Fencing by the Book

In this episode I sit down with Tea, Stevo and Micky C to round out this mini-series by summing up our feelings about 3227a as a source for historical fencing.

In this episode I sat down with Tea Kew and Steve Cheney to work our way through the Other Masters section in MS 3227a. https://wiktenauer.com/wiki/Other_Masters_(14th_Century)

In this episode I sit down with Michael Chidester, Steve Cheney and Tea Kew to continue our speed run through the MS3227a unarmoured longsword content.

Ok, now we get into the substance of the book (until we run out of steam). In this episode I talk with Stephen Cheney, Michael Chidester and Tea Kew about the contents of MS3227a - its missing content, its original content and how it front loads theory before examples. https://msmallridge.wordpress.com/springing-in-cod-i-6-4o-3-mike-s-02-01-2020/ - An old article on how 'springing'is used in Lew. https://www.coachescompendium.org/FOURSITUATIONS.HTML - An epee article on distances in fencing.

I sit down with Jess Finley, Johanna Hopfgartner, Kendra Brown and Michael Chidester to discuss MS3227a's dating, dialect, text that crops up elsewhere, and what armour people wore under the sea. There's a sale on Lulu at the moment, so now is a great time to pick up Michael Chidester's MS3227a companion volume: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/dierk-hagedorn-and-michael-chidester/the-foundation-and-core-of-all-the-arts-of-fighting/hardcover/product-1e4j2rge.html We also talk about: Kendra's Merfolk research: https://darthkendraresearch.wordpress.com/2021/06/04/lets-go-down-to-the-mermaid-cafe/ Jess' Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jessfinley Talaga's MS3227a research: https://www.patreon.com/posts/what-was-added-58392802 Jen's Beringer dating: https://talhoffer.wordpress.com/2013/07/04/ms-g-b-f-18-a-modus-dimicandi-magistri-h-beringois/

A bonus interview with the self-proclaimed long sword hipster Connor Kemp-Cowell. Connor and I chat about a new translation and interpretation of Vadi that he and Ian M Davis have put out 'Wielding the Light of Mars'. There were some technical difficulties two minutes into the episode. Such a professional outfit... You can follow Connor on his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HipsterLongsword And you can buy the book here https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/philippo-vadi-and-connor-kemp-cowell-and-ian-davis/wielding-the-light-of-mars/hardcover/product-mv6k87.html

Last time around we deliberately left out one of the prominent early Liechtenauer glosses. Too much of a distraction, too weird, and too different. Now we're delving back into the book to correct that oversight with a small mini-series. With this second season we've trimmed things down a bit - rather than a large round panel discussion, the episodes will (try to be) shorter and more focused. No more Liechten-hour jokes, pls :'( This first episode with Michael Chidester and Kendra Brown sets the scene before we delve into the long sword section. We talk about the location and provenance of the source, as well as the not-swords contents in the book. You can find out more about MS3227a and read it in translation on Wiktenauer - https://wiktenauer.com/wiki/Pol_Hausbuch_(MS_3227a) Michael Chidester runs Wiktenauer and the HEMA Bookshelf (which is super cool, check it out - https://www.hemabookshelf.com/ ) Kendra Brown has a neat research blog up at https://darthkendraresearch.wordpress.com/ - chuck it in your bookmarks. The best place to stay up to date with FbtB is https://www.facebook.com/fencingbythebook

A bonus episode from the whole team, discussing Dierk Hagedorn and Christian Tobler's recent work. Dierk deciphered a crossed out section of the 1452 fencing book, which had previously been overlooked. It explains how a certain technique had been used against Hans Talhoffer in front of a Duke, slicing Hans in the hand and hitting him in the head. Not only is this evidence that actual RDL techniques were used in fencing, it also ties RDL to Hans Talhoffer the historical person for the first time.

The conclusion of Season 1. In this episode we answer your questions, look back on the show, and ask where we want to go next. So long and thanks for all the fish! https://www.amazon.com/This-Fencing-Advanced-Performance-Principles-ebook/dp/B07RV4W4R6 https://www.medievalacademy.org/general/custom.asp?page=PandemicWebinar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10f8ihBfCBM https://discord.gg/qstdj6a

This episode continues our discussion on winding, now also with Jess' input. Of course, Jess brings the medieval hunting uses of winden...

In this episode we look at lines 102-109 on winding. Winding is a pretty big deal in Liechtenauer's text, so we spend a while unpacking the word so that it becomes more than magical woo. Wind, turn, coil, spool and twist all get suggested. We discuss how if 'aus winden' is a thing then it's the opposite of how modern HEMAists use it. And we get stuck on the difference between winden and wenden.

In this episode we look at lines 96-101 on hanging and sprechfenster. Mike S also does his best to drag cricket into every conversation like a knock off Andy Zaltzmann. Steve put together a document of all the use cases here. Michael Chidester's Patreon. A cool talk about non-destructive pigment ID in MSs. Textual evidence that sprechfenster and sprechfenster aren't the same thing. Later, alternative understandings of sprechfenster.

In this episode we look at couplet 95 on pressing the hands; - "Dein schneid wende zw flechen druck dÿe hende". Tune in and find out what it actually refers to...

This episode covers Ab schneiden (slicing off/slicing away) in lines 93/94 of the zettel. Unfortunately we had some technical issues recording, so there are a few jarring moments. Sorry for that, but we hope you're still getting your money's worth... 😉

We continue to look at the wrestling at the sword gloss, this time focusing on the 'arm grappling' plays. Why are the glosses so different here? Why don't we see these plays in the modern game? Why were these ones selected and not more seemingly fundamental ones? Have none of these questions answered in this week's episode! (Kendra also talks about a recent article on medieval book edges. You can find it here.)

Recorded back at the end of November, this bonus episode is another look at "Indes", now with Jess' input. Mostly we discuss adjectives vs. adverbs and the spatial vs. temporal use of the word over time. But mostly we just have fun with it. We also look at how the only contemporary translation of the poem deals with it... or doesn't.

In this episode we discuss lines 91-92 on wrestling. Specifically we talk about the first half of the gloss here - hip throws when the hands go high. (Durchlauffen at the Paris HEMA Open, Guillaume Laisney closing so fast he left his gloves behind.) (a hip bump from Ringeck) Have a bunch of links to wrestling clips without any context: https://youtu.be/IHKuZtX9uqo https://youtu.be/xr2A_j72wCQ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbLqoVndGx/?igshid=1usiydrigt7m4 https://youtu.be/hIHawIySaxk https://youtu.be/9HujXWUYRxY

Lines 88-90 of the zettel on Zucken, which can translated as pulling/jerking/tugging/yanking 😘 A pretty straightforward section but where none of our glosses contain all three plays. We also discuss it's applicability to armoured and mounted fencing (our good old tincan and pony.) A page referenced during discussion: Daniel Pope's article on horse gaits and HEMA Steve's current interpretation

Durchwechsel or 'Changing Through' is the term used for a type of disengage in the sources we work in. Lines 86-7.

Absetzen, 'setting aside.' Lines 38-35. What is it and how are we meant to remember which is absetzen, ansetzen, vorsetzen or versetzen? Does it even matter?