art of the Scotch Broad Sword'' (1805)

Iberian manuals

There are some manuals containing training advice for the

medieval tournament A tournament, or tourney (from Old French ''torneiement'', ''tornei''), was a chivalrous competition or mock fight in the Middle Ages and Renaissance (12th to 16th centuries), and is one type of hastilude. Tournaments included melee and han ...

and

jousting Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...

, such as the early

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

work '' A ensinança de bem cavalgar em toda a sela'' by

Edward of Portugal Edward ( pt, Duarte (; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), also called Edward the King Philosopher (''Duarte o Rei-Filósofo'') or the Eloquent (''o Eloquente''), was the King of Portugal from 1433 until his death. He was born in Viseu, the so ...

(1391–1438), a riding instruction manual that also included martial information. In 1599, the swordmaster Domingo Luis Godinho wrote the '' Arte de Esgrima'', the only fencing manual that preserved the older "Common" or "Vulgar" system of Spanish fencing, which has its traditions in the Middle Ages. 17th-century Spanish

destreza is the conventional term for the Spanish tradition of fencing of the early modern period. The word literally translates to 'dexterity' or 'skill, ability', and thus to 'the true skill' or 'the true art'. While is primarily a system of sword ...

is steeped in the Spanish Baroque noblemen mindset, so it does not contain graphical explanations of the fencing techniques so much as hard-to-understand explanations based on mathematics and philosophical sciences in general. The subsequent difficulty on interpreting the theory and practice of correctly has frequently led to this school of fencing being misunderstood. *

Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza Don Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza, ( es, link=no, Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza), Jerónimo de Carranza, pt, Hieronimo de Carança; c. 1539 – c. 1600 or 1608) was a Spanish nobleman, humanist, scientist, one of the most famous fencers, and ...

, (1582) *

Luis Pacheco de Narváez Don Luis Pacheco de Narváez (1570–1640) was a Spanish writer on '' destreza'', the Spanish art of fencing. He was a follower of Don Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza. Some of his earlier works were compendia of Carranza's work while his later w ...

, '' Libro de las grandezas de la espada'' (1600) *

Gerard Thibault Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...

, (1628) *

, (1632) * Luis Méndez de Carmona Tamariz, (1632) * Luis Diáz de Viedma, (1639) and (1639) * Cristóbal de Cala, (1642) * Diogo Gomes de Figueyredo, (1651) * Miguel Pérez de Mendoza y Quijada, (1675) * Francisco Antonio de Ettenhard y Abarca, (1675) * Álvaro Guerra de la Vega, (1681) * Thomas Luis, (1685) * Nicolás Tamariz, (1696) * Manuel Cruzado y Peralta, (1702) * Francisco Lórenz de Rada, (1705) * Nicolás Rodrigo Noveli, (1731) * Manuel Antonio de Brea, (1805) * Jaime Mereló y Casademunt, (1862)

Historical Asian martial arts

Some texts on unarmed combat survive from

Han China The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

(c. 1st century). A list of wrestling techniques is contained in the ''Malla Purana'' of 13th-century

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India. The Chinese ''

Jixiao Xinshu The ''Jixiao Xinshu'' () or ''New Treatise on Military Efficiency'' is a military manual written during the 1560s and 1580s by the Ming dynasty general Qi Jiguang. Its primary significance is in advocating for a combined arms approach to ...

'' dates to the 1560s. The Korean ''

Muyejebo The ''Muyejebo'' (''Compendium of Several Martial Arts'') is the oldest extant Korean martial arts manual, written during the reign of King Seonjo (d. 1608). The king died before the compendium was complete, and it was first published, with ...

'' dates to 1598, the ''

Muyedobotongji Commissioned in 1790 by King Jeongjo (r. 1740–1810), the ''Muyedobotongji'' (or ''Muye Dobo Tong Ji''; translating to "Comprehensive Illustrated Manual of Martial Arts") expanded on the eighteen weapons systems identified in the '' Muyeshinbo' ...

'' dates to 1790. The Japanese ''

The Book of Five Rings is a text on ''kenjutsu'' and the martial arts in general, written by the Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi around 1645. Many translations have been made, and it enjoys an audience considerably broader than other martial artists and people ac ...

'' dates to 1645.

References

External links

Wiktenauer: A Wiki database dedicated to the masters, manuals, and techniques of Historical European Martial Arts
hosted by the

HEMA Alliance Hema may refer to: * Hemā (mythology), a figure from Polynesian mythology * HEMA (store), a Dutch chain of stores * Hema (supermarket) (盒马), a supermarket chain in China * Hema maps, an Australian map publisher * Hema people, an ethnic gr ...

THE ARMARIUM: Online Historical Fencing Manuals & Texts of the Doctrina Armorum
by The

Association for Renaissance Martial Arts Association for Renaissance Martial Arts (ARMA) is a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to the study and practice of historical European martial arts of the 15th to 17th centuries.

(ARMA)
Online Library of Historical Fencing Treatises
hosted by th
Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts
(AEMMA)

hosted by th
Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts
(AEMMA)
Destreza Translation & Research Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martial Arts Manual *

Predecessors

Historical European martial arts

German Fechtbücher

Italian treatises

French manuals

British manuals

Iberian manuals

Historical Asian martial arts

See also

References

External links