Meyer, Joachim The Art of Sword Combat

A 1568 German Treatise on Swordmanship. Following the success of Jeffrey L. Forgengs translation of Joachim Meyers The Art of Sword Combat, the author was alerted to an earlier recension of the work which was discovered in Lund University Library in Sweden. The manuscript, produced in Strassburg around 1568, is illustrated with thirty watercolour images and seven ink diagrams. The text covers combat with the longsword (hand-and-a-half sword), dusack (a one-handed practice weapon comparable to a sabre), and rapier. The manuscripts theoretical discussion of guards is one of the most critical passages to understanding this key feature of the historical practice, not just in relation to Meyer but in relation to the medieval combat systems in general. The manuscript offers an extensive repertoire of training drills for both the dusack and the rapier, a feature largely lacking in treatises of the period as a whole but critical to modern reconstructions of the practice. The translation also includes a biography of Meyer, much of which has only recently come to light, as well as technical terminology, and other essential information for understanding and contextualizing the work.

The theoretical discussion of guards in the manuscript is one of the most important passages for understanding this key feature of historical practice, not only in relation to Meyer, but in relation to medieval fighting systems in general. The manuscript provides an extensive repertoire of training exercises for both the dusack and the rapier, a feature largely absent from treatises of the period as a whole but crucial to modern reconstructions of the practice. The translation also includes a biography of Meyer, much of which has only recently come to light, as well as technical terminology and other essential information for understanding and categorising the work.