Gladiatoria (MS KK5013)

Gladiatoria
MS KK5013, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Austria
Inside cover and folio 1r
Hagedorn Leng 38.2.4
Wierschin Hils 46
Type	Fencing manual Wrestling manual
Date	ca. 1430s
Language(s)	Early New High German
Author(s)	Unknown
Size	56 folia
Format	Double-sided; one illustration per side, with text below
Script	Bastarda
Previously kept	Carl Schruff (1570)
Treatise scans	Digital scans (950x950) Digital scans (950x950)

The MS KK5013 is a German fencing manual probably created in the 1430s. The original currently rests in the holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. The MS KK5013 is part of the Gladiatoria group, a series of several German manuscripts from the 15th century that share the same art style and cover the same material; it seems to be the oldest member of the group and may have been the exemplar for the MS German Quarto 16. The Gladiatoria manuals are interesting texts in that they seem to be contemporary with the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, but not directly influenced by it.^{[citation needed]}

The core of the Gladiatoria group is a series of devices of armored fencing following the traditional progression of a judicial duel: beginning with spears and small shields called ecranches, moving to longswords, then employing daggers on foot and on the ground. (Traditional dueling would begin on horseback before going to foot combat, and the ecranche is designed for mounted fencing, but Gladiatoria skips that stage entirely.)

Contents

Folio	Section
1r - 6r	Spear in armor from Gladiatoria
6v - 31r	Longsword in armor from Gladiatoria
31v - 49v	Dagger in armor from Gladiatoria
53r - 56v	Wrestling from Gladiatoria
57r	Rear matter  English translation Transcription by Carsten Lorbeer [Top left:] 53 Bl Evtl JLG [Bottom left:] 1570 ZVAG Carl Schurff zw Schenwertt

Gallery

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Front Cover

Inside Cover

Folio 1r

Folio 1v

Folio 2r

Folio 2v

Folio 3r

Folio 3v

Folio 4r

Folio 4v

Folio 5r

Folio 5v

Folio 6r

Folio 6v

Folio 7r

Folio 7v

Folio 8r

Folio 8v

Folio 9r

Folio 9v

Folio 10r

Folio 10v

Folio 11r

Folio 11v

Folio 12r

Folio 12v

Folio 13r

Folio 13v

Folio 14r

Folio 14v

Folio 15r

Folio 15v

Folio 16r

Folio 16v

Folio 17r

Folio 17v

Folio 18r

Folio 18v

Folio 19r

Folio 19v

Folio 20r

Folio 20v

Folio 21r

Folio 21v

Folio 22r

Folio 22v

Folio 23r

Folio 23v

Folio 24r

Folio 24v

Folio 25r

Folio 25v

Folio 26r

Folio 26v

Folio 27r

Folio 27v

Folio 28r

Folio 28v

Folio 29r

Folio 29v

Folio 30r

Folio 30v

Folio 31r

Folio 31v

Folio 32r

Folio 32v

Folio 33r

Folio 33v

Folio 34r

Folio 34v

Folio 35r

Folio 35v

Folio 36r

Folio 36v

Folio 37r

Folio 37v

Folio 38r

Folio 38v

Folio 39r

Folio 39v

Folio 40r

Folio 40v

Folio 41r

Folio 41v

Folio 42r

Folio 42v

Folio 43r

Folio 43v

Folio 44r

Folio 44v

Folio 45r

Folio 45v

Folio 46r

Folio 46v

Folio 47r

Folio 47v

Folio 48r

Folio 48v

Folio 49r

Folio 49v

Folio 50r

Folio 50v

Folio 51r

Folio 51v

Folio 52r

Folio 52v

Folio 53r

Folio 53v

Folio 54r

Folio 54v

Folio 55r

Folio 55v

Folio 56r

Folio 56v

Inside Cover

Back Cover

Additional Resources

• Hils, Hans-Peter. "Gladiatoria: Über drei Fechthandschriften aus der ersten Hälfte des 15. Jahrhunderts." Codices manuscripti. Issue 13, 1987.
• Knight, Hugh T., Jr. The Gladiatoria Fechtbuch: A Fifteenth-Century German Fight Book. Lulu.com, 2008.
• Walczak, Bartłomiej. "Judicial Armoured Dagger Combat of Gladiatoria and KK 5013." Masters of Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts. Ed. Jeffrey Hull. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58160-668-3