Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

A multidisciplinary overview of current research into the enduringly fascinating martial artefact which is the sword.

Swords --- Swordplay --- History. --- Fighting --- Swordsmanship --- Military art and science --- Fencing --- Weapons --- Sword.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Written around 1430, Duarte of Portugal's remarkable treatise on chivalric horsemanship, the Livro do Cavalgar (Book on Riding), is not only the sole substantial contemporary source on the definitive physical skill of the medieval knight, it is a remarkably intelligent and innovative work that still has much to offer to modern practitioners of physical arts. The book stands out from the body of technical writings that survive from the Middle Ages for its intelligence, insight, and intellectual versatility, ranging from psychological reflections on horsemanship and its implications forhuman ethics, to the details of how to couch a lance under your arm without getting it caught on your armor. Under the general rubric of horsemanship Duarte covers a range of topics that include jousting, tourneying, and hunting, as well as the physical apparatus of equestrianism and various cultural styles of riding.
However, despite its importance for scholarship, its language and technicalcontent have so far resisted proper translation, a need which this book fills. The introduction provides not only the background to make Duarte's text comprehensible, but for the first time offers modern audiences a systematic point of access to the subject of medieval equestrianism in general.

Jeffrey L. Forgeng is curator of Arms and Armor and Medieval Art at the Worcester Art Museum, and teaches as Adjunct Professor of History at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Horsemanship --- Chivalry --- Conduct of life --- Armor. --- Arms. --- Chivalry. --- Duarte of Portugal. --- Equestrianism. --- European History. --- Fencing. --- Horse. --- Horsemanship. --- Martial Arts. --- Medieval Culture. --- Medieval History. --- Medieval Society. --- Medieval Sports. --- Middle Ages. --- Military History. --- Swordplay. --- Warfare. --- Weaponry.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Completed in 1482, Johannes Lecküchner's Art of Combat with the "Langes Messer" (Messerfechtkunst) is among the most important documents on the combat arts of the Middle Ages. The Messer was a single-edged, one-handed utility sword peculiar to central Europe, but Lecküchner's techniques apply to cut-and-thrust swords in general: not only is this treatise the single most substantial work on the use of one-handed swords to survive from this period, but it is the most detailed explanation of the two-handed sword techniques of the German "Liechtenauer" school dating back to the 1300s. Lecküchner's lavish manuscript consists of over four hundred illustrations with explanatory text, in which the author, a parish priest, rings the changes on bladework, deceits, and grappling,with techniques ranging from life-or-death escapes from an armed assailant to slapstick moves designed to please the crowd in public fencing matches. This translation, complete with all illustrations from the manuscript, makes the treatise accessible for the first time since the author's untimely death less than a year after its completion left his major work to be lost for generations. An extensive introduction, notes, and glossary analyze and contextualize the work and clarify its technical content. Jeffrey L. Forgeng is curator of Arms and Armor and Medieval Art at the Worcester Art Museum, and teaches as Adjunct Professor of History at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Swordplay --- Swords --- Weapons --- Military art and science --- Fencing --- Fighting --- Swordsmanship --- Art of Swordsmanship. --- Combat. --- Fighting. --- Hans Lecküchner. --- Medieval. --- Middle Ages. --- Swords. --- Swordsmanship. --- Techniques. --- Text. --- combat arts. --- fighting with swords. --- historical combat techniques. --- historical martial arts. --- martial arts manuscripts. --- medieval combat techniques. --- medieval fencing. --- medieval fighting. --- medieval swordsmanship. --- medieval texts. --- sword techniques. --- techniques.