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   | [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Cod. 10825/10826]] (1540s)
 
   | [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Cod. 10825/10826]] (1540s)
 
   | [[Geschlechterbuch der Stadt Augsburg (Cod.icon. 312b)|Cod.icon. 312b]] (1548)
 
   | [[Geschlechterbuch der Stadt Augsburg (Cod.icon. 312b)|Cod.icon. 312b]] (1548)
   | [[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82]]<br/>(1553)
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   | [[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82]] (1553)
 
  }}
 
  }}
 
  | principal manuscript(s)=
 
  | principal manuscript(s)=
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   | [[Fabian von Auerswald]]
 
   | [[Fabian von Auerswald]]
 
   | [[Gregor Erhart]]
 
   | [[Gregor Erhart]]
   | [[Martin Huntfeltz]]
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   | [[Martin Huntsfeld]]
 
   | [[Jörg Wilhalm Hutter]]
 
   | [[Jörg Wilhalm Hutter]]
 
   | [[Paulus Kal]]
 
   | [[Paulus Kal]]
 
   | [[Johannes Lecküchner]]
 
   | [[Johannes Lecküchner]]
   | [[Jud Lew]]
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   | [[Lew]]
 
   | [[Johannes Liechtenauer]]
 
   | [[Johannes Liechtenauer]]
   | [[Andre Liegniczer]]
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   | [[Andre Lignitzer]]
 
   | [[Ott Jud]]
 
   | [[Ott Jud]]
 
  }}
 
  }}
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  | below                =  
 
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'''Paulus Hector Mair''' (Paulsen Hektor Mair, Paulus Hector Meyer; 1517 – 1579) was a [[century::16th century]] German aristocrat, civil servant, and fencer. He was born in 1517 to a wealthy and influential Augsburg patrician family. In his youth, he likely received training in fencing and grappling from the masters of Augsburg fencing guild, and early on developed a deep fascination with fencing treatises. He began his civil service as a secretary to the Augsburg City Council; by 1541, Mair was the City Treasurer, and in 1545 he also took on the office of Master of Rations.
+
'''Paulus Hector Mair''' (Paulsen Hektor Mayr, Paulus Hector Meyer; 1517 – 1579) was a [[century::16th century]] German aristocrat, civil servant, and fencer. He was born in 1517 to a wealthy and influential Augsburg patrician family. In his youth, he likely received training in fencing and grappling from the masters of Augsburg fencing guild, and early on developed a deep fascination with fencing treatises. He began his civil service as a secretary to the Augsburg City Council; by 1541, Mair was the city treasurer, and in 1545 he also took on the office of Master of Rations.
  
Mair's martial background is unknown, but as a citizen of a free city he would have had military obligations whenever the city went to war, and as a member of a patrician family he likely served in the cavalry. He was also an avid collector of fencing treatises and other literature on military history. Like his contemporary [[Joachim Meÿer]], Mair believed that the Medieval martial arts were being forgotten, and he saw this as a tragedy, idealizing the arts of fencing as a civilizing and character-building influence on men. Where Meÿer sought to update the traditional fencing systems and apply them to contemporary weapons of war and defense, Mair was more interested in preserving historical teachings intact. Thus, some time in the latter part of the 1540s he commissioned what would become the most extensive compendium of German fencing treatises ever made, a massive two-volume manuscript compiling virtually every fencing treatise he could access. He retained [[Jörg Breu the Younger]] to create the illustrations for the text,<ref>Breu is not listed in the Augsburg tax records in 1542-3; given Mair's youth, he most likely hired Breu between his return in 1544 and his death in 1547.</ref> and hired two Augsburg fencers to pose for the illustrations.<ref>Hils 1985, pp 197-201.</ref> This project was extraordinarily expensive and took at least four years to complete. Ultimately, three copies of this compendium were produced, each more extensive than the last; the first ([[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|MSS Dresden C.93/C.94]]) was written in [[Early New High German]], the second and most artistically ambitious ([[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Cod.icon. 393]]) in [[New Latin]], and the rougher third version ([[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Cod. 10825/10826]]) incorporated both languages.
+
Mair's martial background is unknown, but as a citizen of a free city he would have had military obligations whenever the city went to war, and as a member of a patrician family he likely served in the cavalry. He was also an avid collector of fencing treatises and other literature on military history. Like his contemporary [[Joachim Meyer]], Mair believed that the Medieval martial arts were being forgotten, and he saw this as a tragedy, idealizing the arts of fencing as a civilizing and character-building influence on men. Where Meyer sought to update the traditional fencing systems and apply them to contemporary weapons of war and defense, Mair was more interested in preserving historical teachings intact. Thus, some time in the latter part of the 1540s he commissioned what would become the most extensive compendium of German fencing treatises ever made, a massive two-volume manuscript compiling virtually every fencing treatise he could access. He retained [[Jörg Breu the Younger]] to create the illustrations for the text,<ref>Breu is not listed in the Augsburg tax records in 1542-3; given Mair's youth, he most likely hired Breu between his return in 1544 and his death in 1547.</ref> and hired two Augsburg fencers to pose for the illustrations.<ref>Hils 1985, pp 197-201.</ref> This project was extraordinarily expensive and took at least four years to complete. Ultimately, three copies of this compendium were produced, each more extensive than the last; the first ([[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|MSS Dresden C.93/C.94]]) was written in [[Early New High German]], the second and most artistically ambitious ([[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Cod.icon. 393]]) in [[New Latin]], and the rougher third version ([[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Cod. 10825/10826]]) incorporated both languages.
  
Beginning in the 1540s, Mair began purchasing older fencing manuscripts, some from fellow collector [[Lienhart Sollinger]] (a [[Freifechter]] who lived in Augsburg for many years) and others from auctions. Perhaps most significant of all of his acquisitions was the partially-completed treatise of [[Antonius Rast]], a Master of the Long Sword and three-time Captain of the [[Marxbrüder]] fencing guild. The venerable master left it incomplete when he died in 1549, and Mair ultimately produced a complete fencing manual ([[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82]]) based on his notes. Ultimately, he owned over a dozen fencing manuscripts over the course of his life, including the following:
+
Beginning in the 1540s, Mair began purchasing older fencing manuscripts, some from fellow collector [[Lienhart Sollinger]] (a [[Freifechter]] who lived in Augsburg for many years) and others from auctions. Perhaps most significant of all of his acquisitions was the partially-completed treatise of [[Antonius Rast]], a Master of the Long Sword and three-time Captain of the [[Marxbrüder]] fencing guild. The venerable master left it incomplete when he died in 1549, and in 1553 Mair produced a complete fencing manual ([[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82]]) based on his notes. Ultimately, he owned over a dozen fencing manuscripts over the course of his life, including the following:
  
 
* [[Talhoffer Fechtbuch (Cod.I.6.2º.1)|Codex I.6.2º.1]] - A copy of one of [[Hans Talhoffer]]'s fencing manuals, possibly the [[Talhoffer Fechtbuch (MS XIX.17-3)|MS XIX.17-3]].
 
* [[Talhoffer Fechtbuch (Cod.I.6.2º.1)|Codex I.6.2º.1]] - A copy of one of [[Hans Talhoffer]]'s fencing manuals, possibly the [[Talhoffer Fechtbuch (MS XIX.17-3)|MS XIX.17-3]].
* [[Hutter/Sollinger Fechtbuch (Cod.I.6.2º.2)|Codex I.6.2º.2]] - A compilation of [[Jörg Wilhalm Hutter]]'s longsword treatise and [[Lienhart Sollinger]]'s manuscript reproduction of ''[[Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey (Andre Paurñfeyndt)|Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey]]''.
+
* [[Hutter/Sollinger Fechtbuch (Cod.I.6.2º.2)|Codex I.6.2º.2]] - A compilation of [[Jörg Wilhalm Hutter]]'s longsword treatise and [[Lienhart Sollinger]]'s manuscript reproduction of ''[[Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey (Andre Paurenfeyndt)|Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey]]''.
 
* [[Jörg Wilhalm Hutters kunst zu Augspurg (Cod.I.6.2º.3)|Codex I.6.2º.3]] - A copy of Codex I.6.4º.5 with descriptive text by Hutter.
 
* [[Jörg Wilhalm Hutters kunst zu Augspurg (Cod.I.6.2º.3)|Codex I.6.2º.3]] - A copy of Codex I.6.4º.5 with descriptive text by Hutter.
 
* [[Jörg Breu Draftbook (Cod.I.6.2º.4)|Codex I.6.2º.4]] - [[Jörg Breu the Younger|Jörg Breu]]'s draftbook for his work on Mair's treatises.
 
* [[Jörg Breu Draftbook (Cod.I.6.2º.4)|Codex I.6.2º.4]] - [[Jörg Breu the Younger|Jörg Breu]]'s draftbook for his work on Mair's treatises.
 
* [[Hans Medel Fechtbuch (Cod.I.6.2º.5)|Codex I.6.2º.5]] - A compilation of records of the [[Marxbrüder]] fencing guild, [[Hans Medel]]'s gloss of Liechtenauer's [[Recital]], Medel's additional teachings, and fencing prints by [[Maarten van Heemskerck]].
 
* [[Hans Medel Fechtbuch (Cod.I.6.2º.5)|Codex I.6.2º.5]] - A compilation of records of the [[Marxbrüder]] fencing guild, [[Hans Medel]]'s gloss of Liechtenauer's [[Recital]], Medel's additional teachings, and fencing prints by [[Maarten van Heemskerck]].
 
* [[Codex Wallerstein (Cod.I.6.4º.2)|Codex I.6.4º.2]] - A compilation of two treatises from the [[Nuremberg Group]] and a much older, uncaptioned series of fencing drawings known as pseudo-Gladiatoria.
 
* [[Codex Wallerstein (Cod.I.6.4º.2)|Codex I.6.4º.2]] - A compilation of two treatises from the [[Nuremberg Group]] and a much older, uncaptioned series of fencing drawings known as pseudo-Gladiatoria.
* [[Codex Lew (Cod.I.6.4º.3)|Codex I.6.4º.3]] (?) - A compilation of several treatises from the tradition of [[Johannes Liechtenauer]], possibly compiled by [[Jud Lew]]. (Not verified as being in his collection.)
 
 
* [[Jörg Wilhalm Hutters kunst zu Augspurg (Cod.I.6.4º.5)|Codex I.6.4º.5]] - Jörg Wilhalm Hutter's draftbook.
 
* [[Jörg Wilhalm Hutters kunst zu Augspurg (Cod.I.6.4º.5)|Codex I.6.4º.5]] - Jörg Wilhalm Hutter's draftbook.
 
* [[Gregor Erhart Fechtbuch (MS E.1939.65.354)|MS E.1939.65.354]] - [[Gregor Erhart]]'s fencing manual. (Formerly Codex I.6.4º.4.)
 
* [[Gregor Erhart Fechtbuch (MS E.1939.65.354)|MS E.1939.65.354]] - [[Gregor Erhart]]'s fencing manual. (Formerly Codex I.6.4º.4.)
 
* [[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82]] - The expanded and finished version of [[Antonius Rast]]'s fencing notes.
 
* [[Rast Fechtbuch (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82)|Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82]] - The expanded and finished version of [[Antonius Rast]]'s fencing notes.
  
He also used several printed books as source material for his compendia, and presumably owned copies, including ''[[Der Altenn Fechter anfengliche kunst (Christian Egenolff)|Der Altenn Fechter anfengliche kunst]]'' (compiled by [[Christian Egenolff]]), ''[[Opera Nova (Achille Marozzo)|Opera Nova]]'' by [[Achille Marozzo]], and ''[[Ringer Kunst (Fabian von Auerswald)|Ringer Kunst]]'' by [[Fabian von Auerswald]].  
+
He also used several printed books as source material for his compendia, and presumably owned copies, including ''[[Der Allten Fechter gründtliche Kunst (Christian Egenolff)|Der Allten Fechter gründtliche Kunst]]'' (printed by [[Christian Egenolff]]), ''[[Opera Nova (Achille Marozzo)|Opera Nova]]'' by [[Achille Marozzo]], and ''[[Ringer Kunst (Fabian von Auerswald)|Ringer Kunst]]'' by [[Fabian von Auerswald]].  
  
 
Mair not only spent incredible sums of money on his fencing interests, but generally lead a lavish lifestyle and maintained his political influence with expensive parties and other entertainments for the burghers and patricians of Augsburg. This habit of living far beyond his means for decades exhausted his family's wealth, eventually leading him to sell the Latin version of his fencing manuscript (netting the princely sum of 800 florins) and finally to begin embezzling money from the Augsburg city coffers. This embezzlement was not discovered for many years (or perhaps was overlooked due to the favor his parties garnered), until finally in 1579 a disgruntled assistant reported him to the Augsburg City Council and provoked an audit of his books. Mair was arrested, tried, and hanged as a thief at the age of 62. After Mair's death, his effects (including his library) were sold at auction to recoup some of the funds he had embezzled.
 
Mair not only spent incredible sums of money on his fencing interests, but generally lead a lavish lifestyle and maintained his political influence with expensive parties and other entertainments for the burghers and patricians of Augsburg. This habit of living far beyond his means for decades exhausted his family's wealth, eventually leading him to sell the Latin version of his fencing manuscript (netting the princely sum of 800 florins) and finally to begin embezzling money from the Augsburg city coffers. This embezzlement was not discovered for many years (or perhaps was overlooked due to the favor his parties garnered), until finally in 1579 a disgruntled assistant reported him to the Augsburg City Council and provoked an audit of his books. Mair was arrested, tried, and hanged as a thief at the age of 62. After Mair's death, his effects (including his library) were sold at auction to recoup some of the funds he had embezzled.
  
Whether viewed as an unwise scholar who paid the ultimate price for his art or an ignoble thief who violated his city's trust, Mair remains one of the most influential figures in the history of Kunst des Fechtens. By completing the fencing manual of Antonius Rast, Mair gave us valuable insight into the [[Nuremberg Group|Nuremberg fencing tradition]]; his own works are impressive on both an artistic and practical level, and his extensive commentary on the uncaptioned treatises in his collection serves to make potentially useful training aids out of what would otherwise be mere curiosities. Finally, in purchasing so many important fencing treatises he succeeded in preserving them for future generations; they were purchased by the fabulously wealthy Fugger family after his death and ultimately passed to the [[Universitätsbibliothek Augsburg|Augsburg University Library]], where they remain to this day.
+
Whether viewed as an unwise scholar who paid the ultimate price for his art or an ignoble thief who violated his city's trust, Mair remains one of the most influential figures in the history of Kunst des Fechtens. By completing the fencing manual of Antonius Rast, Mair gave us valuable insight into the [[Nuremberg Group|Nuremberg fencing tradition]]; his own works are impressive on both an artistic and practical level, and his extensive commentary on the fencing illustrations in his collection serves to make potentially useful training aids out of what would otherwise be mere curiosities. Finally, in purchasing so many important fencing treatises he succeeded in preserving them for future generations; they were purchased by the fabulously wealthy Fugger family after his death and ultimately passed to the [[Universitätsbibliothek Augsburg|Augsburg University Library]], where they remain to this day.
 
+
{{TOC limit|2}}
 
== Treatise ==
 
== Treatise ==
  
Much of Mair's content represents his revision and expansion of the older treatises listed above, including adding descriptive content to uncaptioned images. Where available, these images are displayed in the left-most column, labeled "Source Images", for comparison purposes. Mair's own illustrations appear in the second image column, alongside the translation.
+
Much of Mair's content represents his revision and expansion of the older treatises listed above, including adding descriptive content to uncaptioned illustrations. Where available, these illustrations are displayed in the left-most column, labeled "Source Illustrations", for comparison purposes. Mair's own illustrations appear in the second column, alongside the translation.
  
 
The Dresden version contains the fewest devices and artwork most reminiscent of Breu's style, and appears therefore to be the original copy. The Munich adds additional plays and sections on top of the Dresden's contents, and the Vienna likewise augments the Munich, suggesting that this is likely order of creation; conversely, the Dresden has no unique content, and the only unique plays in the Munich are in the section on jousting. To give a visual sense of this evolution of the work, the Dresden illustrations are used wherever possible; the Munich illustrations appear only in those plays that are omitted from the Dresden, and the Vienna in those that are unique to that work.
 
The Dresden version contains the fewest devices and artwork most reminiscent of Breu's style, and appears therefore to be the original copy. The Munich adds additional plays and sections on top of the Dresden's contents, and the Vienna likewise augments the Munich, suggesting that this is likely order of creation; conversely, the Dresden has no unique content, and the only unique plays in the Munich are in the section on jousting. To give a visual sense of this evolution of the work, the Dresden illustrations are used wherever possible; the Munich illustrations appear only in those plays that are omitted from the Dresden, and the Vienna in those that are unique to that work.
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}}
 
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{| class="floated master"
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{| class="master"
 
|-  
 
|-  
! <p>Source Images</p>
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! <p>Source Illustrations</p>
! <p>Images</p>
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! <p>Illustrations</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|B}}<br/>by [[Dieter Bachmann]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|B}}<br/>by [[Dieter Bachmann]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden I Transcription]] (1540s){{edit index|Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MS Dresd.C.93)}}<br/>by [[Julia Gräf]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden I Transcription]] (1540s){{edit index|Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MS Dresd.C.93)}}<br/>by [[Julia Gräf]]</p>
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}}
{| class="floated master"
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{| class="master"
 
|-  
 
|-  
! <p>Source Images</p>
+
! <p>Source Illustrations</p>
! <p>Images</p>
+
! <p>Illustrations</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|c}}<br/>by [[Jürg Gassmann]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|c}}<br/>by [[Jürg Gassmann]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden I Transcription]] (1540s){{edit index|Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MS Dresd.C.93)}}<br/>by [[Julia Gräf]]and [[Ingo Petri]]</p>
 
! <p>[[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden I Transcription]] (1540s){{edit index|Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MS Dresd.C.93)}}<br/>by [[Julia Gräf]]and [[Ingo Petri]]</p>
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}}<section begin="Credits2"/>
 
}}<section begin="Credits2"/>
{| class="floated master"
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{| class="master"
 
|-  
 
|-  
! <p>Source Images</p>
+
! <p>Source Illustrations</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Vienna]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Vienna]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|start}}<br/>by [[Keith P. Myers]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|start}}<br/>by [[Keith P. Myers]]</p>
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}}
 
}}
{| class="floated master"
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{| class="master"
 
|-   
 
|-   
! <p>Source Images</p>
+
! <p>Source Illustrations</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|C}}<br/>by [[Keith P. Myers]] and [[Per Magnus Haaland]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|C}}<br/>by [[Keith P. Myers]] and [[Per Magnus Haaland]]</p>
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}}
 
}}
{| class="floated master"
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{| class="master"
 
|-  
 
|-  
! <p>Source Images</p>
+
! <p>Source Illustrations</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Vienna]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Vienna]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|C}}<br/>by [[Keith P. Myers]] and [[Per Magnus Haaland]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|C}}<br/>by [[Keith P. Myers]] and [[Per Magnus Haaland]]</p>
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  | width = 240em
 
}}
 
}}
{| class="floated master"
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{| class="master"
 
|-  
 
|-  
! <p>Source Images</p>
+
! <p>Source Illustrations</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|B}}<br/>by [[Per Magnus Haaland]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|B}}<br/>by [[Per Magnus Haaland]]</p>
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}}
 
}}
{| class="floated master"
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{| class="master"
 
|-  
 
|-  
! <p>Source Images</p>
+
! <p>Source Illustrations</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|c}}<br/>by [[Keith P. Myers]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|c}}<br/>by [[Keith P. Myers]]</p>
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}}
 
}}
{| class="floated master"
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{| class="master"
 
|-  
 
|-  
! <p>Source Images</p>
+
! <p>Source Illustrations</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|C}}<br/>by [[Eric Mains]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|C}}<br/>by [[Eric Mains]]</p>
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}}
 
}}
{| class="floated master"
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{| class="master"
 
|-  
 
|-  
! <p>Source Images</p>
+
! <p>Source Illustrations</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|B}}<br/>by [[Jason Taylor]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|B}}<br/>by [[Jason Taylor]]</p>
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}}
 
}}
{| class="floated master"
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{| class="master"
 
|-  
 
|-  
! <p>Source Images</p>
+
! <p>Source Illustrations</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|C}}<br/>by [[Reinier van Noort]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|C}}<br/>by [[Reinier van Noort]]</p>
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}}
 
}}
{| class="floated master"
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{| class="master"
 
|-  
 
|-  
! <p>Source Images</p>
+
! <p>Source Illustrations</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
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! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|B}}<br/>by [[Reinier van Noort]] and [[Saskia Roselaar]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|B}}<br/>by [[Reinier van Noort]] and [[Saskia Roselaar]]</p>
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! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]], [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich]], and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Vienna]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]], [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich]], and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Vienna]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|C}}<br/>by [[Kendra Brown]], [[Rebecca Garber]], [[Mark Millman]],<br/>[[Jon Reynolds]], and [[Amy West]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|C}}<br/>by [[Kendra Brown]], [[Rebecca Garber]], [[Mark Millman]],<br/>[[Jon Reynolds]], and [[Amy West]]</p>
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! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Vienna]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.10825/10826)|Vienna]] Versions</p>
 
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! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich Version]]</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich Version]]</p>
 
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! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|c}}<br/>by [[Keith P. Myers]] and [[Per Magnus Haaland]]</p>
 
! <p>{{rating|c}}<br/>by [[Keith P. Myers]] and [[Per Magnus Haaland]]</p>
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! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden Version]]</p>
 
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! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich]] Versions</p>
 
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! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich]] Versions</p>
 
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! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich]] Versions</p>
 
! <p>Images<br/>from the [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (MSS Dresd.C.93/C.94)|Dresden]] and [[Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica (Cod.icon. 393)|Munich]] Versions</p>
 
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== Additional Resources ==
 
== Additional Resources ==
  
 +
* [[Jeffrey L. Forgeng|Forgeng, Jeffrey L.]]. "The Martial Arts Treatise of Paulus Hector Mair". ''Die Kunst des Fechtens'': 267-284. Ed. Elisabeth Vavra, Matthias Johannes Bauer. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter GmbH Heidelberg, 2017. ISBN 978-3-8253-6699-5
 
* [[Brian Hunt|Hunt, Brian]]. "Paulus Hector Mair: Peasant Staff and Flail." ''Masters of Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts''. Ed. [[Jeffrey Hull]]. Boulder, CO: [[Paladin Press]], 2008. ISBN 978-1-58160-668-3  
 
* [[Brian Hunt|Hunt, Brian]]. "Paulus Hector Mair: Peasant Staff and Flail." ''Masters of Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts''. Ed. [[Jeffrey Hull]]. Boulder, CO: [[Paladin Press]], 2008. ISBN 978-1-58160-668-3  
 
* [[David Knight|Knight, David James]], and Hunt, Brian. ''The Polearms of Paulus Hector Mair''. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58160-644-7
 
* [[David Knight|Knight, David James]], and Hunt, Brian. ''The Polearms of Paulus Hector Mair''. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58160-644-7
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[[Category:Sword and Cloak]]
 
[[Category:Sword and Cloak]]
 
[[Category:Sword and Dagger]]
 
[[Category:Sword and Dagger]]
 +
 +
[[Category:New format]]

Revision as of 00:29, 24 October 2021

Paulus Hector Mair

"Mair", Cod.icon. 312b f 64r
Born 1517
Augsburg, Germany
Died 10 Dec 1579 (age 62)
Augsburg, Germany
Occupation
  • Civil servant
  • Historian
Movement
Influences
Genres
Language
Manuscript(s)
First printed
english edition
Knight and Hunt, 2008
Concordance by Michael Chidester
Translations Traduction française
Signature Paulus Hector Mair Sig.png

Paulus Hector Mair (Paulsen Hektor Mayr, Paulus Hector Meyer; 1517 – 1579) was a 16th century German aristocrat, civil servant, and fencer. He was born in 1517 to a wealthy and influential Augsburg patrician family. In his youth, he likely received training in fencing and grappling from the masters of Augsburg fencing guild, and early on developed a deep fascination with fencing treatises. He began his civil service as a secretary to the Augsburg City Council; by 1541, Mair was the city treasurer, and in 1545 he also took on the office of Master of Rations.

Mair's martial background is unknown, but as a citizen of a free city he would have had military obligations whenever the city went to war, and as a member of a patrician family he likely served in the cavalry. He was also an avid collector of fencing treatises and other literature on military history. Like his contemporary Joachim Meyer, Mair believed that the Medieval martial arts were being forgotten, and he saw this as a tragedy, idealizing the arts of fencing as a civilizing and character-building influence on men. Where Meyer sought to update the traditional fencing systems and apply them to contemporary weapons of war and defense, Mair was more interested in preserving historical teachings intact. Thus, some time in the latter part of the 1540s he commissioned what would become the most extensive compendium of German fencing treatises ever made, a massive two-volume manuscript compiling virtually every fencing treatise he could access. He retained Jörg Breu the Younger to create the illustrations for the text,[1] and hired two Augsburg fencers to pose for the illustrations.[2] This project was extraordinarily expensive and took at least four years to complete. Ultimately, three copies of this compendium were produced, each more extensive than the last; the first (MSS Dresden C.93/C.94) was written in Early New High German, the second and most artistically ambitious (Cod.icon. 393) in New Latin, and the rougher third version (Cod. 10825/10826) incorporated both languages.

Beginning in the 1540s, Mair began purchasing older fencing manuscripts, some from fellow collector Lienhart Sollinger (a Freifechter who lived in Augsburg for many years) and others from auctions. Perhaps most significant of all of his acquisitions was the partially-completed treatise of Antonius Rast, a Master of the Long Sword and three-time Captain of the Marxbrüder fencing guild. The venerable master left it incomplete when he died in 1549, and in 1553 Mair produced a complete fencing manual (Reichsstadt "Schätze" Nr. 82) based on his notes. Ultimately, he owned over a dozen fencing manuscripts over the course of his life, including the following:

He also used several printed books as source material for his compendia, and presumably owned copies, including Der Allten Fechter gründtliche Kunst (printed by Christian Egenolff), Opera Nova by Achille Marozzo, and Ringer Kunst by Fabian von Auerswald.

Mair not only spent incredible sums of money on his fencing interests, but generally lead a lavish lifestyle and maintained his political influence with expensive parties and other entertainments for the burghers and patricians of Augsburg. This habit of living far beyond his means for decades exhausted his family's wealth, eventually leading him to sell the Latin version of his fencing manuscript (netting the princely sum of 800 florins) and finally to begin embezzling money from the Augsburg city coffers. This embezzlement was not discovered for many years (or perhaps was overlooked due to the favor his parties garnered), until finally in 1579 a disgruntled assistant reported him to the Augsburg City Council and provoked an audit of his books. Mair was arrested, tried, and hanged as a thief at the age of 62. After Mair's death, his effects (including his library) were sold at auction to recoup some of the funds he had embezzled.

Whether viewed as an unwise scholar who paid the ultimate price for his art or an ignoble thief who violated his city's trust, Mair remains one of the most influential figures in the history of Kunst des Fechtens. By completing the fencing manual of Antonius Rast, Mair gave us valuable insight into the Nuremberg fencing tradition; his own works are impressive on both an artistic and practical level, and his extensive commentary on the fencing illustrations in his collection serves to make potentially useful training aids out of what would otherwise be mere curiosities. Finally, in purchasing so many important fencing treatises he succeeded in preserving them for future generations; they were purchased by the fabulously wealthy Fugger family after his death and ultimately passed to the Augsburg University Library, where they remain to this day.

Treatise

Much of Mair's content represents his revision and expansion of the older treatises listed above, including adding descriptive content to uncaptioned illustrations. Where available, these illustrations are displayed in the left-most column, labeled "Source Illustrations", for comparison purposes. Mair's own illustrations appear in the second column, alongside the translation.

The Dresden version contains the fewest devices and artwork most reminiscent of Breu's style, and appears therefore to be the original copy. The Munich adds additional plays and sections on top of the Dresden's contents, and the Vienna likewise augments the Munich, suggesting that this is likely order of creation; conversely, the Dresden has no unique content, and the only unique plays in the Munich are in the section on jousting. To give a visual sense of this evolution of the work, the Dresden illustrations are used wherever possible; the Munich illustrations appear only in those plays that are omitted from the Dresden, and the Vienna in those that are unique to that work.