Pseudo-Peter von Danzig/Christian Trosclair 2022

Here the gloss and the explanation of the Zettel of the long sword begins,

which Johannes Liechtenauer, may God be merciful to him, who was known to be a high master of the art, had versified and produced. And that is the reason this art belongs to princes and lords, knights and squires that they should learn and know this. For this reason, he had allowed it to be written in cryptic and misleading words, so that no one could recognize and comprehend it. And he had this done in light of the half-baked masters of defense, whose art amounts to little, so that his art would not be revealed nor become coarsened by these masters. These same cryptic and misleading words of the Zettel are clarified and laid straight in the glosses hereafter in such a way that anyone that can already otherwise fence can recognize and comprehend them.

Here, precisely note whatever is written in red in the beginning of the written plays hereafter. This is the text of the cryptic words of the Zettel of the long sword. The subsequent black writing, this is the gloss and the explanation of the cryptic and misleading words of the Zettel.

This is the forward.

1	Young knight learn To have love for god, honor women
2	So that you expand your honor. Practice Knighthood and learn
3	Art that decorates you And in war exalts you with honor.
4	Use the good grips of wrestling, Lance, spear, sword, and messer
5	Like a man And render them useless in other's hands.
6	Attack suddenly and charge in, Flow onwards, engage or let pass.
7	Thus the intellectuals hate him, Yet this one sees glories.
8	Hold yourself to this: All art has a time and place.

This is a general lesson of the long sword in which much good art is held

Text

9	If you wish to examine the art, Go left and right with cutting
10	And left with right, That is, if you desire to fence strongly.

Gloss: Note this is the foremost art of the long sword, that above all you should learn to cut correctly. That is, if you wish to otherwise fence strongly. Look at it like this. When you stand with your left foot forwards and cut from your right side, if you then do not accompany the cut with the ingress of your right foot, then this cut is erroneous and incorrect. When your right side remains behind it, the cut becomes too short thereby and its correct path down to the other side in front of the left foot cannot happen.

Or if you stand with your right foot forwards and cut from the left side, if you do not then also accompany the cut with your left foot, then the cut is again erroneous. Therefore, see to it that when you cut from the right side that you always accompany the cut with the right foot. Do exactly the same when you cut from the left side so that your body brings itself correctly into balance with it. In this way, the cuts become long and are conducted correctly.

This again is the text and the gloss about a lesson

11	Whoever chases after cuts Allows themselves to enjoy little of the art.

Gloss. This means when you come to the opponent with the initiation of fencing, you do not stand still and look upon their cut nor await whatever they fence against you. Know that all fencers that look out and wait upon another's cut and will do nothing other than parry, they allow themselves to enjoy quite little of the art, because it is dismantled and they become struck for this reason.

This again is the text and the gloss about a lesson

12	Cut from close proximity whatever you wish No changer gets past your shield
13	To the head, to the body Do not omit the stingers
14	With the entire body Fence whatever you desire to conduct with strength.

Gloss: Note this means when you come to the opponent with the initiation of fencing, from that point, whatever you wish to fence, conduct that with the entire strength of the body and in this fashion toward their head and toward their body from close proximity and remain with the point in front of their face or their breast so that they cannot disengage in front of the point. If they parry with strength and let their point go off away from you to the side, then give them a wound on the arm.

Or if they rise up high with the arms with an act of parrying, then strike below with a free cut to their body and with that, immediately step back. Thus are they struck before they become aware of it.

This again is the text and the gloss about a lesson

15	Now hear what is bad Do not fence lefty from above if you are a righty
16	And if you are a lefty You also quite awkward on the right

Gloss: Note this is a lesson that hits upon two people, a righty and a lefty and it is also how you shall cut so that one cannot win the weak of your sword with the first cut. Look at it like this. When you come to the opponent with the initiation of fencing, if you are a righty, then do not cut the first cut from the left side by choice because it is weak and with it you cannot hold fast when they cleave in with you strongly. Therefore, cut from the right so you can stay in contact with full strength and work whatever you wish at the sword. In the same way if you are lefty, then also do not cut the first cut from the right side because it is quite undependable art for a lefty to initiate from the right side. It is also the same for a righty from the left side.

This again is the text and the gloss about a lesson

17	Before and After, the two things Are the singular origin of the entire art.
18	Weak and strong Indes, note them with this word
19	So that you may learn To work and ward with art.
20	Whoever frightens easily Never learns to fence.

Gloss: Note this means that you shall see and understand the two things correctly for all situations. This is the before and the after and after that, the weak and the strong of the sword and the word Indes, because the entire art of fencing comes from those. When you correctly see and comprehend these things and have not forgotten the word Indes therein, in all plays that you conduct, then you are indeed a good master of the sword and can fully teach princes and lords so that they may keep with the proper art of the sword in battle and in earnest.

Here note what is here called the before.

This means that you should always come before, be it with a cut or with a stab, before the opponent does. And when you preempt them with a cut or what have you so that they must parry you, then Indes work swiftly for yourself in their act of parrying with your sword or whatever, with other plays so that they cannot come to any work.

Here note what is here called the after.

The after, these are the breaks against all plays and cuts that one conducts upon you and look at it like this. When the opponent preempts you with a cut so that you must parry them, then Indes work swiftly to the nearest opening during your act of parrying using your sword so that you break their before with your after.

Here note the weak and the strong of the sword.

The weak and the strong, look at it like this. On the sword, from the hilt to the midpoint of the blade, this is the strong of the sword and further past the midpoint to the point of the sword is the weak. And how you shall work with the strong of your sword according to the weak of their sword will be explained to you hereafter.

This is the text and the gloss of the five cuts.

21	Learn five cuts From the right hand against the weapon,
22	We swear upon this To pay off in skills easily.

Gloss: Note there are five cryptic cuts that many masters of the sword know nothing of which to speak of. You shall learn to hew these from the right side. Whichever fencer that can break the cuts with the proper art without harm, they will be valued by other masters, for their art shall be more worthwhile to them than other fencers. And how one shall hew these cuts with their plays will be explained to you hereafter.

23	Wrathcut Crook and Cross, If the Eye Cocker keeps with the Parter,
24	The Fool parries. Pursuing and Overrunn, places the attack
25	Disengage, Suddenly withdraw, Rush through, Cut off, Press the hands
26	Tilt and Turn to uncover with Slash, catch, sweep, stab to clash with

Gloss: Note here the correct chief components of the Zettel of the long sword have been named for you as they are each designated with its name so that you can better recognize and understand them. The first, these are the five cuts as they are specifically named:

Item: The first is called the wrathcut
Item: The second, the crooked cut
Item: The third, the crosswise cut
Item: The fourth, the cockeyed cut
Item: The fifth, the part cut

Now note the components

The first, these are the four guards
The second, the four parries
The third, the pursuing
The fourth, the overruning
The fifth, the displacing
The sixth, is the disengaging
the seventh, is the withdrawing suddenly
The eighth, the rushing through
The ninth, the cutting off
The tenth is the hand pressing
The eleventh, these are the hangings
The twelfth, these are the windings

And what you should fence from the components and how you should acquire yourself openings by hanging and the winding, you will find these written hereafter one after the other in the order above.

Here the text and the gloss begin

The first is about the wrathcut with its plays

27	Whoever makes a descending cut at you The point of wrathcut threatens them

Gloss: Note the wrathcut interrupts any descending cut with the point and is yet nothing other than a simple peasant strike. Conduct it like this: when you come to the opponent with the initiation of fencing, if they subsequently cleave in at your head from high from their right side, then you wrathfully cleave in with them from high from your right side as well, atop their sword without any act of parrying. (marginalia: into the weakness of their sword) If they are then soft against your sword, then shoot the point in at them long, straight ahead and stab them in the face or breast, then lodge against them.

This is the text and the gloss of another play of the wrathcut

28	If they become aware of it Then abscond above without concern

Gloss: Note this is when you cleave in with the wrathcut, then shoot the point in long into their face or breast as was written before. Then if they become aware of the point and parry strongly and press your sword to your side, then with your sword against their sword's blade, rise high off upwards, away from their sword and cut back in at the opponent's head again on the other side against their blade. This is called absconding above.

Break it like this

When they abscond above, then bind in against their sword from above with the long edge towards their head.