| Cluny Fechtbuch |
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MS Cl. 23842, Musée national du Moyen Âge
Paris, France |
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| Type |
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| Date |
1480s-1500s |
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| Language(s) |
Early New High German |
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| Author(s) |
Unknown |
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| Compiler |
Unknown |
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| Material |
Paper, with a contemporary wood and
leather binding |
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| Size |
212 folia (218 mm x 158 mm) |
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| Format |
Double-sided; one illustration per side,
with occasional text |
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| Treatise scans |
Digital scans (450x625) |
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The MS Cl. 23842 is a German fencing manual created in the last quarter of the 15th century.[1] The original currently rests in the holdings of the Musée national du Moyen Âge in Paris, France. This manuscript is a compilation work; it seems to consist of three distinct sections, illustrated by at least two different artists, and several pages have been shuffled since it was created.
The first section consists of mounted and foot combat after the style of Johannes Liechtenauer, while the second section covers various forms of judicial combat. This material seems to be connected in some way to the 15th century writings of Paulus Kal and Peter Falkner,[2] and the 16th century works of Jörg Wilhalm Hutter and Hans Medel, but the nature of these connections is not currently understood. The third section is a fragment of the Gladiatoria treatise.
The Cl. 23842 seems to have much in common with the Wolfenbüttel Sketchbook (Codex Guelf 78.2 August 2º), which may also have been a source, and like that manuscript, it is generally lacking descriptive text. Much of the material coheres closely to the written (and generally unillustrated) treatises of various masters of the Liechtenauer tradition. Given the dating and the connections to Peter Falkner in the text and the artwork, it is tempting to associate it with his other works and speculate that it was an unfinished draft of a compendium of fencing manuals, and that text was planned to be added to the blank upper area of each page.
Provenance
The known provenance of the Cl. 23842 is:[1]
- Created no earlier than the 1480s based on the watermarks on the paper, and before the 1520s due to the connection to Jörg Wilhalm Hutter.
- pre-1800s-1980s - in the Fürstenberg library at the castle at Donaueschingen. Possibly acquired by Graf Wolfgang von Fürstenberg (1465-1509), the founder of the library. Listed as MS 862 in a Fürstliche Fürstenbergische Hofbibliothek catalogue in the 1800s and stamped by the library at each end (sold privately, 1980s).
- 1980s-2005 - the private collection of Ian Woodner (1903-1990) of New York (sold London, Sotheby's, 2008)
- 2008 - purchased by the Musée national du Moyen Âge.
Contents
| 1r - 11v
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Blank
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| 12r - 57v
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Illustrations of long sword devices
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| 58r - 59v
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Blank
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| 60r - 69v
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Illustrations of messer devices
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| 70r - 71v
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Blank
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| 72r - 87v
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Illustrations of dagger devices
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| 88r - 94v
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Blank
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| 95r - 114v
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Illustrations of grappling devices
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| 115r - 117v
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Blank
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| 118r - 131v
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Illustrations of sword and buckler devices
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| 132r - 133r
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Blank
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| 133v - 146r
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Illustrations of mounted fencing devices
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| 146v - 148r
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Illustrations of mounted vs. foot devices
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| 148v
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Blank
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| 149r - 178v
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Illustrations of armored spear and short sword devices
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| 179rv
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Blank
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| 180r - 181v, 187r
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Illustrations of long shield devices
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| 182rv
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Blank
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| 183r - 186v, 187v - 189r
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Illustrations of pole weapons devices
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| 189v
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Blank
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| 190r - 191v
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Illustrations of spear devices
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| 192r - 193v
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Blank
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| 194r
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Illustration of navaja devices
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| 194v
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Illustration of a duel between a man and a woman
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| 195r - 212v
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Illustrations of short sword in armor from the Gladiatoria group
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| 213r - 223v
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Blank
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Gallery
Images hosted by the Musée national du Moyen Âge. More images are available for a thumbnail gallery.
Ff 12 - 57v
Miscellaneous
Additional Resources
- Cavazzuti, Carlo (in Italian). Gladiatoria. Asola: Gilgamesh Edizioni, 2015. ISBN 978-88-6867-080-1
- Hagedorn, Dierk; Walczak, Bartłomiej. Gladiatoria. New Haven - MS U860.F46 1450. Herne: VS-Books, 2015. ISBN 978-3-932077-42-5
- Hils, Hans-Peter (in German). "Gladiatoria: Über drei Fechthandschriften aus der ersten Hälfte des 15. Jahrhunderts". Codices manuscripti 13:1-54, 1987.
- Welle, Rainer. "…und wisse das alle höbischeit kompt von deme ringen". Der Ringkampf als adelige Kunst im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert. Pfaffenweiler: Centaurus-Verlagsgesellschaft, 1993. ISBN 3-89085-755-8
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 See Sotheby's description on Talk page.
- ↑ Based on the caption "Here begin Peter's devices: the sword-taking with counters and grappling. This is painted according to the Record, or according to the Running Through [found in] the Record." on folio 47r. Compare with the device on f 15r of Falkner's work.
Copyright and License Summary
For further information, including transcription and translation notes, see the discussion page.
