Wiktenauer logo.png

Difference between revisions of "Walpurgis Fechtbuch (MS I.33)"

From Wiktenauer
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(101 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{ambox | text = Unfortunately, the [[Royal Armouries]]' [http://collections.royalarmouries.org/index.php image hosting servers] have been down for well over a year now, and the projected date for restoration of service has been pushed back many times; the [http://royalarmouries.org/collections collections page] currently lists an estimate of the end of 2014. If you need to view the MS I.33 images in the interim, they are mirrored on [[commons:Category:Royal Armouries Ms. I.33|WikiMedia Commons]]. }}
 
 
{{infobox manuscript
 
{{infobox manuscript
 
<!----------Name---------->
 
<!----------Name---------->
 
| name              = [[name::Walpurgis Fechtbuch]]
 
| name              = [[name::Walpurgis Fechtbuch]]
| location          = [[inventory::MS I.33]], [[museum::Royal Armouries]]<br/>Leeds, United Kingdom
+
| location          = {{#set: inventory = FECHT1}}, [[museum::Royal Armouries]]<br/>Leeds, United Kingdom
 
<!----------Image---------->
 
<!----------Image---------->
| image              =
 
 
| imageleft          = File:MS I.33 31v.jpg
 
| imageleft          = File:MS I.33 31v.jpg
 
| imageright        = File:MS I.33 32r.jpg
 
| imageright        = File:MS I.33 32r.jpg
| width              = x165px
+
| width              = x175px
 
| caption            = ff 31v-32r, including St. Walpurga in her ward
 
| caption            = ff 31v-32r, including St. Walpurga in her ward
 +
| keyimage          = File:MS I.33 32r.jpg
 
<!----------General---------->
 
<!----------General---------->
| Index number      = [[WI::]]
+
| Hagedorn's catalog = [[HS::LF]]
 
| Wierschin's catalog= [[WC::09|9]]
 
| Wierschin's catalog= [[WC::09|9]]
 
| Hils' catalog      = [[HK::30]]
 
| Hils' catalog      = [[HK::30]]
| Beck catalog      = [[BC::38.9.8]]
+
| Beck catalog      = [http://kdih.badw.de/datenbank/handschrift/38/9/8 38.9.8] {{#set:BC=38.9.8}}
| Also known as      = {{plainlist | ''Liber de Arte Dimicatoria'' | "The Tower Manuscript" | No. 14 E iii, No. 20 }}
+
| Also known as      = {{plainlist
 +
| MS Ⅰ.33
 +
| ''[[title::Liber de Arte Dimicatoria]]''
 +
| "The Tower Fechtbuch"
 +
| No.14.E.ⅲ; No.20
 +
}}
 
| Type              = [[type::Fencing manual]]
 
| Type              = [[type::Fencing manual]]
 
| Date              = ca. [[year::1320s]]
 
| Date              = ca. [[year::1320s]]
Line 21: Line 25:
 
| Language(s)        = [[language::Medieval Latin]]
 
| Language(s)        = [[language::Medieval Latin]]
 
| Scribe(s)          = Unknown (three hands)
 
| Scribe(s)          = Unknown (three hands)
| Ascribed to        = Clerus Lutegerus{{#set:author=Lutegerus}}
+
| Ascribed to        = Clericus Lutegerus
 
| Compiled by        =  
 
| Compiled by        =  
 
| Illuminated by    = Unknown (up to 17 artists)
 
| Illuminated by    = Unknown (up to 17 artists)
Line 28: Line 32:
 
<!----------Form and content---------->
 
<!----------Form and content---------->
 
| Material          = Parchment, in a modern binding
 
| Material          = Parchment, in a modern binding
| Size              = 34 [[folia]]
+
| Size              = 32 [[folia]] (230 mm × 300 mm)
| Format            = Double-sided; two illustrations <br/>per side with text above and <br/>below
+
| Format            = Double-sided; two illustrations per side <br/>with text above and below
 
| Condition          =  
 
| Condition          =  
| Script            = [[script::Bastarda]]
+
| Script            =  
 
| Contents          =  
 
| Contents          =  
 
| Illumination(s)    =  
 
| Illumination(s)    =  
 
| Additions          =  
 
| Additions          =  
 
| Exemplar(s)        =  
 
| Exemplar(s)        =  
| Previously kept    = MS Membr.I 115, [[Forschungsbibliothek Gotha|Schloß Friedenstein]]
+
| Previously kept    = MS Membr.I 115,<br/>[[Forschungsbibliothek Gotha|Schloß Friedenstein]]
 
| Discovered        =  
 
| Discovered        =  
| Website            =  
+
| Website            = [https://collections.royalarmouries.org/archive/rac-archive-391002.html Museum catalog entry]
| Images            = {{plainlist | [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Royal_Armouries_Ms._I.33 Digital scans] (600x800) | [http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/i33/i33.htm Microfilm scans] }}
+
| Images            = {{collapsible list
| Translations      = {{plainlist | {{german translation|http://freywild.ch/i33/|1}} | {{italian translation|http://lutegerus.wordpress.com/|1}} | {{italian translation|http://www.compaquila.com/manuali/I-33.pdf|1}} }}
+
| [[Media:Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 - ca. 1320s - OGL v3.0.pdf|Digital scans]] (1500x2000)
 +
| [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Royal_Armouries_Ms._I.33 Digital scans] (600x800)
 +
| [http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/i33/i33.htm Microfilm scans]
 +
}}
 +
| Translations      =  
 
| below              =  
 
| below              =  
 
}}
 
}}
The '''MS I.33''' is a [[nationality::German]] [[fencing manual]] dating to the 1320s.<ref>The manuscript has been dated to anywhere between 1290 to 1350. Anglo (1988) dated it to "the very end of the 13th century" and Hils (1985) to the early 14th century; Cinato and Surprenant (2009) are even less precise, placing it at around the turn of the 14th century. Recent analysis has suggested a slightly later date, with Leng (2008) dating it to 1320-1330 and Hester (2012) to "around 1320".</ref> It currently rests in the holdings of the [[Royal Armouries]] at Leeds, United Kingdom. The I.33 is earliest extant treatise on Medieval martial arts, and it appears to have been devised by a secular priest, possibly the "Lutegerus" (or Liutger) mentioned in the text.<ref>See [[page:File:Ms I33 fol 01v.jpg|folio 1v]].</ref> It was the work of three scribes and potentially as many as 17 illustrators.<ref name="Hester">Hester (2012).</ref>
+
'''FECHT 1''' (formerly cataloged as MS .33, sometimes called the Walpurgis ''Fechtbuch'', the Lutegerus ''Fechtbuch'', or the Tower ''Fechtbuch'') is a [[nationality::German]] [[fencing manual]] dating to the 1320s.<ref>The manuscript has received a wide variety of dates. Anglo (1988) dated it to "the very end of the 13th century" and Hils (1985) to the early 14th century; Cinato and Surprenant (2009) are even less precise, placing it at around the turn of the 14th century. Most recent analysis has preferred the very late end of this range, with Leng (2008) dating it to 1320-1330 and Hester (2012) to "around 1320".</ref> It currently rests in the holdings of the [[Royal Armouries]] at Leeds, United Kingdom. It contains oldest extant treatise on Medieval martial arts, ''[[Liber de Arte Dimicatoria]]'', and it appears to have been devised by a secular priest, possibly the "Lutegerus" (Ludger) mentioned in the text.<ref>See [[page:Ms I33 fol 01v.jpg|folio 1v]].</ref> It was the work of three scribes and potentially as many as 17 illustrators.<ref name="Hester">Hester (2012).</ref> The manuscript in its present form consists of five quires, of which all but the first are incomplete; at least eight leaves are believed to be missing (assuming it started with complete quires of four bifolia each).<ref name="Hester"/>
 
 
The treatise is fully illustrated, and consists of both mnemonic verses and longer explanations in a vernacular Medieval Latin. (The format of verse and gloss may indicate that the priest was explaining a much older tradition.) It treats unarmored fencing with [[arming sword|sword]] and [[buckler]]; the intriguing fact that the fencers depicted are a priest and a student (and on the last two pages, a priest and a woman identified as St. Walpurga), seems to suggest that this was a middle class or priestly art rather than one of the knightly class. Repeatedly, the text makes mention of the pupils (''scolaris/discipulus'') of the priest, as well as youths (''iuvenis'') and clients (''clientulum''). It seems, therefore, to treat a secular priest who was offering fencing lessons to young men.
 
 
 
The manuscript in its present form consists of five quires, of which all but the first are incomplete; at least eight leaves are believed to be missing (assuming it started with complete quires of four bifolia each).<ref name="Hester"/> The precise contents of these missing leaves are unknown, but it is possible that they were a source for the thirty [[Anonymous Sword and Buckler Images|uncaptioned sword and buckler plays]] which appear in the [[Berlin Sketchbook (Libr.Pict.A.83)|Libri Picture A 83]], the [[Jörg Breu Sketchbook (Cod.I.6.2º.4)|Codex I.6.2º.4]], and the [[Lienhart Sollinger Fechtbuch (Cgm 3712)|Cgm 3712]]; alternatively, these may originate from another manuscript in the same tradition. The anonymous plays seem in turn to have been the primary source for [[Paulus Hector Mair]]'s treatment of the [[side sword]] and buckler, which he captioned with his own interpretations.
 
  
 
== Provenance ==
 
== Provenance ==
  
The known provenance of the MS I.33 is:  
+
The known provenance of FECHT 1 is:  
  
* Written in the 1320s, possibly by a priest named Liutger; owned by Franconian monks until the 1500s.
+
* Written in the 1320s, possibly by a priest named Ludger; owned by Franconian monks until the 1500s.
* 1400s – an additional couplet was inscribed at the top of [http://collections.royalarmouries.org/image.php?i=576187&r=2&t=4&x=9 folio 1r], possibly by Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Pope Pius II; 1405-1464).{{cn}}
+
* 1400s – an additional couplet was inscribed at the top of [[:File:MS I.33 01r.jpg|folio 1r]], apparently a quotation from Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (Pope Pius ).
* 1552-53 – looted from a monastery by [[Johannes Herbart von Würzburg]] during the Franconian campaigns of Albert-Archibald, Duke of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.<ref name="Gunterrodt">[[Heinrich von Gunterrodt|von Gunterrodt, Heinrich]]. ''[[De Veris Principiis Artis Dimicatorie (Heinrich von Gunterrodt)|De Veris Principiis Artis Dimicatorie]]''. Wittenberg, 1579. p C3rv</ref><ref name="Hester"/> Würzburg was a belt-maker by trade and later served as [[fencing master]] to the dukes of Sachsen-Gotha; he inscribed his name on [http://collections.royalarmouries.org/image.php?i=576199&r=2&t=4&x=9 folio 7r].
+
* 1552-53 – looted from a monastery by [[Johannes Herbart von Würzburg]] during the Franconian campaigns of Albrecht Ⅱ, margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.<ref name="Gunterrodt">[[Heinrich von Gunterrodt|von Gunterrodt, Heinrich]]. ''[[De Veris Principiis Artis Dimicatorie (Heinrich von Gunterrodt)|De Veris Principiis Artis Dimicatorie]]''. Wittenberg, 1579. p C3rv</ref><ref name="Hester"/> Würzburg was a belt-maker by trade and later served as [[fencing master]] to the dukes of Sachsen-Gotha; he inscribed his name on [[:File:MS I.33 07r.jpg|folio 7r]].
 
* before 1579 – possibly duplicated by [[Heinrich von Gunterrodt]] while compiling material for his book<ref name="Gunterrodt"/> (such a copy is currently unknown).
 
* before 1579 – possibly duplicated by [[Heinrich von Gunterrodt]] while compiling material for his book<ref name="Gunterrodt"/> (such a copy is currently unknown).
* late 1500s-1945 – owned by the dukes of Sachsen-Gotha; listed in an 18th century library catalog as Cod.Membr.I.no.115.{{cn}} The second device on [http://collections.royalarmouries.org/image.php?i=576237&r=2&t=4&x=9 folio 26r] was copied into the [[Talhoffer Fechtbuch (Cod.Guelf.125.16.Extrav.)|Codex Guelf 125.16 Extravagante]] in the 1600s by a scribe who couldn't decipher the Latin text.<ref>See [[:File:Cod.Guelf.125.16.Extrav. 45r.jpg|Codex Guelf 125.16.Extrav f 45r]].</ref> The manuscript was further described on six leaves of paper (with short excerpts of the text) by Heinrich Niewöhner in 1910. (Lost during World War II.)
+
* late 1500s-1945 – owned by the dukes of Sachsen-Gotha; listed in an 18th century library catalog as Cod.Membr..no.115.{{cn}} The second piece on [[:File:MS I.33 26r.jpg|folio 26r]] was copied into the [[Talhoffer Fechtbuch (Cod.Guelf.125.16.Extrav.)|Cod.Guelf.125.16.Extrav.]] (<small>HTWo</small>) in the 1600s by a scribe who couldn't decipher the Latin text.<ref>See [[Page:Cod.Guelf.125.16.Extrav. 45r.jpg|Cod.Guelf.125.16.Extrav., f 45r]].</ref> The manuscript was further described on six leaves of paper (with short excerpts of the text) by Heinrich Niewöhner in 1910. (Lost during World War .)
* 1945-1950 – location unknown (sold London, [[Sotheby's]], 27 March 1950). Sotheby's listed the manuscript as "a 14th-century manuscript of unknown provenance", and it was not identified as the lost Cod.Membr.I.no.115. until Krämer in 1975.<ref>S. Krämer. "Verbleib unbekannt Angeblich verschollene und wiederaufgetauchte Handschriften." ''Zeitschrift für Deutsches Altertum und Deutsche Literatur,'' volume 104. 1975</ref>
+
* 1945-1950 – location unknown (sold London, [[Sotheby's]], 27 March 1950). Sotheby's listed the manuscript as "a 14th-century manuscript of unknown provenance", and it was not identified as the lost Cod.Membr..no.115. until Krämer in 1975.<ref>S. Krämer. "Verbleib unbekannt Angeblich verschollene und wiederaufgetauchte Handschriften." ''Zeitschrift für Deutsches Altertum und Deutsche Literatur,'' volume 104. 1975</ref>
* 1950-1996 – held by the Royal Armouries and stored in the Tower of London; known variously as "Tower of London Ms. I.33" or "British Museum No. 14 E iii, No. 20, D. vi. I".
+
* 1950-1996 – held by the Royal Armouries and stored in the Tower of London; known variously as "Tower of London Ms. .33" or "British Museum No. 14 E , No. 20, D. . ".
 
* 1996 – moved to the newly-opened Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.
 
* 1996 – moved to the newly-opened Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.
  
 
== Contents ==
 
== Contents ==
  
{| class="wikitable treatise"
+
{| class="treatise"
 
|-  
 
|-  
! id="page" | Folio
+
! id="page" | Ⅰrv
! Section
+
| Front matter
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
! 1r&nbsp;-&nbsp;32v
+
! [[Liber de Arte Dimicatoria|1r - 32v]]
| {{hidden begin
+
| Sword and buckler, possibly by Clericus Lutegerus
  | title    = [[Sword and buckler]], possibly by Liutger
 
  | titlestyle= background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; font-weight:normal; padding:0em 0.3em; vertical-align:middle; width:28em;
 
  | bodystyle = display:block; width:76em;
 
}}
 
{{:Walpurgis Fechtbuch (MS I.33)/Sword and buckler}}
 
{{hidden end}}
 
  
 
|}
 
|}
Line 83: Line 81:
 
== Gallery ==
 
== Gallery ==
  
Images hosted by the Royal Armouries. Identification and placement of lost leaves based on work by Dr. [[Jeffrey L. Forgeng]]{{cn}} and James Hester.<ref name="Hester"/>{{-}}
+
{{collation}}
 +
 
 +
These scans are licensed under the terms of the [https://royalarmouries.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Non-Commercial-Licence.pdf Royal Armouries Non-Commercial Licence].
 +
 
 +
Folia 1r-3v have been conceptually restored by artist [[Mariana López Rodríguez]]; unmodified versions can be viewed on the Royal Armouries website.{{-}}
  
{{image|MS I.33 01r.jpg|Folio 1r}}
+
{{image|ph=1|Cover|Front cover}}
{{image|MS I.33 01v.jpg|Folio 1v}}
+
{{image|MS I.33 Cover 2.jpg|Inside Cover}}
{{image|MS I.33 02r.jpg|Folio 2r}}
+
{{image|MS I.33 Ir.jpg|Ⅰr}}
{{image|MS I.33 02v.jpg|Folio 2v}}
+
{{image|MS I.33 Iv.jpg|Ⅰv}}
{{image|MS I.33 03r.jpg|Folio 3r}}
+
{{image|MS I.33 01r.png|Folio 1r}}
{{image|MS I.33 03v.jpg|Folio 3v}}
+
{{image|MS I.33 01v.png|Folio 1v}}
 +
{{image|MS I.33 02r.png|Folio 2r}}
 +
{{image|MS I.33 02v.png|Folio 2v}}
 +
{{image|MS I.33 03r.png|Folio 3r}}
 +
{{image|MS I.33 03v.png|Folio 3v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 04r.jpg|Folio 4r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 04r.jpg|Folio 4r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 04v.jpg|Folio 4v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 04v.jpg|Folio 4v}}
Line 101: Line 107:
 
{{image|MS I.33 08r.jpg|Folio 8r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 08r.jpg|Folio 8r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 08v.jpg|Folio 8v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 08v.jpg|Folio 8v}}
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
 
{{image|MS I.33 09r.jpg|Folio 9r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 09r.jpg|Folio 9r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 09v.jpg|Folio 9v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 09v.jpg|Folio 9v}}
Line 115: Line 119:
 
{{image|MS I.33 14r.jpg|Folio 14r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 14r.jpg|Folio 14r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 14v.jpg|Folio 14v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 14v.jpg|Folio 14v}}
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
 
{{image|MS I.33 15r.jpg|Folio 15r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 15r.jpg|Folio 15r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 15v.jpg|Folio 15v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 15v.jpg|Folio 15v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 16r.jpg|Folio 16r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 16r.jpg|Folio 16r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 16v.jpg|Folio 16v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 16v.jpg|Folio 16v}}
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
 
{{image|MS I.33 17r.jpg|Folio 17r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 17r.jpg|Folio 17r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 17v.jpg|Folio 17v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 17v.jpg|Folio 17v}}
Line 147: Line 141:
 
{{image|MS I.33 25r.jpg|Folio 25r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 25r.jpg|Folio 25r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 25v.jpg|Folio 25v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 25v.jpg|Folio 25v}}
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
 
{{image|MS I.33 26r.jpg|Folio 26r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 26r.jpg|Folio 26r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 26v.jpg|Folio 26v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 26v.jpg|Folio 26v}}
Line 161: Line 153:
 
{{image|MS I.33 31r.jpg|Folio 31r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 31r.jpg|Folio 31r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 31v.jpg|Folio 31v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 31v.jpg|Folio 31v}}
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
{{image|ph=1|Lost|Missing folio}}
 
 
{{image|MS I.33 32r.jpg|Folio 32r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 32r.jpg|Folio 32r}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 32v.jpg|Folio 32v}}
 
{{image|MS I.33 32v.jpg|Folio 32v}}
 +
{{image|ph=1|Cover|Inside cover}}
 +
{{image|ph=1|Cover|Back cover}}
  
 
== Additional Resources ==
 
== Additional Resources ==
  
* Cinato, Franck and Surprenant, André (in French). ''Le Livre de l'art du Combat: Liber de arte dimicatoria. Édition critique du Royal Armouries MS. I.33, collection Sources d'Histoire Médiévale nº39.'' Paris: CNRS Editions, 2009. ISBN 978-2-271-06757-9
+
{{bibliography}}
* [[Jeffrey L. Forgeng|Forgeng, Dr. Jeffrey L.]] ''[http://illuminatedfightbook.co.uk/ The Illuminated Fightbook Royal Armouries Manuscript I.33]''. Extraordinary Editions, 2012.
 
* Forgeng, Dr. Jeffrey L. ''The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship: A Facsimile & Translation of Europe's Oldest Personal Combat Treatise, Royal Armouries MS I.33 (Royal Armouries Monograph)''. [[Chivalry Bookshelf]], 2003. ISBN 1-891448-38-2
 
** [http://www.wpi.edu/~jforgeng/I.33_Corrigenda.pdf Addendum to Forgeng (2003)]
 
* Hester, James. ''A Few Leaves Short of a Quire: Is the ‘Tower Fechtbuch’ Incomplete?'' Arms & Armour '''9''' (1): 20–24(5). April 2012. {{doi|10.1179/1741612411Z.0000000003}}
 
* [[Andrea Morini|Morini, Andrea]] and Rudilosso, Riccardo (in Italian). ''Manoscritto I.33'' Rome: Il Cerchio Iniziative Editoriali, 2012.
 
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
  
{{reflist|2}}
+
{{reflist}}
 +
 
 +
== Copyright and License Summary ==
 +
 
 +
For further information, including transcription and translation notes, see the [[Talk:{{PAGENAME}}|discussion page]].
 +
 
 +
<section begin="sourcebox"/>{{sourcebox header}}
 +
{{sourcebox
 +
| work        = Images
 +
| authors    = [[Royal Armouries]]
 +
| source link =
 +
| source title= Used under the [https://royalarmouries.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Non-Commercial-Licence.pdf Royal Armouries Non-Commercial Licence]
 +
| license    = copyrighted
 +
}}
 +
{{sourcebox
 +
| work        = Transcription
 +
| authors    = [[transcriber::Dieter Bachmann]]
 +
| source link =
 +
| source title= [[Index:Walpurgis Fechtbuch (MS I.33)]]
 +
| license    = public domain 0
 +
}}
 +
{{sourcebox footer}}<section end="sourcebox"/>
  
 
[[Category:Treatises]]
 
[[Category:Treatises]]
 
[[Category:Manuscripts]]
 
[[Category:Manuscripts]]
 
[[Category:Latin]]
 
 
[[Category:Sword and Buckler]]
 

Latest revision as of 18:58, 26 August 2024

Walpurgis Fechtbuch
, Royal Armouries
Leeds, United Kingdom

MS I.33 31v.jpg
MS I.33 32r.jpg
ff 31v-32r, including St. Walpurga in her ward
HagedornLFLeng38.9.8
Wierschin9Hils30
Also known as
  • MS Ⅰ.33
  • Liber de Arte Dimicatoria
  • "The Tower Fechtbuch"
  • No.14.E.ⅲ; No.20
Type Fencing manual
Date ca. 1320s
Place of origin Franconia
Language(s) Medieval Latin
Ascribed to Clericus Lutegerus
Scribe(s) Unknown (three hands)
Illustrator(s) Unknown (up to 17 artists)
Material Parchment, in a modern binding
Size 32 folia (230 mm × 300 mm)
Format Double-sided; two illustrations per side
with text above and below
Previously kept MS Membr.I 115,
Schloß Friedenstein
External data Museum catalog entry
Treatise scans

FECHT 1 (formerly cataloged as MS Ⅰ.33, sometimes called the Walpurgis Fechtbuch, the Lutegerus Fechtbuch, or the Tower Fechtbuch) is a German fencing manual dating to the 1320s.[1] It currently rests in the holdings of the Royal Armouries at Leeds, United Kingdom. It contains oldest extant treatise on Medieval martial arts, Liber de Arte Dimicatoria, and it appears to have been devised by a secular priest, possibly the "Lutegerus" (Ludger) mentioned in the text.[2] It was the work of three scribes and potentially as many as 17 illustrators.[3] The manuscript in its present form consists of five quires, of which all but the first are incomplete; at least eight leaves are believed to be missing (assuming it started with complete quires of four bifolia each).[3]

Provenance

The known provenance of FECHT 1 is:

  • Written in the 1320s, possibly by a priest named Ludger; owned by Franconian monks until the 1500s.
  • 1400s – an additional couplet was inscribed at the top of folio 1r, apparently a quotation from Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (Pope Pius Ⅱ).
  • 1552-53 – looted from a monastery by Johannes Herbart von Würzburg during the Franconian campaigns of Albrecht Ⅱ, margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.[4][3] Würzburg was a belt-maker by trade and later served as fencing master to the dukes of Sachsen-Gotha; he inscribed his name on folio 7r.
  • before 1579 – possibly duplicated by Heinrich von Gunterrodt while compiling material for his book[4] (such a copy is currently unknown).
  • late 1500s-1945 – owned by the dukes of Sachsen-Gotha; listed in an 18th century library catalog as Cod.Membr.Ⅰ.no.115.[citation needed] The second piece on folio 26r was copied into the Cod.Guelf.125.16.Extrav. (HTWo) in the 1600s by a scribe who couldn't decipher the Latin text.[5] The manuscript was further described on six leaves of paper (with short excerpts of the text) by Heinrich Niewöhner in 1910. (Lost during World War Ⅱ.)
  • 1945-1950 – location unknown (sold London, Sotheby's, 27 March 1950). Sotheby's listed the manuscript as "a 14th-century manuscript of unknown provenance", and it was not identified as the lost Cod.Membr.Ⅰ.no.115. until Krämer in 1975.[6]
  • 1950-1996 – held by the Royal Armouries and stored in the Tower of London; known variously as "Tower of London Ms. Ⅰ.33" or "British Museum No. 14 E ⅲ, No. 20, D. ⅵ. Ⅰ".
  • 1996 – moved to the newly-opened Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.

Contents

Ⅰrv Front matter
1r - 32v Sword and buckler, possibly by Clericus Lutegerus

Gallery

These scans are licensed under the terms of the Royal Armouries Non-Commercial Licence.

Folia 1r-3v have been conceptually restored by artist Mariana López Rodríguez; unmodified versions can be viewed on the Royal Armouries website.

Front cover
Inside Cover
MS I.33 Cover 2.jpg
Ⅰr
MS I.33 Ir.jpg
Ⅰv
MS I.33 Iv.jpg
Folio 1r
MS I.33 01r.png
Folio 1v
MS I.33 01v.png
Folio 2r
MS I.33 02r.png
Folio 2v
MS I.33 02v.png
Folio 3r
MS I.33 03r.png
Folio 3v
MS I.33 03v.png
Folio 4r
MS I.33 04r.jpg
Folio 4v
MS I.33 04v.jpg
Folio 5r
MS I.33 05r.jpg
Folio 5v
MS I.33 05v.jpg
Folio 6r
MS I.33 06r.jpg
Folio 6v
MS I.33 06v.jpg
Folio 7r
MS I.33 07r.jpg
Folio 7v
MS I.33 07v.jpg
Folio 8r
MS I.33 08r.jpg
Folio 8v
MS I.33 08v.jpg
Folio 9r
MS I.33 09r.jpg
Folio 9v
MS I.33 09v.jpg
Folio 10r
MS I.33 10r.jpg
Folio 10v
MS I.33 10v.jpg
Folio 11r
MS I.33 11r.jpg
Folio 11v
MS I.33 11v.jpg
Folio 12r
MS I.33 12r.jpg
Folio 12v
MS I.33 12v.jpg
Folio 13r
MS I.33 13r.jpg
Folio 13v
MS I.33 13v.jpg
Folio 14r
MS I.33 14r.jpg
Folio 14v
MS I.33 14v.jpg
Folio 15r
MS I.33 15r.jpg
Folio 15v
MS I.33 15v.jpg
Folio 16r
MS I.33 16r.jpg
Folio 16v
MS I.33 16v.jpg
Folio 17r
MS I.33 17r.jpg
Folio 17v
MS I.33 17v.jpg
Folio 18r
MS I.33 18r.jpg
Folio 18v
MS I.33 18v.jpg
Folio 19r
MS I.33 19r.jpg
Folio 19v
MS I.33 19v.jpg
Folio 20r
MS I.33 20r.jpg
Folio 20v
MS I.33 20v.jpg
Folio 21r
MS I.33 21r.jpg
Folio 21v
MS I.33 21v.jpg
Folio 22r
MS I.33 22r.jpg
Folio 22v
MS I.33 22v.jpg
Folio 23r
MS I.33 23r.jpg
Folio 23v
MS I.33 23v.jpg
Folio 24r
MS I.33 24r.jpg
Folio 24v
MS I.33 24v.jpg
Folio 25r
MS I.33 25r.jpg
Folio 25v
MS I.33 25v.jpg
Folio 26r
MS I.33 26r.jpg
Folio 26v
MS I.33 26v.jpg
Folio 27r
MS I.33 27r.jpg
Folio 27v
MS I.33 27v.jpg
Folio 28r
MS I.33 28r.jpg
Folio 28v
MS I.33 28v.jpg
Folio 29r
MS I.33 29r.jpg
Folio 29v
MS I.33 29v.jpg
Folio 30r
MS I.33 30r.jpg
Folio 30v
MS I.33 30v.jpg
Folio 31r
MS I.33 31r.jpg
Folio 31v
MS I.33 31v.jpg
Folio 32r
MS I.33 32r.jpg
Folio 32v
MS I.33 32v.jpg
Inside cover
Back cover

Additional Resources

The following is a list of publications containing scans, transcriptions, and translations relevant to this article, as well as published peer-reviewed research.

References

  1. The manuscript has received a wide variety of dates. Anglo (1988) dated it to "the very end of the 13th century" and Hils (1985) to the early 14th century; Cinato and Surprenant (2009) are even less precise, placing it at around the turn of the 14th century. Most recent analysis has preferred the very late end of this range, with Leng (2008) dating it to 1320-1330 and Hester (2012) to "around 1320".
  2. See folio 1v.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Hester (2012).
  4. 4.0 4.1 von Gunterrodt, Heinrich. De Veris Principiis Artis Dimicatorie. Wittenberg, 1579. p C3rv
  5. See Cod.Guelf.125.16.Extrav., f 45r.
  6. S. Krämer. "Verbleib unbekannt Angeblich verschollene und wiederaufgetauchte Handschriften." Zeitschrift für Deutsches Altertum und Deutsche Literatur, volume 104. 1975

Copyright and License Summary

For further information, including transcription and translation notes, see the discussion page.

Work Author(s) Source License
Images Royal Armouries Used under the Royal Armouries Non-Commercial Licence
Copyrighted.png
Transcription Dieter Bachmann Index:Walpurgis Fechtbuch (MS I.33)
Public Domain Contribution.png