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| caption                  =  
 
| caption                  =  
 
<!----------Information---------->
 
<!----------Information---------->
| full title                = A Thorough Description of the <br/>Free, Chivalric, and Noble Art <br/>of Fencing, Showing Various <br/>Customary Defenses, Affected <br/>and Put Forth with Many <br/>Handsome and Useful <br/>Drawings
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| ustcid1                  = 660906
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| ustclabel1                = 1570
 +
| ustcid2                  = 660905
 +
| ustclabel2                = 1600
 +
 
 +
| full title                = A Thorough Description of the Free, <br/>Chivalric, and Noble Art of Fencing, <br/>Showing Various Customary Defenses, <br/>Affected and Put Forth with Many <br/>Handsome and Useful Drawings
 
| also known as            =  
 
| also known as            =  
 
| author(s)                = [[author::Joachim Meyer]]
 
| author(s)                = [[author::Joachim Meyer]]
 
| ascribed to              =  
 
| ascribed to              =  
 
| compiled by              =  
 
| compiled by              =  
| illustrated by            = {{plainlist
+
| illustrated by            = [[artist::Tobias Stimmer]]
| [[artist::Tobias Stimmer]]’s workshop
 
| (inc. [[artist::Hans Christoffel Stimmer]])
 
}}
 
 
| translator(s)            =  
 
| translator(s)            =  
 
| patron                    =  
 
| patron                    =  
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  | [[type::Wrestling manual]]
 
  | [[type::Wrestling manual]]
 
}}
 
}}
| sources                  = [[Joachim Meyers Fäktbok (MS A.4º.2)|MS A.4°.2]] (1560s)
+
| sources                  = {{plainlist
 +
| [[Joachim Meyers Fechtbuch (MS Bibl. 2465)|MS Bibl. 2465]] (1561)
 +
| [[Joachim Meyers Fäktbok (MS A.4º.2)|MS A.4°.2]] (1568)
 +
}}
 
| publisher                = [[publisher::Thiebolt Berger]]
 
| publisher                = [[publisher::Thiebolt Berger]]
 
| pub_date                  = [[year::1570,&nbsp;1600]]
 
| pub_date                  = [[year::1570,&nbsp;1600]]
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  | [https://digital.ub.uni-leipzig.de/object/viewid/0000009663 Digital scans] (1570)
 
  | [https://digital.ub.uni-leipzig.de/object/viewid/0000009663 Digital scans] (1570)
 
  | [http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB00020FDC00000000 Digital scans] (1570)
 
  | [http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB00020FDC00000000 Digital scans] (1570)
  | [http://www.draupnirpress.com/CC/creativecommons.html Restored sword figures] (1570)
+
  | [http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?PPN1767986890 Digital scans] (1570)
  | [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/27568 All figures] (1570)
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  | [http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn{{=}}urn:nbn:se:alvin:portal:record-263028 Digital scans] (1570)
 +
| [http://mdz-nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb11214763-2 Digital scans] (1570)
 
  | [http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/bsb00024580/image_1 Digital scans] (1570)
 
  | [http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/bsb00024580/image_1 Digital scans] (1570)
| [http://mdz-nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb11214763-2 Digital scans] (1570)
 
 
  | [http://books.google.com/books?id{{=}}ORAcHTuc-VAC Digital scans] (1570)
 
  | [http://books.google.com/books?id{{=}}ORAcHTuc-VAC Digital scans] (1570)
 +
| [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/27568 All figures] (1570)
 +
| [http://www.draupnirpress.com/CC/creativecommons.html Restored sword figures] (1570)
 
  | [http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/bsb00024583/image_1 Digital scans] (1600)
 
  | [http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/bsb00024583/image_1 Digital scans] (1600)
 
  | [http://data.onb.ac.at/ABO/%2BZ179891600 Digital scans] (1600)
 
  | [http://data.onb.ac.at/ABO/%2BZ179891600 Digital scans] (1600)
 +
| [http://books.google.com/books?id{{=}}gFOj9iFHRKkC Digital scans] (1600)
 
  | [http://books.google.com/books?id{{=}}cTpaAAAAcAAJ Digital scans] (1600)
 
  | [http://books.google.com/books?id{{=}}cTpaAAAAcAAJ Digital scans] (1600)
  | [http://books.google.com/books?id{{=}}gFOj9iFHRKkC Digital scans] (1600)
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  | [http://ub-goobi-pr.ub.uni-greifswald.de/goobi/ppnresolver/?PPN607461748 B&W photocopy] (1600)
  | [http://www.umass.edu/renaissance/lord/pdfs/Meyer_1600.pdf B&W photocopy] (1600)
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  | [https://www.umass.edu/renaissance/sites/default/files/assets/renaissance/lord/Meyer_1600.pdf B&W photocopy] (1600)
 
}}
 
}}
 
| below                    =  
 
| below                    =  
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{foreignchar|Gruendtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens (Joachim Meyer)|ü}}
 
{{foreignchar|Gruendtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens (Joachim Meyer)|ü}}
'''''Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens''''' ("A Thorough Description of the Art of Fencing") is a [[nationality::German]] [[fencing manual]] written by [[Joachim Meyer]] and printed in 1570. Building on his earlier 1560s work [[Joachim Meyers Fäktbok (MS A.4º.2)|MS A.4°.2]], it is a complex, sophisticated treatise purports to teach the entire art of fencing, something that Meyer claimed had never been done before, and represents a significant evolution of the art that Johannes Liechtenauer taught two centuries earlier. It treats the [[longsword]], [[Dussack]], [[side sword]] (both single and with secondary weapons), [[dagger]], and various [[pole weapons]] including the short staff, halberd, and long staff.
+
'''''Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens''''' ("A Thorough Description of the Art of Fencing") is a [[nationality::German]] [[fencing manual]] written by [[Joachim Meyer]] and printed in 1570. Building on his earlier 1560s work [[Joachim Meyers Fäktbok (MS A.4º.2)|MS A.4°.2]], it is a complex, sophisticated treatise purports to teach the entire art of fencing, something that Meyer claimed had never been done before, and represents a significant evolution of the art that Johannes Liechtenauer taught two centuries earlier. It treats the [[sword]], [[Dussack]], [[rapier]] (both single and with secondary weapons), [[dagger]] and wrestling, and various [[pole weapons]] including the short staff, halberd, and long staff.
  
 
== Publication History ==
 
== Publication History ==
  
The first edition of ''Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens'' was printed in Strasbourg by Thiebolt Berger in 1570, exactly one year before Meyer's death; it may have been reprinted there in 1590.{{cn}} A second edition was printed in Augsburg in 1600, possibly arranged by his widow and her family. According to some sources, there were further editions printed in 1610 and in 1660,<ref>Schaer, Alfred. {{Google books|0egSAAAAYAAJ|Die altdeutschen fechter und spielleute: Ein beitrag zur deutschen culturgeschichte|page=76}}. K.J. Trübner, 1901. p 76.</ref><ref>Pollock, W. H., Grove, F. C., and Prévost, C. {{Google books|OXSZ8FjBfhkC|Fencing|page=267}}. London and Bombay: Longmans, Green, and co, 1897. pp 267-268.</ref> though no copies from these printings are known to exist. In 2012, a new edition in modernized German was produced by [[Alex Kiermayer]] and printed by Arts Of Mars Books under the title ''Joachim Meyers Kunst Des Fechtens. Gründtliche Beschreibung des Fechtens, 1570.''
+
The first edition of ''Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens'' was printed in Strasbourg by Thiebolt Berger in 1570, exactly one year before Meyer's death. A second edition was printed in Augsburg in 1600 by Michael Manger (under publisher Elte Millers), possibly arranged by his widow and her family; for this edition, the same woodblocks were used but the text was reset (and many small errors or variations were thus introduced). A third edition based on the 1600 was prepared in 2011 by Wolfgang Landwehr and published in Herne by VS-Books under the title ''Joachim Meyer 1600: Transkription des Fechtbuchs 'Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen kunst des Fechtens''', including digital reproductions of the illustrations; this edition was reissued in 2018.
  
In 2006, Meyer's treatise was translated into English by Dr. [[Jeffrey L. Forgeng]] and published in New York and London under the title ''The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570''. A second edition was released in 2014.
+
According to some sources, there were other editions printed in 1590, 1610, and 1660,<ref>Schaer, Alfred. {{Google books|0egSAAAAYAAJ|Die altdeutschen fechter und spielleute: Ein beitrag zur deutschen culturgeschichte|page=76}}. K.J. Trübner, 1901. p 76.</ref><ref>Pollock, W. H., Grove, F. C., and Prévost, C. {{Google books|OXSZ8FjBfhkC|Fencing|page=267}}. London and Bombay: Longmans, Green, and co, 1897. pp 267-268.</ref> but no copies from these printings are known to exist and they are probably spurious (due perhaps to errors in cataloging the known editions or mistaken references to the works of [[Jakob Sutor]] (1612) and [[Theodori Verolini]] (1679)).
 +
 
 +
In 2006, Meyer's treatise was translated into English by Dr. [[Jeffrey L. Forgeng]] and published in New York and London under the title ''The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570''. A second edition with minor corrections was published in 2015.
 +
 
 +
In 2012, [[Alex Kiermayer]] translated the treatise to modern German, and this was published by Arts Of Mars Books under the title ''Joachim Meyers Kunst Des Fechtens. Gründtliche Beschreibung des Fechtens, 1570.''
  
 
== Contents ==
 
== Contents ==
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|-  
 
|-  
 
! [[Joachim Meyer|1.1r - 1.64v]]
 
! [[Joachim Meyer|1.1r - 1.64v]]
| Part 1 - [[Long Sword]] by [[Joachim Meyer]]
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| Part 1 - Sword by [[Joachim Meyer]]
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
! [[Joachim Meyer|2.1r - 2.49v]]
 
! [[Joachim Meyer|2.1r - 2.49v]]
| Part 2 - [[Dussack]] by [[Joachim Meyer]]
+
| Part 2 - Dussack by [[Joachim Meyer]]
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
! [[Joachim Meyer|2.50r - 2.107v]]
 
! [[Joachim Meyer|2.50r - 2.107v]]
| Part 3 - [[Side sword]] by [[Joachim Meyer]]
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| Part 3 - Rapier by [[Joachim Meyer]]
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
! [[Joachim Meyer|3.1r - 3.15v]]
 
! [[Joachim Meyer|3.1r - 3.15v]]
| Part 4 - [[Dagger]] by [[Joachim Meyer]]
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| Part 4 - Dagger and wrestling by [[Joachim Meyer]]
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
! [[Joachim Meyer|3.16r - 3.47r]]
 
! [[Joachim Meyer|3.16r - 3.47r]]
| Part 5 - [[Staff]] by [[Joachim Meyer]]
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| Part 5 - Staff and pole weapons by [[Joachim Meyer]]
  
 
|-  
 
|-  
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<h3> Title pages </h3>
 
<h3> Title pages </h3>
  
{{image|Meyer 1570 Cover.png|First Edition}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Cover.png|First Edition}}
{{image|Meyer 1600 Cover.jpg|Second Edition}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1600 Cover.jpg|Second Edition}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Crest.png|Johan Casimir's arms}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Crest.png|Johan Casimir's arms}}
  
 
<h3 style="clear:both;"> Illustrations </h3>
 
<h3 style="clear:both;"> Illustrations </h3>
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{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword Cuts.png|Cutting Diagram 1}}
 
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword Cuts.png|Cutting Diagram 1}}
 
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword Segno.png|Cutting Diagram 2}}
 
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword Segno.png|Cutting Diagram 2}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword A.png|Sword A}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword A.png|Sword A}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword B.png|Sword B}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword B.png|Sword B}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword C.png|Sword C}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword C.png|Sword C}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword D.png|Sword D}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword D.png|Sword D}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword E.png|Sword E}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword E.png|Sword E}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword F.png|Sword F}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword F.png|Sword F}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword G.png|Sword G}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword G.png|Sword G}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword H.png|Sword H}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword H.png|Sword H}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword I.png|Sword I}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword I.png|Sword I}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword K.png|Sword K}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword K.png|Sword K}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword L.png|Sword L}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword L.png|Sword L}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword M.png|Sword M}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword M.png|Sword M}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword N.png|Sword N}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword N.png|Sword N}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Sword O.png|Sword O}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Sword O.png|Sword O}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack A.png|Dussack A}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack A.png|Dussack A}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack B.png|Dussack B}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack B.png|Dussack B}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack C.png|Dussack C}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack C.png|Dussack C}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack D.png|Dussack D}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack D.png|Dussack D}}
{{image|ph=1|Skipped|Dussack E}}
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{{image|h=1|ph=1|Skipped|Dussack E}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack F.png|Dussack F}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack F.png|Dussack F}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack G.png|Dussack G}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack G.png|Dussack G}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack H.png|Dussack H}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack H.png|Dussack H}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack I.png|Dussack I}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack I.png|Dussack I}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack K.png|Dussack K}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack K.png|Dussack K}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack L.png|Dussack L}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack L.png|Dussack L}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack M.png|Dussack M}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack M.png|Dussack M}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack N.png|Dussack N}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack N.png|Dussack N}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack O.png|Dussack O}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack O.png|Dussack O}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dussack P.png|Dussack P}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dussack P.png|Dussack P}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Portrait 1.png|Meyer Portrait 1}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Portrait 1.png|Meyer Portrait 1}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Portrait 2.png|Meyer Portrait 2}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Portrait 2.png|Meyer Portrait 2}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Portrait 3.png|Meyer Portrait 3}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Portrait 3.png|Meyer Portrait 3}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Rapier Cutting Lines.png|Cutting Lines|width=x100px}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Rapier Cutting Lines.png|Cutting Lines|width=x100px}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Rapier A.png|Rapier A}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Rapier A.png|Rapier A}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Rapier B.png|Rapier B}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Rapier B.png|Rapier B}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Rapier C.png|Rapier C}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Rapier C.png|Rapier C}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Rapier D.png|Rapier D}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Rapier D.png|Rapier D}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Rapier E.png|Rapier E}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Rapier E.png|Rapier E}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Rapier F.png|Rapier F}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Rapier F.png|Rapier F}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Rapier G.png|Rapier G}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Rapier G.png|Rapier G}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Rapier G2.png|Rapier G'}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Rapier G2.png|Rapier G'}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Rapier H.png|Rapier H}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Rapier H.png|Rapier H}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Rapier I.png|Rapier I}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Rapier I.png|Rapier I}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dagger A.png|Dagger A}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dagger A.png|Dagger A}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dagger B.png|Dagger B}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dagger B.png|Dagger B}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dagger C.png|Dagger C}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dagger C.png|Dagger C}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dagger D.png|Dagger D}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dagger D.png|Dagger D}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dagger E.png|Dagger E}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dagger E.png|Dagger E}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Dagger F.png|Dagger F}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Dagger F.png|Dagger F}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff A.png|Staff A}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff A.png|Staff A}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff B.png|Staff B}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff B.png|Staff B}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff C.png|Staff C}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff C.png|Staff C}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff D.png|Staff D}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff D.png|Staff D}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff E.png|Staff E}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff E.png|Staff E}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff F.png|Staff F}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff F.png|Staff F}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff G.png|Staff G}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff G.png|Staff G}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff H.png|Staff H}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff H.png|Staff H}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff I.png|Staff I}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff I.png|Staff I}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff K.png|Staff K}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff K.png|Staff K}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff L.png|Staff L}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff L.png|Staff L}}
{{image|Meyer 1570 Staff M.png|Staff M}}
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{{image|h=1|Meyer 1570 Staff M.png|Staff M}}
 +
{{-}}
  
 
== Additional Resources ==
 
== Additional Resources ==
  
 
* [[Alex Kiermayer|Kiermayer, Alex]]. ''Joachim Meyers Kunst Des Fechtens. Gründtliche Beschreibung des Fechtens, 1570''. [[Arts of Mars Books]], 2012. ISBN 978-3981162738
 
* [[Alex Kiermayer|Kiermayer, Alex]]. ''Joachim Meyers Kunst Des Fechtens. Gründtliche Beschreibung des Fechtens, 1570''. [[Arts of Mars Books]], 2012. ISBN 978-3981162738
* [[Joachim Meyer|Meyer, Joachim]]. ''Joachim Meyer 1600: Transkription des Fechtbuchs 'Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen kunst des Fechtens’''. TAT. [[Wolfgang Landwehr]], 2011. ISBN 978-3932077371
+
* [[Joachim Meyer|Meyer, Joachim]]. ''Joachim Meyer 1600: Transkription des Fechtbuchs 'Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen kunst des Fechtens’''. Ed. Wolfgang Landwehr. Herne: VS-Books, 2011. ISBN 978-3-932077-37-1
 
* [[Joachim Meyer|Meyer, Joachim]]. ''The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570''. Trans. [[Jeffrey L. Forgeng]].
 
* [[Joachim Meyer|Meyer, Joachim]]. ''The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570''. Trans. [[Jeffrey L. Forgeng]].
 
** 1st Edition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4039-7092-0
 
** 1st Edition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4039-7092-0
** 2nd edition. London: Frontline Books, 2014. ISBN 978-1-84832-778-8
+
** 2nd edition. London: Frontline Books, 2015. ISBN 978-1-84832-778-8
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
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{{sourcebox
 
{{sourcebox
 
  | work        = Images
 
  | work        = Images
  | authors    = [[Tobias Stimmer]]'s workshop
+
  | authors    = [[Tobias Stimmer]]
 
  | source link = https://digital.ub.uni-leipzig.de/object/viewid/0000009663
 
  | source link = https://digital.ub.uni-leipzig.de/object/viewid/0000009663
 
  | source title= Leipzig University Library
 
  | source title= Leipzig University Library
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{{sourcebox
 
{{sourcebox
 
  | work        = Transcription
 
  | work        = Transcription
  | authors    =  
+
  | authors    = [[Michael Chidester]]
 
  | source link =  
 
  | source link =  
 
  | source title= [[Index:Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens (Joachim Meÿer) 1570.pdf|Index:Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens]]
 
  | source title= [[Index:Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens (Joachim Meÿer) 1570.pdf|Index:Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens]]
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[[Category:Treatises]]
 
[[Category:Treatises]]
 
[[Category:Books]]
 
[[Category:Books]]
 +
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[[Category:Painted Prints]]

Revision as of 15:49, 24 September 2021

Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens
A Thorough Description of the Art of Fencing
Meyer 1570 Cover.png
USTC ID
Full title A Thorough Description of the Free,
Chivalric, and Noble Art of Fencing,
Showing Various Customary Defenses,
Affected and Put Forth with Many
Handsome and Useful Drawings
Author(s) Joachim Meyer
Illustrated by Tobias Stimmer
Dedicated to Johann Casimir
Place of origin Strasbourg, Germany
Language Early New High German
Genre(s)
Sources
Publisher Thiebolt Berger
Publication date 1570, 1600
Pages 433
Treatise scans

Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens ("A Thorough Description of the Art of Fencing") is a German fencing manual written by Joachim Meyer and printed in 1570. Building on his earlier 1560s work MS A.4°.2, it is a complex, sophisticated treatise purports to teach the entire art of fencing, something that Meyer claimed had never been done before, and represents a significant evolution of the art that Johannes Liechtenauer taught two centuries earlier. It treats the sword, Dussack, rapier (both single and with secondary weapons), dagger and wrestling, and various pole weapons including the short staff, halberd, and long staff.

Publication History

The first edition of Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens was printed in Strasbourg by Thiebolt Berger in 1570, exactly one year before Meyer's death. A second edition was printed in Augsburg in 1600 by Michael Manger (under publisher Elte Millers), possibly arranged by his widow and her family; for this edition, the same woodblocks were used but the text was reset (and many small errors or variations were thus introduced). A third edition based on the 1600 was prepared in 2011 by Wolfgang Landwehr and published in Herne by VS-Books under the title Joachim Meyer 1600: Transkription des Fechtbuchs 'Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen kunst des Fechtens', including digital reproductions of the illustrations; this edition was reissued in 2018.

According to some sources, there were other editions printed in 1590, 1610, and 1660,[1][2] but no copies from these printings are known to exist and they are probably spurious (due perhaps to errors in cataloging the known editions or mistaken references to the works of Jakob Sutor (1612) and Theodori Verolini (1679)).

In 2006, Meyer's treatise was translated into English by Dr. Jeffrey L. Forgeng and published in New York and London under the title The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570. A second edition with minor corrections was published in 2015.

In 2012, Alex Kiermayer translated the treatise to modern German, and this was published by Arts Of Mars Books under the title Joachim Meyers Kunst Des Fechtens. Gründtliche Beschreibung des Fechtens, 1570.

Contents

A1r - B4v Preface by Joachim Meyer
1.1r - 1.64v Part 1 - Sword by Joachim Meyer
2.1r - 2.49v Part 2 - Dussack by Joachim Meyer
2.50r - 2.107v Part 3 - Rapier by Joachim Meyer
3.1r - 3.15v Part 4 - Dagger and wrestling by Joachim Meyer
3.16r - 3.47r Part 5 - Staff and pole weapons by Joachim Meyer
3.47v Corrections

Gallery

Title pages

First Edition
Meyer 1570 Cover.png
Second Edition
Meyer 1600 Cover.png
Johan Casimir's arms
Meyer 1570 Crest.png

Illustrations

Cutting Diagram 1
Meyer 1570 Sword Cuts.png
Cutting Diagram 2
Meyer 1570 Sword Segno.png
Sword A
Meyer 1570 Sword A.png
Sword B
Meyer 1570 Sword B.png
Sword C
Meyer 1570 Sword C.png
Sword D
Meyer 1570 Sword D.png
Sword E
Meyer 1570 Sword E.png
Sword F
Meyer 1570 Sword F.png
Sword G
Meyer 1570 Sword G.png
Sword H
Meyer 1570 Sword H.png
Sword I
Meyer 1570 Sword I.png
Sword K
Meyer 1570 Sword K.png
Sword L
Meyer 1570 Sword L.png
Sword M
Meyer 1570 Sword M.png
Sword N
Meyer 1570 Sword N.png
Sword O
Meyer 1570 Sword O.png
Dussack A
Meyer 1570 Dussack A.png
Dussack B
Meyer 1570 Dussack B.png
Dussack C
Meyer 1570 Dussack C.png
Dussack D
Meyer 1570 Dussack D.png
Dussack E
Dussack F
Meyer 1570 Dussack F.png
Dussack G
Meyer 1570 Dussack G.png
Dussack H
Meyer 1570 Dussack H.png
Dussack I
Meyer 1570 Dussack I.png
Dussack K
Meyer 1570 Dussack K.png
Dussack L
Meyer 1570 Dussack L.png
Dussack M
Meyer 1570 Dussack M.png
Dussack N
Meyer 1570 Dussack N.png
Dussack O
Meyer 1570 Dussack O.png
Dussack P
Meyer 1570 Dussack P.png
Meyer Portrait 1
Meyer 1570 Portrait 1.png
Meyer Portrait 2
Meyer 1570 Portrait 2.png
Meyer Portrait 3
Meyer 1570 Portrait 3.png
Cutting Lines
Meyer 1570 Rapier Cutting Lines.png
Rapier A
Meyer 1570 Rapier A.png
Rapier B
Meyer 1570 Rapier B.png
Rapier C
Meyer 1570 Rapier C.png
Rapier D
Meyer 1570 Rapier D.png
Rapier E
Meyer 1570 Rapier E.png
Rapier F
Meyer 1570 Rapier F.png
Rapier G
Meyer 1570 Rapier G.png
Rapier G'
Meyer 1570 Rapier G2.png
Rapier H
Meyer 1570 Rapier H.png
Rapier I
Meyer 1570 Rapier I.png
Dagger A
Meyer 1570 Dagger A.png
Dagger B
Meyer 1570 Dagger B.png
Dagger C
Meyer 1570 Dagger C.png
Dagger D
Meyer 1570 Dagger D.png
Dagger E
Meyer 1570 Dagger E.png
Dagger F
Meyer 1570 Dagger F.png
Staff A
Meyer 1570 Staff A.png
Staff B
Meyer 1570 Staff B.png
Staff C
Meyer 1570 Staff C.png
Staff D
Meyer 1570 Staff D.png
Staff E
Meyer 1570 Staff E.png
Staff F
Meyer 1570 Staff F.png
Staff G
Meyer 1570 Staff G.png
Staff H
Meyer 1570 Staff H.png
Staff I
Meyer 1570 Staff I.png
Staff K
Meyer 1570 Staff K.png
Staff L
Meyer 1570 Staff L.png
Staff M
Meyer 1570 Staff M.png


Additional Resources

  • Kiermayer, Alex. Joachim Meyers Kunst Des Fechtens. Gründtliche Beschreibung des Fechtens, 1570. Arts of Mars Books, 2012. ISBN 978-3981162738
  • Meyer, Joachim. Joachim Meyer 1600: Transkription des Fechtbuchs 'Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen kunst des Fechtens’. Ed. Wolfgang Landwehr. Herne: VS-Books, 2011. ISBN 978-3-932077-37-1
  • Meyer, Joachim. The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570. Trans. Jeffrey L. Forgeng.
    • 1st Edition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4039-7092-0
    • 2nd edition. London: Frontline Books, 2015. ISBN 978-1-84832-778-8

References

  1. Schaer, Alfred. Die altdeutschen fechter und spielleute: Ein beitrag zur deutschen culturgeschichte. K.J. Trübner, 1901. p 76.
  2. Pollock, W. H., Grove, F. C., and Prévost, C. Fencing. London and Bombay: Longmans, Green, and co, 1897. pp 267-268.

Copyright and License Summary

For further information, including transcription and translation notes, see the discussion page.

Work Author(s) Source License
Images Tobias Stimmer Leipzig University Library
Public Domain.png
Transcription Michael Chidester Index:Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens
Public Domain.png