The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship

...The function of any edition is to make a text available to scholars. By that measure, a quick scan of the titles of papers given at the Kalamazoo Medieval Congress in the last few years shows that the edition is doing its job nicely. Papers have discussed such points as a correct reading of the illustrations (e.g., the buckler is occasionally shown edge-on with the boss changed into a show more prominent point, but the sword is always shown flat; it is extremely unlikely that the system recorded in I.33 never used an oblique cut), the function of the Walpurgis figure (not an allegorical figure, an Amazon, or St. Walpurgis) and the influence of I.33 on later Fechtbücher (considerable). I.33 presents so many challenges that one martial arts historian hypothesized that “the author was an indifferent and ineffectual swordsman.” [1] With a good edition of the manuscript now available to scholars this seems untenable, and alternative solutions are being put forward. The experience of military historians in interpreting medieval depictions of battle and combat scenes could well make a contribution here, and the study of Fechtbücher as a genre could help with the interpretation of those “earnest” illustrations.

The production quality of the edition may help persuade acquisitions librarians who might not be enthusiastic about medieval swordplay... show less