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Sigmund ain Ringeck/Sandbox

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Ringeck's treatise might be said to have kicked off the modern HEMA movement; a complete transcription of the Dresden version was included by Martin Wierschin in his landmark Meister Johann Liechtenauers Kunst des Fechtens in 1965, which was the first "HEMA book". This transcription was later translated to modern German by Christoph Kaindel in the 1990s. A new transcription was authored by Dierk Hagedorn in 2008 and posted on the Hammaborg site.

The first English translations were produced in 2001 by Jörg Bellinghausen and Christian Tobler. An early draft of Bellinghausen's translation of the long sword was posted on the ARMA site, whereas Tobler's translated was published by Chivalry Bookshelf in Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship. Jörg Bellinghausen indicates that he completed translation afterward, but it was lost in a computer mishap and he never reproduced it; instead, in 2003 David Rawlings completed his work by translating the remaining plays of the long sword as well as the short sword section. A fourth English translation was produced by David Lindholm and published in 2005 by Paladin Press in two volumes: Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of the Longsword and Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Arts of Combat: Sword-and-Buckler Fighting, Wrestling, and Fighting in Armor.

Other translations produced in the '00s include an anonymous French translation posted on the ARDAMHE site, Eugenio García-Salmones' Spanish translation in 2006 posted on the AVEH site (translated from the French), Gábor Erényi's Hungarian translation (posted on the Schola Artis Gladii et Armorum site), and Andreas Engström's Swedish translation posted on the GHFS site. In 2011, Keith Farrell translated the Swedish into a fifth English version.

All of these translations were based exclusively on the Dresden version, which was the only version known in the 20th century and thought to be unique until other versions began surfacing in the 21st.

The Glasgow Fechtbuch was identified in Sydney Anglo's 2000 opus as merely "[R. L.] Scott's Liechtenauer MS",[1] but it was eventually determined to contain writings of Ringeck. In 2009, the first 24 folia were transcribed by Anton Kohutovič and posted on the Gesellschaft Liechtenauers site, and the complete manuscript was translated by Dierk Hagedorn and posted on Hammaborg. It's unclear when the Rostock version was first identified as pertaining to Joachim Meyer, but it began circulating prior to 2009 and Kevin Maurer authored a partial transcription in 2011; Dierk Hagedorn posted a complete transcription in 2015 on Hammaborg.

On the other hand, the Salzburg version was well-known going back at least to Wierschin, and transcriptions were posted by Beatrix Koll on the Universitätsbibliothek Salzburg site in 2002 and by Dierk Hagedorn on the Hammaborg site in 2009; likewise, the Aubsburg version was known going back at least to Hans-Peter Hils, and a transcription by Werner Ueberschär was posted on the Schwertbund Nurmberg site in 2012. However, the fact that these manuscripts included fragments of Ringeck's gloss was not realized until they were added to Wiktenauer in the 2010s. Likewise, the Vienna version has been known as a manuscript illustrated by Albrecht Dürer for centuries, but the attribution of the short sword teachings to Ringeck wasn't made until Dierk Hagedorn's transcription of 2016.

In 2015, Christian Trosclair authored a sixth translation of the long sword section for Wiktenauer, which was the first that incorporated all five known versions of that section.

More recently, Stephen Ceney authored a seventh translation of the long sword section, based on Dresden and Glasgow, which he self-published in Ringeck · Danzig · Lew Longsword in 2020. He also authored the first translation of the Glasgow version of Ringeck's mounted fencing and donated it to Wiktenauer.

Select one or more fencing styles using the checkboxes below to view the associated treatises.

The number in brackets at the beginning of each translation box is a paragraph number assigned by Wiktenauer; clicking it will take you to the translation page. The numbers in brackets in the transcriptions with an "r" or "v" are manuscript folio numbers; clicking them will take you to original page scan with the transcription alongside for comparison. If you want to sort a column by number, click the black triangles in the table headers.

Whenever the Glasgow version mentions an illustration, the scan is included in the illustration column whether it has a picture or not. The Rostock version has no illustrations at all in this section, so it is not pictured when it mentions them.

Long sword

Short sword

Mounted fencing

References

  1. Sydney Anglo. The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2000. pp 312-315.
  2. Word omitted in Vienna.
  3. Throw
  4. Phrase omitted in Dresden.
  5. Pushes out
  6. Push
  7. “Hand” in Dresden.
  8. “schreit” ("screech") in all three versions, it seems to refer to a step.
  9. Phrase only in Dresden.
  10. Verchossen
  11. Drop it
  12. Phrase only in Dresden.
  13. “Sword" in Vienna and Rostock, it has been opted for “Hand” since the title refers to a technique with a bear hand.
  14. Armoured
  15. Gouges
  16. "he grips you" in Vienna and Rostock.
  17. Word omitted in Dresden.
  18. “then yank, then yank” in Rostock.
  19. "gemächten", translated as "face" to confirm if right.
  20. "reÿß", translated as "tear" to confirm if right.
  21. Stab at you
  22. “stabbing-through” in Rostock.
  23. The transcription David was translating from didn't have 122rv and 125rv in their proper place, so he assumed that content was missing.
  24. Phrase omitted in Dresden.
  25. Word omitted in Dresden.
  26. "well to" in Dresden.
  27. Phrase omitted in Dresden.
  28. Missing in Rostock from this point on.
  29. Word omitted in Dresden.
  30. Phrase omitted in Dresden.
  31. "when" in Dresden.
  32. "upwards" in Dresden.
  33. Phrase omitted in Dresden.
  34. Phrase omitted in Dresden.
  35. Pieces
  36. Word omitted in Dresden.
  37. Word omitted in Dresden.
  38. Only in Dresden.
  39. "breaking" in Dresden.
  40. Pulls out
  41. Pieces
  42. Phrase omitted in Dresden.
  43. Word omitted in Dresden.
  44. “you” in Dresden.
  45. "guard" in Dresden.
  46. Gauntlet
  47. Tear on the right, I think this means step in from your right, as opposed to turning to your right.
  48. Only in Dresden.
  49. Word omitted in Dresden.
  50. Original: “streyffen”, modernized “streifen”, to brush, streak, graze, lightly touch.
  51. Original: “undter augen”, this phrase appears numerous times throughout the text, is likely some kind of idiom or turn of phrase, but not sure exactly what it means.
  52. Original: “iren”, formal “you”, rather than the informal (dein-) which is almost always used. Could also be “their”.
  53. Original: “ableyttest,” - “ableiten,” literally to lead away, also to derive, deduce, divert, drain, deflect, channel off.
  54. “Zu dem treffen,” could be in the sense of the two fencers meeting each other, or one lance connecting to the other, or a lance landing a hit. Context indicates that it is the first for this one.
  55. “Schaff griff,” the translation “sheep hold” is not conclusive, it may also refer to a type of water carrier that is held in a similar way to the hold. It may also be related to how one would carry a sheep when shearing or otherwise.
  56. Original: “sytigklich,” or “sittiglich,” at the time meant “moderately” in the sense of slowly or not too fast, modern “sittlich” means morally or ethically.
  57. Original: “taschn haw.” A “tasset” is a piece of armor that covers the side of the thigh. It is possible that the last part of this hew aims for a gap in the armor on the back of the leg. This translation is not conclusive.
  58. Original: “auß,” however the Dresden version says “vff” here, and “aus” does not make sense.
  59. “Zawm,” - “zaum,” literally “bridle,” context continually indicates that they are talking about the reins.
  60. Original: “ob dich das roß vertrueg,” literally “if the horse make a fool out of you.” Likely means something like if the horse moves in a way that you don’t expect, or if the horse runs away while you’re trying to do something.
  61. Original: “schütten”.
  62. Original: “gehultz,” could be modernized to “hilt,” which is a term that could mean multiple parts of the sword today, but they are talking about the crossguard.
  63. “Stoss,” could also mean push, strike, or bash.
  64. “Twer,” also often translated as thwart, cross, crosswise.
  65. The verb is missing in this sentence, in the Dresden version “heng” (hang) is used here.
  66. “Verschlingst” - “verschlingen,” to devour, engulf, scarf, etc.
  67. Corrected from »geradt«.
  68. Unclear, could be “when he hews in to you, parry…” Unclear because “hawt” is used instead of “haw,” also the construction of the sentence is not typical. The Dresden version is much clearer that you are the one hewing in and he is parrying.
  69. “Zu vor auß,” in the sense of bringing something to the forefront.
  70. Engages - “greyff… an,” (angreiffen), attacks - “velt… an” (anfallen), these words have roughly the same meaning. You are both engaging in wrestling against each other.
  71. “Aliud,” Latin.
  72. Likely an error intending “your,” as it is in the previous passage.
  73. “Gewappent,” - “gewappnet,” wearing armor.
  74. “Jagen,” to hunt, seems to mean when someone is riding behind another, rather than “gleich” (equally) or “zusammen” (together), when both riders ride toward one another.
  75. “Muß er das swert fallñ lassñ,” literally “he must let the sword fall.”
  76. Original: “dich massen,” to measure or moderate yourself, different original word from “moderately” early in the text, which was translated from “sittiglich.”
  77. Original: “schünre,” translated as “schnüre,” meaning “laces” or “cords.”
  78. “vier haubt ringñ”