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| {{red|If you are left,<br/>&emsp;With the right you also sorely limp.}}
 
| {{red|If you are left,<br/>&emsp;With the right you also sorely limp.}}
 
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<p>Gloss: Mark, this is a lesson and touches upon two persons, a right-hander and a left-hander, and is how you shall hew so that one does not win the Weak of your sword with the first hew, and undertake that thus: when you come to him with the pre-fencing, if you are then a right-hander, then do not hew the first hew with purpose from the left side, then you are<ref>Lit. "he is".</ref> Weak and may not hold against therewith. When he hews strongly in to you then hew from the right, so that you may well hold strongly against, and work what you will on the sword.</p>
+
<p>Gloss: Mark, this is a lesson and touches upon two persons, a right-hander and a left-hander, and is how you shall hew so that one does not win the Weak of your sword with the first hew, and undertake that thus: when you come to him with the pre-fencing, if you are then a right-hander, then do not hew the first hew with purpose from the left side (then you are<ref>Lit. "he is".</ref> Weak and may not hold against therewith). When he hews strongly in to you then hew from the right, so that you may well hold strongly against, and work what you will on the sword.</p>
 
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| {{red|If he becomes aware of it,<br/>&emsp;Then take off above without danger.}}
 
| {{red|If he becomes aware of it,<br/>&emsp;Then take off above without danger.}}
 
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<p>Gloss: Mark, that is when you hew in on him with the Wrath-hew, then shoot the long point into the face or breast, as the before described states. If he becomes aware of the point and parries strongly and presses your sword to the side, then wrench up over it with your sword on his sword’s blade, off above from his sword, and hew him to the other side, yet on his sword’s blade, into the head. That is called “taking off above”.</p>
+
<p>Gloss: Mark, that is when you hew in on him with the Wrath-hew, then shoot the long point into the face or breast, as the fore-described states. If he becomes aware of the point and parries strongly and presses your sword to the side, then wrench up over it with your sword on his sword’s blade, off above from his sword, and hew him to the other side, yet on his sword’s blade, into the head. That is called “taking off above”.</p>
 
| {{section|Page:Cod.44.A.8 013v.jpg|2|lbl=-}}
 
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| <p><br/><br/></p>
 
| <p><br/><br/></p>
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| {{red|Meanwhile, and Before, After,<br/>&emsp;Without haste. Your War should not be rushed.}}
 
| {{red|Meanwhile, and Before, After,<br/>&emsp;Without haste. Your War should not be rushed.}}
 
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<p>Gloss: Mark, this is when he has bound with you with a hew or with a stab (or otherwise on your sword): then from the Winding before you, you shall not too quickly leave his sword. When one sword clashes on the other, very precisely mark if he is Soft or Hard in the bind, and when you have found that first, then work Meanwhile with the Winding, after the Soft and after the Hard, always to the next-standing opening as you will be taught hereafter and trained in the techniques.</p>
+
<p>Gloss: Mark, this is when he has bound with you, with a hew or with a stab (or otherwise on your sword): then from the Winding before you, you shall not too quickly leave his sword. When one sword clashes on the other, very precisely mark if he is Soft or Hard in the bind, and when you have found that first, then work Meanwhile with the Winding, after the Soft and after the Hard, always to the next-standing opening as you will be taught hereafter and trained in the techniques.</p>
 
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|-  
 
| <small>33</small>
 
| <small>33</small>
| {{red|In all Winding,<br/>&emsp;Hew, stab, slice learn to find.}}
+
| {{red|In all Winding,<br/>&emsp;Learn to find hew, stab, slice.}}
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| <small>34</small>
 
| <small>34</small>
| {{red|Also shall you with<br/>&emsp;Proving hew, stab, or slice.}}
+
| {{red|Also shall you, with<br/>&emsp;Proving, hew, stab, or slice.}}
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
| <small>35</small>
 
| <small>35</small>
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| <p>[26] And how you shall drive the Windings, and how many there are, you will find described in the last technique of the Epitome, which says “Who well drives and correctly breaks…”<ref>Couplets 102-109.</ref></p>
+
| <p>[26] And how you shall drive the Windings, and how many there are, you will find described in the last technique of the Epitome, which says “Whoever drives well and correctly breaks…”<ref>Couplets 102-109.</ref></p>
 
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| <p>[28] That you shall thus understand: when you come to him with the pre-fencing, you shall always aim at the Four Openings boldly without any fear (with a hew or with a stab, to whichever you may best come on) and regard not what he drives or fences against you. Therewith, you force the man so that he must parry you, and when he has parried, then search quickly in the parrying with the Winding on his sword yet to the next opening, and thus aim always at the openings of the man and fence not to the sword, as in the technique which says, “Set on four ends, learn to remain thereon, will you end.”<ref>Couplet 74.</ref></p>
+
| <p>[28] That you shall thus understand: when you come to him with the pre-fencing, you shall always aim at the Four Openings boldly without any fear (with a hew or with a stab, to whichever you may best come on) and regard not what he drives or fences against you. Therewith, you force the man so that he must parry you, and when he has parried, then search quickly in the parrying with the Winding on his sword yet to the next opening, and thus aim always at the openings of the man and fence not to the sword, as in the technique which says, “Set-on four ends; Learn to remain thereon if you will end.”<ref>Couplet 74.</ref></p>
 
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| <p>[35] ''These are the fencings with the sword and embodies the work that is exalted.''</p>
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| <p>[35] ''These are the fencings with the sword, and embody the work that is exalted.''</p>
 
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| <small>43</small>
 
| <small>43</small>
| {{red|Who sets well Crooked<br/>&emsp;With steps injures many hews.}}
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| {{red|Whoever sets well Crooked<br/>&emsp;With steps injures many hews.}}
 
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<p>Mark, the Crooked hew is one of the Four Preemptings against the Four Guards, and breaks the guard that is called the Ox therewith, and also the Over-hew and the Under-hew. Drive it thus: when you come to him with the pre-fencing, if he then stands against you and holds his sword before his head in guard of the Ox on his left side, then set your left foot before and hold your sword on your right shoulder in the guard, and spring with your right foot well on your right side against him, and strike in with crossed arms over his hands with the long edge.</p>
 
<p>Mark, the Crooked hew is one of the Four Preemptings against the Four Guards, and breaks the guard that is called the Ox therewith, and also the Over-hew and the Under-hew. Drive it thus: when you come to him with the pre-fencing, if he then stands against you and holds his sword before his head in guard of the Ox on his left side, then set your left foot before and hold your sword on your right shoulder in the guard, and spring with your right foot well on your right side against him, and strike in with crossed arms over his hands with the long edge.</p>
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| <p>[62] {{red|b=1|Or}}, if you will not thrust him over the foot by the elbow with your left hand (as the before described states), then drive in with your left arm behind around his body, and throw him before you over your left hip.</p>
+
| <p>[62] {{red|b=1|Or}}, if you will not thrust him over the foot by the elbow with your left hand (as the fore-described states), then drive in with your left arm behind around his body, and throw him before you over your left hip.</p>
 
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| <small>59</small>
 
| <small>59</small>
| {{red|Who threatens to change,<br/>&emsp;Squinter robs him therefrom.}}
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| {{red|Whoever threatens to change,<br/>&emsp;Squinter robs him therefrom.}}
 
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<p>Gloss: Mark, the Squinter<ref>Squint here means “an askew glance”, referring to both the sword's direction of travel and also the use of deception with the eyes with this hew.</ref> breaks the guard that is called the Plow, and is a good, strange, and serious hew when it breaks with force one who is hewing in or stabbing in, and it goes with inverted sword. There are many Masters of the Sword around that know nothing to say of this hew.</p>
 
<p>Gloss: Mark, the Squinter<ref>Squint here means “an askew glance”, referring to both the sword's direction of travel and also the use of deception with the eyes with this hew.</ref> breaks the guard that is called the Plow, and is a good, strange, and serious hew when it breaks with force one who is hewing in or stabbing in, and it goes with inverted sword. There are many Masters of the Sword around that know nothing to say of this hew.</p>
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|-  
 
| <small>74</small>
 
| <small>74</small>
| {{red|Set-on four ends.<br/>&emsp;Learn to remain thereon if you will end.}}
+
| {{red|Set-on four ends;<br/>&emsp;Learn to remain thereon if you will end.}}
 
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<p>Gloss: Mark, there are Four Settings-on that you hear you shall drive in earnest when you will quickly strike or injure him. Drive them thus: when you come to him in the pre-fencing with the sword, then lie with your sword in the guard of the Ox or the Plow. If he will then hew above or stab below, then mark while he lifts up his sword and will strike, or pulls it to himself below and will stab, and then come Before and shoot the long point into the nearest opening before he brings ahead his hew or stab, and see if you may Set-on him. Likewise do that also when he hews to you with Under-hews: then shoot the point in before he comes up with the hew from below, and drive that to both sides.</p>
 
<p>Gloss: Mark, there are Four Settings-on that you hear you shall drive in earnest when you will quickly strike or injure him. Drive them thus: when you come to him in the pre-fencing with the sword, then lie with your sword in the guard of the Ox or the Plow. If he will then hew above or stab below, then mark while he lifts up his sword and will strike, or pulls it to himself below and will stab, and then come Before and shoot the long point into the nearest opening before he brings ahead his hew or stab, and see if you may Set-on him. Likewise do that also when he hews to you with Under-hews: then shoot the point in before he comes up with the hew from below, and drive that to both sides.</p>
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|-  
 
|-  
 
| <small>84</small>
 
| <small>84</small>
| {{red|Who stabs on you,<br/>&emsp;Your point hits and his breaks.}}
+
| {{red|Whoever stabs on you,<br/>&emsp;Your point hits and his breaks.}}
 
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|-  
 
| <small>85</small>
 
| <small>85</small>
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|-  
 
|-  
 
| <small>97</small>
 
| <small>97</small>
| {{red|In all drivings,<br/>&emsp;Hew, stab, lying, soft or hard.}}
+
| {{red|In all drivings,<br/>&emsp;Hew, stab, Liers, Soft or Hard.}}
 
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<p>Gloss: Mark, the two hangings from the earth, that is the Plow on both sides: and when you will fence therefrom, or are fencing, then you shall therein also have the Feeling if he is Soft or Hard in hewing, and in stabbing, and in all binding of the swords.</p>
+
<p>Gloss: Mark, the two hangings from the earth, that is, the Plow on both sides: and when you will fence therefrom, or are fencing, then you shall therein also have the Feeling if he is Soft or Hard in hewing, and in stabbing, and in all binding of the swords.</p>
 
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Revision as of 03:51, 27 June 2016

Gloss and Interpretation of
the Recital on the Long Sword
die gloss und die auslegung der zettel
des langen schwert
Johannes Liechtenauer.jpg
Author(s) Unknown
Ascribed to Pseudo-Peter von Danzig
Illustrated by Unknown
Date before 1452
Genre
Language Early New High German
Archetype(s) Hypothetical
Principal
Manuscript(s)
Manuscript(s)
First Printed
English Edition
Tobler, 2010
Concordance by Michael Chidester
Translations

"Pseudo-Peter von Danzig" is the name given to an anonymous late 14th or early 15th century German fencing master.[1] Some time before the creation of the Codex 44.A.8 in 1452, he authored a gloss of Johannes Liechtenauer's Recital (Zettel) which would go on to become the most widespread in the tradition. While his identity remains unknown, it is possible that he was in fact Jud Lew or Sigmund Schining ein Ringeck, both of whose glosses show strong similarities to the work. On the other hand, the introduction to the Rome version of the text might be construed as attributing it to Liechtenauer himself.

Treatise

Early on in its history, the Pseudo-Peter von Danzig gloss seems to have split into two primary branches, and no definite copies of the unaltered original are known to survive. The gloss of Sigmund Schining ain Ringeck also seems to be related to this work, due to the considerable overlap in text and contents, but the exact nature of this relationship is currently unclear.

Branch A, first attested in the Augsburg version (1450s) and comprising the majority of extant copies, has more devices overall than the other branch (particularly in the extensive Salzburg version of 1491) but generally shorter descriptions in areas of overlap. It also includes glosses of Liechtenauer's Recital on long sword and mounted fencing only, and in lieu of a gloss of Liechtenauer's short sword it is generally accompanied by the short sword teachings of Andre Liegniczer and Martin Huntfeltz. Apart from containing the most content, the Salzburg version is notable for including nine paragraphs of text that are not found in any other version of Pseudo-Peter von Danzig, but do appear in Ringeck (and constitute almost 10% of that gloss); this predates all known copies of Ringeck's text, but is another indicator of some connection between the works. Branch A was later used by Johannes Lecküchner as a source when he compiled his own gloss of a Recital on the Messer in the late 1470s.

Branch B, attested first in the Rome version (1452), is found in only four manuscripts; it tends to feature slightly longer descriptions than Branch A, but includes fewer devices overall. Branch B glosses Liechtenauer's entire Recital, including the short sword section, and may therefore be considered more complete than Branch A; it also different from Branch A in that three of the four known copies are illustrated to some extent, where none in the other branch are. The Krakow version (1510-20) seems to be an incomplete (though extensively illustrated) copy taken directly from the Rome,[2] while Augsburg II (1564) is taken from the Krakow but only includes the six illustrated devices of wrestling and their respective captions. Even more anomalous is the Glasgow version, consisting solely of a sizeable fragment of the short sword gloss (hence its assignation to Branch B) which is appended to the opening paragraphs of Ringeck's gloss of the same section; since it accompanies Ringeck's long sword and mounted fencing glosses, a possible explanation is that the scribe lacked a complete copy of Ringeck and tried to fill in the deficit with another similar text.

There is one version of the Pseudo-Peter von Danzig gloss that defies categorization into either branch, namely the Vienna version (included in a 1480 manuscript along with Paulus Kal's work, though Kal's personal level of involvement is unknown). The text of this copy is more consistent with the generally shorter descriptions of Branch A, but the overall contents much more closely align with Branch B, lacking most of the unique devices of Branch A and including the gloss of the short sword. The Vienna version may therefore be a copy of the original gloss before it split into these branches (or it may merely be an odd attempt by a scribe to synthesize the two branches into a single, shorter work).

While Branches A and B were originally presented in a single concordance in this article, the differences between them were revealed thereby to be extensive enough that they merit separate consideration. Thus Branch A has been placed on the page of Jud Lew, to whom is seemingly attributed the gloss on mounted fencing, while Branch B has been retained here. As the Vienna version cannot be cleanly assigned to one branch or the other, it appears in both concordances for comparative purposes.

Additional Resources

References

  1. This name stems from the false assumption of many 20th century writers identifying him with Peter von Danzig zum Ingolstadt.
  2. Zabinski, pp 82-83
  3. Per Rasmusson, Goliath text reads "...else the play further from the left side shall happen with the step and strike on other sides."
  4. Könnte auch als »thun« gelesen werden.
  5. Or "tap-hit".
  6. Lit. "he is".
  7. Couplets 102-109.
  8. Couplet 74.
  9. Vienna rewords and rearranges this paragraph: “When you hew to him with the Thwart, if he parries and binds therewith Soft on your sword, then drive the Mutating in to the lower opening, or drive in with your sword to his right side on the neck, and spring with the right foot behind his left, and jerk him thereover with the sword.”
  10. Squint here means “an askew glance”, referring to both the sword's direction of travel and also the use of deception with the eyes with this hew.
  11. The Vienna incorporates additional material belonging to Branch A here.
  12. Letter erased and overwritten.
  13. This text is a repetition of the first paragraph on folio 68r, but this is the illustration that corresponds to the text in Goliath (folio 54v).
  14. Korrigiert aus »das«.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Indecipherable due to an ink blotch.
  16. Steht nach der nächsten Zeile.
  17. Steht nach der nächsten Zeile.
  18. Steht nach der nächsten Zeile.
  19. "Nachent in weyshait" is reversed in the text, with markings indicating the correct word order"
  20. Corrected from »sein«.
  21. Corrected from »seinem«.
  22. The rest vanishes in the binding.
  23. Corrected from »dam«.
  24. Corrected from »dem«.
  25. Corrected from »vchsel«.
  26. Korrigiert aus »sein«.
  27. Corrected from »mit«.