Codex 3227a of the in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

(also known as ''Hs. 3227a'', ''GNM 3227a'', ) is a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

of 169 folia, dated to the close of the 14th century. Its text is written in Latin and German. The German portions have been identified as in

East Central German East Central German or East Middle German () is the eastern Central German language and is part of High German. Present-day Standard German as a High German variant, has actually developed from a compromise of East Central (especially Upper Saxo ...

dialect. The composition of the manuscript is sometimes dated to 1389 on the basis of the calendar on fol. 83v which covers the years 1390–1495 (assuming that the scribe compiled the calendar for future reference only), but it has been noted that nothing precludes a date in the first quarter of the 15th century. By the late 15th century, the manuscript was owned by Nicolaus Pol, who left the inscription . Pol is known as the personal surgeon to the emperors at

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

from 1495. After Pol's death in 1532, his library, presumably including this manuscript, passed to

Innichen Abbey Innichen Abbey (German: ''Stift Innichen'') is a former Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Innichen, South Tyrol in northern Italy. Founded in the 8th century, its collegiate church dedicated to Saint Candidus, rebuilt in the 12th� ...

in South Tyrol. The fate of the manuscript during the 17th and 18th centuries is unknown, but it was part of the library of Hans Freiherr von und zu Aufsess, from which it passed to the in 1852. The manuscript is a pragmatic

commonplace book Commonplace books (or commonplaces) are a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into blank books. They have been kept from antiquity, and were kept particularly during the Renaissance and in the nineteenth century. Such book ...

apparently compiled for the scribe's personal use. It is an early example of such a compilation (if indeed it dates to before 1400), and is as such notable as a document of the transition from oral to written tradition during the late medieval period. The compilation contains notes on an eclectic variety of topics, including

alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

, magical formulas, conjuring tricks, chemical recipes for fireworks, paints, medicine,

ironworking Ferrous metallurgy is the metallurgy of iron and its alloys. The earliest surviving prehistoric iron artifacts, from the 4th millennium BC in Egypt, were made from meteoritic iron-nickel. It is not known when or where the smelting of iron from ...

, etc. A substantial portion of the manuscript is a

combat manual 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 ...

, making it of particular notability for the study of

Historical 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 mar ...

. It is the earliest record of the

German school of fencing The German school of fencing (') is a system of combat taught in the Holy Roman Empire during the Late Medieval, German Renaissance, and early modern periods. It is described in the contemporary Fechtbücher ("fencing books") written at the ti ...

in the tradition of

Johannes Liechtenauer Johannes Liechtenauer (also ''Lichtnauer'', ''Hans Lichtenawer'') was a German Late Middle Ages, German fencing master who had a great level of influence on the German school of swordsmanship, German fencing tradition in the 14th century. Biograp ...

. Liechtenauer is here for the first time mentioned by name, and his teachings quoted. His tradition of martial arts, especially the 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 ...

would remain influential in Germany throughout the 15th and for much of the 16th century. The manuscript text had never been edited in print prior to its notability to the

Historical European Martial Arts revival 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 mar ...

. The study of relevant combat treatises was guided by the seminal dissertation by Hils (1985), and the first full transcriptions were published online.arma.lh.pl Hanko Döbringer (transkrypcja) © 2001 Grzegorz Żabiński
. Improved versions were submitted by Lindholm (2005) and Hagedorn (2008). An edition of the manuscript's culinary recipes was published by Ehlert and Leng (2003). Hils (1985, p. 106) identified Hanko Döbringer as the author of the manuscript, a mistake inherited from the earlier survey by Wierschin (1965). It was inspired by the fact that the name is written on the page margin on fol. 43r. When the manuscript text was edited, it became clear that Döbringer's name was added in the margin because it had been omitted by accident from a list of four "other masters" discussed on that page. This mistake has resulted in the manuscript being also known as "Codex Döbringer" (so Ehlert and Leng 2003) or similar. Contents: *1r - 5v treatise on fireworks () *5v magic formulas in Latin and German *6r recipes for powders used for painting *6v - 10v Latin recipes (paint, alchemy, medicine) *11r - 12r German instructions for the strengthening of iron () *12v - 13r alchemical recipes in Latin *13v - 17v treatise on sword fencing, on foot, on horseback, unarmoured or armoured () *18r - 40r teachings of Johannes Liechtenauer on unarmoured foot combat. () *43r - 45v teachings of other masters, in verse (Hanko Döbringer, Andres Juden, Jost von der Neißen, Nidas Preußen). *47r - 48v glosses on technical terms of the preceding section *52v on sportive (non-serious) fencing () *53r - 60v teachings of Liechtenauer on combat on horseback and armoured combat with spear and sword. *62r fragment on

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

*64r - 65r recapitulation of the teachings of Liechtenauer *66v - 73v astrological texts, magical and medicinal recipes,

onomatomancy Onomancy (or nomancy) is divination based on a subject's name. Onomancy gained popularity in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, but is said to have originated with the Pythagoreans in antiquity. Several methods of analyzing a name are possible, s ...

*74r fragment on combat with sword and shield *74v - 77v recipes for paint, tumors, metal and ivory treatment *78r fragment on combat with the long-staff *79r - 81v miscellaneous Latin recipes, treatment of gems, preparation of a miraculous potion *82 on combat with the long knife () *83v Latin calendar, 1390–1495 *84r - 85r on combat with the dagger *85 magical recipes *86r - 89r Liechtenauer on wrestling, interspersed with additional recipes *90v - 165v recipes for dental hygiene, various alchemical recipes, food recipes, nonsense recipes, in various hands *166r - 169v index to the recipes in the manuscript, partly illegible

References

*Martin Wierschin, ''Meister Johann Liechtenauers Kunst des Fechtens'' (1965), pp. 31–34. *H. P. Hils, ''Meister Johann Liechtenauers Kunst des langen Schwertes'' (1985), pp. 104–110 (no. 41). *Trude Ehlert, Rainer Leng, 'Frühe Koch- und Pulverrezepte aus der Nürnberger Handschrift GNM 3227a (um 1389)'; in: ''Medizin in Geschichte, Philologie und Ethnologie'' (2003).

External links

Grzegorz Żabiński (2001)

David Lindholm (2005)

Dierk Hagedorn (2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nurnberger Handschrift GNM 3227a 14th-century manuscripts Combat treatises Alchemical documents 1380s books Collection of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum