Fellowship of Liechtenauer

This map gives the probable birthplaces and residences of the members of the fellowship. The colors indicate modern-day nations, but in their period all of these lands were part of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Fellowship of Liechtenauer (Geselschaft Liechtenauers) is a group of seventeen masters listed in the introduction to the three oldest copies of Paulus Kal's fencing manual. It is unclear whether this was ever a formal organization or what its nature might have been. However, in the early 1400s fighting men often organized into companies called Gesellschaften when they went to war; this was especially common during the Hussite Crusades of the 1420s and 30s, which is the time-frame when the first records of masters on this list begin appearing. The Fellowship of Liechtenauer may therefore be a group his students and associates which he assembled for a military campaign. Alternatively, it has been speculated that the list is rather a memorial to deceased masters of the grand master's tradition. Of particular interest is the international nature of the group, including masters from present-day Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland, which parallels the statement in the MS 3227a that Liechtenauer himself traveled to many lands to learn the art. Several masters from this list are known to have written fencing treatises, but about half remain completely unknown.

Paulus Kal, the presumptive author of the list, includes the following as members of the fellowship:

hanns liechtenawer	Johannes Liechtenauer
peter wildigans von glacz	Peter Wildigans von Glatz
peter von tanczk	Peter von Danzig zum Ingolstadt
hanns spindler vo~ cznaÿm	Hans Spindler von Znaim
lamprecht von prag	Lamprecht von Prague
hanns seyden faden vo~ erfürt	Hans Seydenfaden von Erfurt
andre liegniczer	Andre Lignitzer
iacob liegniczer	Jacob Lignitzer
sigmund ainring	Sigmund ain Ringeck
hartman von nurñberg	Hartman von Nuremberg
martein hunczfeld	Martin Huntsfeld
hanns pägnüczer	Hans Pegnitzer
phÿlips perger	Philipp Perger
virgilÿ von kracå	Virgil von Kraków
dietherich degen vechter von brawnschweig	Dieterich, the dagger-fighter of Braunschweig
ott iud	Ott Jud
stettner	Hans Stettner von Mörnsheim

Master Stettner, he goes on to note, taught a great many students including Kal himself.

Additional Resources

• Hils, Hans-Peter. Meister Johann Liechtenauers Kunst des langen Schwertes. P. Lang, 1985. ISBN 978-38-204812-9-7
• Tobler, Christian Henry. In Service of the Duke: The 15th Century Fighting Treatise of Paulus Kal. Highland Village, TX: Chivalry Bookshelf, 2006. ISBN 978-1-8914482-5-6