Talk:Goliath Fechtbuch (MS Germ.Quart.2020)

Work	Author(s)	Source	License
Images	Biblioteka Jagiellońska	Biblioteka Jagiellońska
Translation	Kirk Siemsen	Private communication
Transcription	Monika Maziarz, Bartłomiej Walczak, Grzegorz Żabiński, Anonymous	Index:Goliath (MS Germ.Quart.2020)

Translation notes

The following is a translation of the Goliath dagger techniques by ARMA scholar Kirk Siemsen. Included with the translation are some comments on the techniques by ARMA scholar Ran Pleasant and Kirk Siemsen.

Goliath presents a number of extremely effective dagger techniques. Most of these techniques can also be found in the works of other Medieval and Renaissance masters. However, in some cases Goliath provide details about how to perform these techniques that are not as clear or are lacking in the other works. In addition, in select cases Goliath presents a different manner of performing a technique.

In three images the man who is performing the technique is shown having been grabbed by his adversary. This is commonly known as "grab & stab", people like to control their victims. However, note that when you grab a person you gives him a split second in which to perform a counter technique. The grab actually serves as a trigger for the execution of the technique. Moreover, the arm you use to grab the other person provides him a part of your body to work against, it actually facilitates the counter. A number of techniques that start in response to a "grab & stab" are seen in Fiore.

In some images a dagger is seen at the feet of the man performing the technique. It may well be that the man lay down his dagger while performing the technique for the artist and the artist simply drew what he was seeing. However, the dagger on the ground could also suggest that the adversary performed a successful disarming technique prior to making the attack seen in the image. For training purposes it has been helpful to start with the person playing the adversary role to perform a disarm before attacking the person who is performing the technique seen in the image. The flow from one action into another gives a more realistic context for the technique being practiced. -RP

Transcription notes (75r - 86r)

The Goliath Fechtbuch (MS German Quarto 2020) of the Biblioteka Jagiellonska in Kraków, Poland holds a chapter called “Fechtbuch im Meser”. After several empty pages, another chapter starts that contains various pieces with the Quaterstaff as the exercising tool for the most staff weapons. In this posting I present a transcription of that book. If any translation is wanted, please let me know and I will see what I can do.

Matt Galas recognized the fencing as the same as in Egenolph “Der Altenn Fechter anfengliche Kunst” of 1531. I added the sections of the same pieces of this book next to the ones in the Goliath. The additional pieces that are not identified in this document are collected in the picture next to this text. Apparently both writers of the books copied from another older document. This manuscript could be the one of Andreas Pauernfeindt of 1516 but it could be that all three authors may have drawn from elder sources because they differ too much for being a direct copy.

Note: This is a not proofread, uncorrected version. My first draft. If you have any recommendations, corrections, or annotations that will improve the content on this page, please help me by commenting. You will find the original image of this transcription here: Link to the Wiktenauer.

Transcription Rules

The transcription is created to make the text readable. So the abbreviations and errors are resolved and marked:

[ ] Square Brackets: resolved abbreviation.
{ } Curved Brackets: added missing words or letters