A completely new translation of the anonymous commentary on the Zedel of Johannes Liechtenauer, forming a 15th century treatise on three subjects: Fencing on foot with the longsword, fencing on horseback with lance, sword and dagger, and fencing on foot with lance, sword, and dagger. The work contains a poetic translation of the Zedel and plain, straightforward translations of the commentaries to provide a smooth reading experience perhaps closer to that of reading the original document.
I translated a manuscript about fencing with a two handed sword. The original is from 1452. I published it as part of the efforts of my training and research group, the Melbourne Fencing Society. If you are local, come and say hi.
Some key features of my translation:
All three disciplines have been translated by me. Fencing with the sword in two hands on foot without armour, fencing on horseback with the sword and the lance, and fencing in armour on foot with sword, lance, dagger, and wrestling.
The original work is a commentary explaining the meaning of fencing actions based on a much older poem about the topic. The actions are translated into as plain english as possible with lots of explanatory notes on the original document, but without trying to tell you how you should practise them.
The poem is included as in the original and has been painstakingly made to rhyme in english. This may assist in using the material as the original was used: as a memory aid.
Introductory material is included to place the work in its historical context, as well as an inspirational foreword by champion longswordsman, Martin Fabian.
The illustrations of the original have been recreated and dressed up in my own way. The key elements of the images have been carefully copied while taking care to make the images my own property, so the library to which the manuscript belongs does not sue me. Images of the original document can be browsed here.
I tried to keep this one as affordable as possible, so even if you are not sure you will benefit from it that much, it won’t set you back too much.