Renowned English HEMA instructor Tea Kew recently launched a project to explore the teachings in Sigmund Ringeck's gloss, called the Illustrated Ringeck. The project is described in the following words: "This is a project to produce photographic interpretations of all...
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Welcome to HROARR’s Research Pages
These pages will be focusing directly at the numerous research aspects of HEMA, both the sources themselves, but also the social and historical contexts, and similar, close subjects.
You are of course all invited to publish your thoughts here!
Notice
The whole site is currently undergoing some radical changes aiming to improve how useful it is to the HEMA community. Please be patient while the work is completed.
The work is expected to take at least a week of fulltime work. Please consider supporting HROARR via Patreon.
Research News
Announcing: The awardees of the HEMA Scholar Awards 2017
Finally, after a lot of hard work by the jury, and some delays in the organisation, we are extremely happy to present the awardees of the 2017 HEMA Scholar Awards, given for outstanding research published in English in 2016. Want to know who they are? Run off to the...
read moreOn Sale: Self-Defense for Gentlemen and Ladies
Right now, Amazon has the quite well-received book Self-Defense for Gentlemen and Ladies: A Nineteenth-Century Treatise on Boxing, Kicking, Grappling, and Fencing with the Cane and Quarterstaff, by Ben Miller on 50% sale. It was published as recently as in April 2015...
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On The Five Words and Withdrawal
Mark, this is that before all things you shall rightly undertake and understand these two things, which are the Before and the After, and thereafter the Weak and Strong of the sword, and then the word “Meanwhile”, whence comes the entire foundation of all the Art of...
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On fencing societies and charity in the 19th century
At least as early as in the early 17th cent, fencing masters swore to care in particular for widows and orphans, as can be seen in e.g. the oaths of the fencers of the Company of Maisters of the Noble Science of Defense. And this tradition was maintained in Germany...
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Glossary of Late Medieval Terminology (15th Century Baltic)
Over the years I have spent researching Late Medieval Central Europe, I ran across many unfamiliar words which were either academic terms of art or important jargon from the era. Along the way I composed a glossary for myself to help navigate this strange world, and...
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The South Italian Longsword of Marc’Antonio Pagano (1553)
This article translates and contextualises the longsword bout detailed in Le tre giornate di Marc'Antonio Pagano gentil'huomo napoletano. Dintorno alla disciplina de l'arme e spetialmente della spada sola,[1] by Marc’Antonio Pagano, the earliest extant Southern...
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Brief notes on fencing, from the military treatise of Giovanni Alberto Cassani (1603)
Giovanni Alberto Cassani published a military treatise in Naples in 1603.1 In this work he indicates that he was born in the town of Frassinello Monferrato in Piedmont, and that he served in the Spanish army, but little more is known about his life. Most military...
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Concerning the Reliability of the Waggle Test
Dynamic parameters define a rigid body’s reaction to external forces. While their importance for a sword’s behaviour is known since the 19th century, many data sets of original swords, replicas and training weapons include mass and the centre of mass, but lack a third parameter such as moment of inertia, radius of gyration, or corresponding centres of oscillation/percussion. A third parameter, however, is required to calculate a rigid object’s response.
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The Dutch Experiment – De Hollandsche Methode, Christiaan Siebenhaar, and fencing in the Netherlands in the 19th Century
In the mid-19th century, not that long after the Belgian war of independence, an experiment was taking place in fencing in the Netherlands. The main proponent of this experiment was Christiaan Siebenhaar (1824-1885), fencing master in the Dutch army.[1] In his own...
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Riddled in Ink – A Stylistic Comparison of Artwork in MS M.383 and the Novati Facsimile
Proposition This article proposes that Francesco Novati’s 1902 facsimile reproduction of Flos Duellatorum contains clear stylistic discrepancies that can both elucidate its connection to the original Pisani-Dossi manuscript, and identify connections between the...
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The Flower of Battle of Master Fiore Friulano de’i Liberi
Last week, in the same spirit of information freedom that inspired Wiktenauer's creation, I released a free ebook version of The Recital of the Chivalric Art of Fencing of the Grand Master Johannes Liechtenauer, one of the two books produced as part of the 2015...
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The Recital of the Chivalric Art of Fencing of the Grand Master Johannes Liechtenauer
Though long delayed, this book represents the most complete picture possible of the Liechtenauer tradition of foot combat as it was recorded in the mid 15th century. It’s the text I wanted for my students when I was leading a study group, and I’m happy to finally offer it in print. I hope it serves in some small way to advance the study of Johannes Liechtenauer’s art.
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King and Fool – The Vier Leger of Liechtenauer’s Tradition
King and Fool - The Vier Leger of Liechtenauer’s Tradition and their relationship with common medieval German archetypes. Exposition includes three things: The letter, the sense, and the inner meaning. (1) “Vier leger allain da von halt und fleuch dye gemain ochβ...
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The Last Duel, Part 2: Death by Sodomy
Part One of this article examined the famous judicial duel between Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris, which was held in Paris in 1386. As it turns out, the description of the event in Eric Jager’s book The Last Duel is rather different from the five surviving...
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What Really Happened at the Last Duel? Part1
According to the website Deadline Hollywood, Studio 8 has hired a screenwriter to turn Eric Jager’s book The Last Duel into a script for a Hollywood movie (Fleming, 2015). This tale, published as nonfiction, is an account of the judicial duel in 1386 between Jean de...
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Florius de Arte Luctandi: Challenges and Discoveries in a Contemporary Latin Translation of Fiore dei Liberi
Florius de Arte Luctandi is formally designated Ms. Latin 11269 by the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. Based on the content and style of the illustrations, the style of the handwriting, and its probable relation to better-known texts, it was likely created...
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“The Use of Weapons”, René François (1621)
The entry on fencing in René François' 1621 encyclopedia is a rich source of terminology and practices common in the fencing salles of this period in which France was developing its own native fencing style as well as trying to rid itself of foreign cultural...
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Adolphe Corthey: A French 19th Century HEMA Pioneer
In the introduction to “The Sword and the Centuries” (1901), Alfred Hutton mentions a curious incident. His fencing group in the London Rifle Brigade were invited to Belgium to put on a display of historical fencing. What can we discover about this Belgian event? What follows is an overview some literary detective work that reveals Adolphe Corthey, a man in every way Hutton’s equal and the powerhouse behind late nineteenth century HEMA in France.
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Meyer Pilgrimage Part 2 – Basel
Almost exactly a year ago I was lucky enough to be taken on a small journey that has been a long time dream of mine; walking in the footsteps of 16th cent fencing master Joachim Meyer, visiting the city where he spent many years teaching as Fechtmeister; Straßburg. I...
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An overview of the Iberian Montante
This article gathers a series of notes written while studying the sources on the Iberian montante sword of the late XV century and following centuries. The extant sources are listed and analysed. Different approaches to teaching this weapon’s handling are described, stressing those who can provide a context for its use.
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The Ringen of Joachim Meyer
This article shall group Joachim Meyer's Ringen into collections of similar throws. Hopefully this will better aid the modern student in learning Meyer's Ringen. All of the throws have been rewritten into a modern step-by-step method from Dr. Forgeng's translation...
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Hack & Slash in the Age of Reason: Italian Rapier Against Multiple Opponents
“Finding yourself assailed by enemies, and supposing there are many of them, the situation demands nothing less than attacks like those of a desperate man, that is to say you must enter liberally into the fray” Giuseppe Colombani (1711) The scarcity of advice for...
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The use of the saber in the army of Napoleon: Part IV – Wounds caused by the saber
Continuing with his four part series on The use of the saber in the army of Napoleon, Dr. Bert Gevaert now presents the fourth part: Wounds caused by the saber Introduction Soldiers and officers in the army of Napoleon led a life full of risks and sometimes the list...
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The use of the saber in the army of Napoleon: Part III
Continuing with his four part series on The use of the saber in the army of Napoleon, Dr. Bert Gevaert now presents the third part: Individual martial prowess on the battlefield Stories about individual swordsmen are the most fascinating ones and in this chapter I...
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The use of the saber in the army of Napoleon: Part II
Continuing with his series on The use of the saber in the army of Napoleon, Dr. Bert Gevaert now presents the second part: Antoine Fortuné de Brack: Avant-postes de cavalerie légère (1831) De Brack was a French officer who participated in several military campaigns of...
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A key to Meyer’s mechanics & footwork – part 1
Here is a rough diagram that tries to explain the core mechanics that go through all of Meyers fencing and which are the foundation for the footwork and weapon mechanics, regardless of weapon. These mechanics apply to pretty much all of Meyer's teachings, with...
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The use of the saber in the army of Napoleon: Part I
“The sword is the weapon in which you should have most confidence, because it rarely fails you by breaking in your hands. Its blows are the more certain, accordingly as you direct them coolly; and hold it properly.” - Antoine Fortuné de Brack ([1831], 1876, p. 51)...
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Chivalry East of the Elbe, Part I
Introduction: So what happened to the Second Estate? Most of my own HEMA-related historical research in the last ten years has been focused on the Free Cities and City States which are the origin of so many of the known fencing manuals. But that doesn't mean one ought...
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The nature of the work ahead of us
Our personal goals in studying HEMA are varied, complex and individually quite different. For myself, I try to understand how and why it is designed the way it is as a martial art. That means it is not enough mimicking the movements described in the manuals, since...
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Meyerozzo: The influences of the Bolognese method in German Rappier
There are many reasons why I devote much of my time and my energies on what Joachim Meyer has exhibited in his treatises. But the main reason I decided to get closer to the Freifechter of Basel was the desire to learn his method of two-handed sword, and possibly the...
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Fechtordnung of the City of Solothurn
Below are three versions of the Fencing Ordinance of the Swiss town of Solothurn, first the original, then the English translation, then a German re-statement. All translations are mine. At the time, Solothurn was a full member of the Swiss Confederacy and a very...
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Meyer Pilgrimage Part 1 – Straßburg
We all share the same love for our personal and shared discoveries of a forgotten European martial arts tradition and studying it we all learn to know some important and commonly known names like Liechtenauer, Fiore, Ringeck, Talhoffer, Kal, Vadi, Marozzo,...
read moreTeaching progressions in Meyer’s longsword 1: the attacking skill tree
Over the last five years, I’ve given several workshops in both South Africa and Europe focused on sequencing the teaching of techniques from Joachim Meyer’s “Gründtliche Beschreibung… der Kunst des Fechtens”[i]. In my view, each section in Meyer’s 1570 text contains...
read moreJoachim Meyer’s dagger system
Note: This is a working document and will continuously be updated as we work with our interpretations of Joachim Meyer's dagger teachings. Similarly to how I worked with his staff teachings I will attempt at systemizing the principles and techniques taught and...
read moreArming Sword Geometry by Peter Johnsson
Designing a sword of mid 14th century style using a system of geometric drawing that is inspired by surviving plans of medieval gothic architecture. Please visit my site at peterjohnsson.com for more information about this principle of design and the hypothesis that...
read moreFlower of Battle
Here is an excellent lecture on Fiore Furlano de Liberi, Ludwig von Eyb and more, by Michael Chidester, held at Fechtschule America 2013. Well worth watching, no matter if you focus more on the "Italian" or "German" aspects of the fighting arts. Great work, Michael!...
read moreDie Vorpal-Klinge!
This short movie shows a glimpse of the world of the Collegiate Fencing, the still living child of the Fechtschule tradition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLbr0BtfA7s For more reading, look at the excellent article An overview of German collegiate fencing...
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Meyer’s masters
On this day, 443 years ago, Fechtmeister Joachim Meyer published his magnificent fencing treatise 'Gründliche Beschreibung der Freyen Ritterlichen und Adeligen Kunst des Fechtens'. Exactly one year later, on February 24th 1571, he died from sudden illness, while...
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The Dussack – a weapon of war
In my opinion the dussack doesn't quite get the recognition it deserves in the historical fencing community, despite the fact that it was a highly important weapon in the old fencing guilds. It is not really studied properly, probably due to many commonly believing...
read moreThe Rose and the Pentagram
This article is written to accompany the recent article about the mysticist, and possibly even fencer and a Freyfechter, Heinrich Agrippa. If you haven't read the article, it is suggested you do so, before reading this article. Die Rose (the Rose) is a longsword,...
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Meyer and Marozzo dagger comparison
It has been debated regarding to what extent Meyer was inspired by the Italians, the Napolitans and the Bolognese fighting systems and although there appears to be ties to this, exactly what they are and how they came about is still unclear. However, comparing...
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Is there really a Left Vom Tag?
Well there is a right Vom Tag, and a middle one... so there has to be a left Vom Tag as well, hasn't there? We make all master cuts cut from both sides, so it is simple logic, right? Looking through the manuscripts and manuals of the 15th and 16th century, it is...
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