Jointly Published with the British Royal ArmouriesMedieval fighting has long been thought to be "rough and untutored." Visiions of men madly slashing to and fro and hoping for the best still dominate not only popular culture but modern histories of fencing as well.In recent years, the survival of more than 175 fighting treatises from the Middle Ages and Renaissance has provided a whole generation of enthusiasts, scholars, reenactors and stage choreographers with a wealth of new information. This text represents the earliest known text on swordsmanship anywhere in the world. Royal Armouries MS I.33 presents a system of combat that is sophisticated and demonstrates the diffusion of fighting arts beyond the military classes. Within the manuscripts richly illustrated full-color illustrations lie still-potent demonstrates of sword techniques, surprisingly shown by a Priest and Scholar. Most surprisingly, however, is the presence of a woman practcing in the text, the only one illustrated in any European fighting treatise. This full color facsimile & translation has been long-awaited and promises to become an important resource for years to come.
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Dr. Jeffrey L. Forgeng, curator for Arms & Armor at the Higgins Armoury in Wochester, MA, is a well known philologist and expert in medieval texts, as well as a practitioner of historical martial arts.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent work!,
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This review is from: The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship: A Facsimile & Translation of Europe's Oldest Personal Combat Treatise, Royal Armouries MS I.33 (Royal Armouries Monograph) (Hardcover)
I'm biased. I got a copy of Jeffrey Forgeng's translation of the I.33 manuscript (the oldest extant work on swordsmanship)about five years ago and have been working with it ever since. Even so, I was astounded at the beauty and clarity of the lovely colour plates, reproduced here at amazing resolution. I.33 occupies a special place in fencing history, demonstrating the sophistication of swordsmanship at this early date (1300AD). It shows a marvelous system of sword and buckler play, every bit as subtle as any later fencing system (and why wouldn't it? medieval swordsmen's lives depended on their skill with a sword, so of course their skill was highly developed). This is an excellent translation of a key work in the history of swordsmanship. It is not a how-to book though an accompanying one exists (Written by Paul Wagner and myself). Anyone interested in western swordsmanship, the history of movement or of teaching methodology, or simply interested in a fine piece of artwork from the late 13th century needs this book on their shelves. Stephen Hand
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Beautiful Facsimile,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship: A Facsimile & Translation of Europe's Oldest Personal Combat Treatise, Royal Armouries MS I.33 (Royal Armouries Monograph) (Hardcover)
Royal Armouries MS I.33 is the oldest illustrated fencing manual in existence, which makes this book valuable to students of European Medieval martial arts for that reason alone. However, it also has the distinctions of describing an interesting non-military style of fencing, is beautifully illustrated in the style of illuminated religious manuscripts, and depicts priests and women fencers! Because of the 8.5 x 11 glossy, color plates, this book is expensive, but I think it is worth it for the reasons cited above.The translator, Dr. Jeffrey Forgeng, has been working in the field for decades and his introductory material and footnotes are exhaustive and provide a lot of information on the context of the Medieval German fencing tradition that are not in print anywhere else. Understand, however, that this is a facsimile and translation of a manuscript, it is not a how-to book on medieval sword fighting. The how-to book on this system is Paul Wagner & Stephen Hand's "Medieval Sword and Shield: The Combat System of Royal Armouries MS I.33" also published by Chivalry Bookshelf. No serious library of books on European Medieval martial arts is complete without this book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
medieval fencing,
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This review is from: The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship: A Facsimile & Translation of Europe's Oldest Personal Combat Treatise, Royal Armouries MS I.33 (Royal Armouries Monograph) (Hardcover)
excellent book magnificient edition !! a must for anyone interested in medieval martial arts !
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