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Welcome to the Wiktenauer!The free library of Historical European Martial Arts books and manuscripts |
Without books no one can be a good teacher nor even a good student of this art. |
Dedicated to the memory of Dr. Patri Pugliese
Wiktenauer is an ongoing collaboration among scholars and practitioners from across the Western martial arts (WMA) community, seeking to collect all of the primary source materials that makes up the text of historical European martial arts (HEMA) research and to organize and present it in a rigorous but accessible format. The Wiktenauer project started in 2009, later moving under the umbrella of the 501(c)(3) HEMA Alliance, and is named for Johannes Liechtenauer, grand master of the best-documented tradition of the early Modern era, the subject of many dozens of manuscripts and books over a period of nearly three centuries.
Wiktenauer's data model is built on separating the contents of each master's teachings from the books and manuscripts that contain them. For this reason, there are two main types of pages:
Treatise Pages host all relevant data on an individual book or manuscript, including codicological description, provenance (for manuscripts) or publication history (for books), table of contents (with links to the appropriate master pages), gallery of page scans, and bibliography of print resources. The exemplar for manuscripts is the Goliath Fechtbuch, while the exemplar for printed books is Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey. With well over a thousand individual books and manuscripts to research, building out this index will take a long time. Ultimately, every text in the corpus of Historical European Martial Arts literature will have a dedicated page.
Master Pages display the actual transcription and translation of a given master's complete works, as well as bibliographical information when available. In cases of multiple copies of a master's work, the transcriptions are laid out side-by-side to facilitate cross-comparison and creating the most accurate translation possible. To aid in interpretation, the writings are also illustrated with pictures from the masters' work (when available). A bibliography at the end of each page lists additional transcriptions, translations, and scans that are available in print. The exemplar for this category of pages is Fiore de'i Liberi. Ultimately, every master in all of the traditions of Western Martial Arts will have a dedicated page. (Anonymous texts are displayed on 'orphan treatise' pages, which are structured like master pages but without the biography.)
The Wiktenauer index is currently considered complete up to the end of the 16th century, and we're currently working on adding material from the 17th (while also trying to keep the existing pages up to date with the latest discoveries and published research).
If you'd like to pitch in, simply request an account and consult How can I help?
| Federico Ghisliero | |
|---|---|
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| Died | 1619 Turino |
| Occupation | Soldier |
| Citizenship | Bologna |
| Influences | |
| Genres | Fencing manual |
| Language | Italian |
| Notable work(s) | Regole di molti cavagliereschi essercitii (1587) |
| Manuscript(s) | M.A.M. Ghisliero MS (1585) |
Federico Ghisliero (Ghislieri; d. 1619) was a Bolognese soldier and fencer. Little is know about his early life, but he came from a Bolognese family and studied fencing under Silvio Piccolomini. He lead a long military career that included serving under the famous commander Alessandro, Duke of Parma, in Flanders in 1582. He was also a friend of Galileo Galilei and a prolific writer, though unfortunately most of his writings were destroyed in a fire at the University of Turin in 1904.
In 1587, he published a fencing treatise called Regole di molti cavagliereschi essercitii ("Rules for Many Knightly Exercises"); two versions of the book exist, and it's unclear which was created first. One is dedicated to Antonio Pio Bonello, a well-known soldier and distant relative of Ghisliero, and the other to Ranuccio Farnese, who was 18 years old at the time and Alessandro's heir.
Ghisliero's treatise is notable for his use of geometry in relation to fencing, using concentric circles centered on where the fencer has placed most of their weight (often, but not always, the back foot), and sometimes including multiple versions of each figure in an illustration to show the progression of the movements he describes. He also seems to be the first author to reference the Vitruvian Man in a fencing treatise. However, his treatise is unique in that it was printed without any illustrations at all, and they had to be drawn in by hand. It's unclear whether this indicates that he intended to have printing plates made but was unable to do so, or that his plan from the start was to have the books vary based on how much art each buyer was willing to pay for.
Ghisliero died in Turino in 1619.
(Read more…)
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Wiktenauer parent organizations
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Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) Alliance
A US educational non-profit which provides a range of programs and services for its members and affiliate schools and clubs, as well as serving the wider HEMA community. |
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Western Martial Arts Coalition (WMAC)
A pan-American network of researchers and instructors dedicated to the study of traditional European, American, and related fighting arts and martial traditions. |
Historical European Martial Arts Federations
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Australia Western Martial Academies of Australia |
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Austria Österreichischer Fachverband für Historisches Fechten |
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Belgium Societas Belgarum Scientiae Nobilis |
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Brazil Associação Brasileira de Artes Marciais Históricas Européias |
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Czech Republic Česká asociace šermířů |
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France Fédération Française des Arts Martiaux Historiques Européens |
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Galicia (Spain) Asociación Galega de Esgrima Antiga |
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Germany Deutscher Dachverband Historischer Fechter |
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Greece Ελληνική Ομοσπονδία |
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Hungary Magyar Hosszúkardvívó Sportszövetség |
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Italy Vnione Arti Dimicatorie Italia |
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Netherlands H.E.M.A.-bond Nederland |
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Poland Polska Federacja Dawnych Europejksich Sztuk Walki |
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Portugal Federação Portuguesa de Esgrima Histórica |
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Slovenia Historical European Martial Arts Federation of Slovenia |
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Spain Asociación Española de Esgrima Antigua Federación Española de Esgrima Histórica |
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Sweden Svenska HEMA-förbundet |
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Switzerland Swiss Federation for Historical European Martial Arts |
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United Kingdom British Federation for Historical Swordplay |
Wiktenauer sponsors
Each year Wiktenauer holds a two-week fundraising drive to cover our server fees and fund new projects and acquisitions. The following are the organizations are official sponsors of the 2015 fundraiser; a full list of donors can be viewed on the Contributors page.
Top three 2015 donors
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Kron Martial Arts |
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xKdF Network |
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Schola Saint George |
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Associació Catalana d'Esgrima Antiga |
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Boston Armizare |
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Fechtschule Victoria |
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Longpoint: HEMA Tournaments & Workshops |
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Noble Science Academy |
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Ottawa Swordplay |
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Purpleheart Armoury |
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The Rhode Island Fencing Academy and Club |
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School of European Swordsmanship |
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Sword to Sword - Kunst des Fechtens |
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Système d'Armes - New Orleans |
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Tattershall School of Defense |
