Fechtbuch Fabian + Hans Medel’s Fencing (EN)

Fechtbuch Fabian (2024)

A fechtbuch, or fencing book, is a specific type of German medieval literature in which fencing masters wrote down instructions on how to conduct various types of combat. Dozens of fencing books have survived, giving us an extraordinary insight into the mentality and customs not only of knights, but also of civilians who practiced fencing to prepare themselves for hard times or to strengthen their body and mind.

Fechtbuch Fabian is a modern version of a medieval fechtbuch. It contains teachings that explain in modern language how to fence with the longsword, how to approach tactics, and how to perceive combat as such. You will also find complementary translations and interpretations of selected medieval teachings from the so-called Codex Speyer. It is therefore an ideal companion on the way to becoming a master fencer and successful historical European martial artist.

Content

• Fechtbuch Fabian - complete instruction on how to fence with a longsword
• Martin Siber - longsword, translation and interpretation (Speyer Codex)
• Anonymous - longsword, translation of a fragment of a poem (Speyer Codex)
• Magister Andreas - comparison of sword and knife/messer positions (Speyer Codex)
• Johannes Lichtenauer - longsword, translation and interpretation (Speyer Codex)
• Johannes Lecküchner - long knife or messer, translation and interpretation (Speyer Codex)
• Glossary - glossary of terms
• 51 original illustrations created especially for this book

Hans Medel's Fencing (2025)

Several dozen original fencing books and many copies have survived from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. A large number of them deal with the legacy of the famous master Hans Lichtenauer; the authors, often anonymous, present and comment on his teachings in an almost identical way. In this book, however, we find a specific and unique interpretation of Lichtenauer's art. Hans Medel's heretical interpretation is completely his own, in a way that makes one's head spin. In the end, however, he prefers only a slightly different system and techniques (which we also find in Lichtenauer or other books). Our ideas about medieval and Renaissance fencing are not always completely accurate, and works like this, which break the norm, help us to understand the complex reality and the direction in which fencing has developed over time. The book also contains transcripts of extremely rare chronicles of fencing guilds, which are a truly unique source and witness to how fencers organized themselves in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Content:

• Introduction
• Cod. I.6.2º.5
• Additional Codices
• Paulus Hector Mair
• On the Marxbrüder and Fencing Guilds
• Notes on this Book
• Book of the Masters of the Longsword from Frankfurt
• Augsburg Fencing Regulations
• Frankfurt Fencing Regulations
• Hans Medel: Commentary on Lichtenauer
• Hans Medel: Seven Stances
• Martin Heemskerk: Fencers and Wrestlers
• Glossary