Lance, Spear, Sword, and Messer

Christian Tobler makes a deep dive into the fighting traditions of the late 14th and early 15th centuries, particularly as recorded by Johannes Liechtenauer (1300-1389).It was a time of plague, of the Hundred Years War, of the Peasants’ Revolt, but also a time when the origins of the European Renaissance were formed. In the later years of this turbulent time a shadowy figure named Johannes Liechtenauer systematized lessons for swordsmanship, wrestling, armoured and mounted combat.Recorded in cryptic, rhyming verses, it fell to masters of the 15th and 16th century to record, clarify and expand the grandmaster’s instructions in an extensive body of fencing manuals.As the world of the knight receded into history, these texts - many extensively and beautifully illustrated - were forgotten by all but German-language antiquarians and fencing historians until the last decade of the 20th century, when they were rediscovered by a new audience of martial artists and historians. No author has don