Wiktenauer logo.png

H. Beringer

From Wiktenauer
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Modus Dimicandi
Method of Fighting
Ascribed to H. Beringer
Illustrated by Unknown
Genre
Language
Archetype(s) MS G.B.f.18.a (1418-28)
Manuscript(s) MS Q.566 (1479)
Concordance by Michael Chidester
Translations Deutsch-Übersetzung

Magister H. Beringer was a 15th century writer credited with authoring a poem on fencing with some connection to the Recital of Johannes Liechtenauer. It is first recorded in the MS G.B.f.18.a (ca. 1418-28), and thus predates all records of Liechtenauer's teachings. The opening of the verse includes a blessing indicating that Beringer was deceased at the time of writing.

The extreme difference in the order of verses between Beringer and Liechtenauer, along with the fact that Beringer's text includes only half[1] of one section of Liechtenauer's, makes a direct transmission from one master to the other seem unlikely. It may be that both men were heritors of an older oral tradition in which the exact sequence of verses was not set, or it may be that Beringer's verse represents just one of the teachings that Liechtenauer received and compiled over the course of the journeys described in MS 3227a.[2]

Beringer's verse was recapitulated by Hans Folz in the MS Q.566 (1479), but in an unattributed and garbled form indicates he did not copy from the MS G.B.f.18.a.

Treatise

In the presentation below, Hans Folz' verses have been rearranged to match the sequence given by Beringer. The verses that are not found in Beringer have been inserted based on their positions in Liechtenauer's verse.

Additional Resources

References

  1. 112 of the 218 lines.
  2. See MS 3227a, fol. 13v. "There is just one art of the sword, and... Master Liechtenauer internalized and applied it quite completely and correctly—not that he discovered and conceived it himself, but rather, he traveled through many lands and sought the legitimate and truthful art for the sake of experiencing and knowing it."
  3. Difficult to read, could also be jn.
  4. Hard to read because the word is crossed out.
  5. Word illegible.