The so-called Codex Wallerstein or ''Vonn Baumanns Fechtbuch'' (Oettingen-Wallerstein Cod. I.6.4^o.2, Augsburg University library) is a 16th-century convolution of three 15th-century

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 ...

manuscripts, with a total of 221 pages. The inside of the cover is inscribed ''1549. Vom baumanns 108'', suggesting that the manuscript belonged to one Michael Baumann, listed as a

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

by profession in the tax registers of Augsburg between 1471 and 1495. The manuscript came in the possession of

Paulus Hector Mair Paulus Hector Mair (1517–1579) was a German civil servant Historical European Martial Arts, fencing master from Augsburg. He collected Fechtbuch, Fechtbücher and undertook to compile all knowledge of the art of fencing in a compendium surpassing ...

in 1556. After Mair's execution in 1579, the manuscript may have passed to the library of Marcus Fugger, whose library was sold by his grandson in 1653, passing into the Oettingen-Wallerstein library.

Part A treats fighting 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 ...

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

and messer. Part B is inserted in two parts, interrupting the first part, treating

grappling Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Shou ...

. Parts A and B were made in c. 1470; the paper is dated to 1464/5 based on its watermark. Part A is considered a source for the fechtbuch of

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

of 1512. Part C is somewhat older, made in the first half of the 15th century. The paper is dated to 1420 based on its watermark. It treats longsword, armored combat, stechschild and grappling. The final page, fol. 109r, has a register, written in the hand of

(foll. 109v and 110 are empty).

Part A

*3r-14v, 21r, 21v longsword techniques *22r-28v dagger *29r-32v messer

Part B

*15r-20v, 33r-74r

*74v drawing of an armed robbery (with instructions for the robber to draw blood from the victim's neck for intimidation) ol. 75 empty

Part C

* 1r, a drawing of a fencer with various arms, still used as a title page in the convoluted ms. and inscribed with Paulus Hector's name. *1v-2r, a double page illustration showing a fighting arena with spectators *76r-80v, 101r-102v longsword *81r-91v, ol. 92 empty93r-95v, 103r-108r armoured combat *96r-96v, 98v judicial combat, Swabian law (with swords) *97r-98r judicial combat, Franconian law (with clubs) *98v-100v grappling (fol. 98v combines a grappling image with a judicial combat one) *108v, image of a wedding ceremony.four figures in festive clothing; the bridegroom is saying ''ich nim dich'', the bride ''ia ia liber löffel ia'', with two witnesses pictured below.

References

*Hans Peter Hils: Fecht- und Ringbuch - vermischtes Kampfbuch. Munich 1991 *Rainer Leng, ''Fecht- und Ringbücher'' fascicle. 1/2 of vol. 4/2 of ''Katalog der deutschsprachigen illustrierten Handschriften des Mittelalters'', eds. Hella Frühmorgen-Voss, Norbert H. Ott, Ulrike Bodemann, Christine Stöllinger-Löser, Munich, 2008, pp. 110-113 (Nr. 38.9.1

*Rainer Welle, ''…vnd mit der rechten faust ein mordstuck - Baumanns Fecht- und Ringkampfhandschrift''. Herbert Utz Verlag, 2014. . *G. Zabinski, 'Several Remarks on the Bloßfechen Section of Codex Wallerstein', ''Journal of Western Martial Art'', April 200

*G. Zabinski, with B. Walczak, ''Codex Wallerstein, A Medieval Fighting Book from the Fifteenth Century on the Longsword, Falchion, Dagger, and Wrestling'', Paladin Press, (2002), .

External links

media.bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de
digital images hosted at Augsburg university

(messer portion)
partial transcription at schwertfechten.ch
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119052815/http://schwertfechten.ch/quellen/codex-wallerstein/ , date=2015-01-19 15th-century illuminated manuscripts Combat treatises

Contents

Part A

Part B

Part C

See also

References

External links