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Martin Syber

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Martin Syber
Born 15th century (?)
Died 15th century (?)
Occupation Fencing master
Genres Fencing manual
Language Early New High German
Notable work(s) New Zettel
Manuscript(s) MS M.I.29 (1491)
MS E.1939.65.341 (1508)
MS Varia 82 (1570)
First printed
english edition
Hull, 2008
Concordance by Michael Chidester
Translations

Martin Syber (Mertin Siber, Martein Syber) was a 15th century German fencing master. Hardly anything is known of Syber beyond his New Zettel ("New Epitome"). His surname signifies that he came from a family of sieve makers, but gives us no indication of his birthplace. According to Syber's own account, he learned the art from a variety of masters from across Europe, including men from Bohemia, Brabant (or possibly Provence), England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Prussia, Russia, and Swabia. The inclusion of his epitome in Codex Speyer and the Glasgow Fechtbuch suggests a connection to the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, and his mention of an "earlier epitome" may be a reference to that of Liechtenauer; however, Syber does not appear on the roll of the Society of Liechtenauer recorded by Paulus Kal in ca. 1470,[1] so the extent of his relationship is unclear.

Syber's epitome comes in the form a cryptic poem, perhaps intended to convey the essence of the art to those who already knew it. Unfortunately, no gloss is currently known to exist for Syber's verse, so its meaning is difficult to decipher. Conversely, it is worth noting that the 16th century Freifechter Joachim Meÿer not only possessed a copy of Syber's verse (which he copied into his final manuscript),[2] but also employed much of the master's unique terminology in his own teachings. Meÿer may thus hold the key to interpreting Syber's techniques.

The Salzburg version of Syber's text is followed by an additional page of verse. This poem shares some common terminology with Syber's epitome and has been attributed to Syber by some authors in the past,[3] but its omission from the other two versions of his text call this attribution into question. In addition, another version of the poem was included in one of Hans Talhoffer's manuscripts almost fifty years earlier,[4] which indicates that if Syber were the author, his career was much earlier than currently believed.

Treatise

Additional Resources

  • Hull, Jeffrey. "The Longsword Fight Lore of Mertin Siber." Masters of Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts. Ed. Jeffrey Hull. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58160-668-3

References