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Had
Meister Talhoffer meant the unarmoured longsword plates of his last
fight-book to show the savvy learner both unarmoured fighting and armoured
fighting? |
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It is possible that
Talhoffer’s longsword plates (tafeln)
are showing us both kinds of fighting.
Unfortunately he does not tell us one way or the other. His unarmoured longsword fighters are
ostensibly practicing unarmoured fighting – yet demonstrably, they are
practicing both unarmoured fighting and armoured fighting. This is realised if we consider how the
portrayed moves relate to the variety of combat techniques as dependant upon
whether a Medieval combatant fought either unarmoured or armoured. If so, then we find the longsword plates
dealt and grouped ordinally and equally into thirty-six for unarmoured and thirty-six
for armoured.
It seems that there are
seventy-two plates (#01-#67 & #74-#78) delineated for longsword (Langes Schwert) from the fight-book of
1467 AD by Hans Talhoffer which consist of half (#01-#36) meant for
unarmoured fighting (bloßfechten) and half (#37-#67 & #74-#78)
meant for armoured fighting (harnischfechten). This sequence of longsword plates is
interposed by six plates (#68-#73) dealing with a grudge-match between two
knights in full plate-armour (rüstung) who also wield longswords.
Incidentally, all men portrayed in the range of plates from #01-#78 are fighting afoot.
Firstly, we should consider
the weaponry shown in the plates delineated for longsword. The fighters seem to wield Oakeshott-type
XVa, XVIa or XVIIIa longswords. Such
were a basic selection of differing yet coeval types for middle to late 15th
CentAD throughout
Secondly, we should
consider the garments shown in the plates delineated for longsword. The fighters are outfitted in some sort of
close-fitting fight-clothing, tailored for the whole body and paneled,
gusseted or padded. If these were
undergarments for rüstung, then
such would have served to absorb shock beneath the custom-fit tempered steel
plating which covered a knight’s whole body – in other words,
arming-clothes. However it be, this clothing must have served as sweat-suits, for we
can plainly see the fighters practicing thusly garbed. Such male costume was common enough
throughout much of
Thirdly, we should consider
the relevant techniques portrayed and described by the master. As shall be explained, some are fit for
doing certain things better than others.
Hence, some tend to be used more for unarmoured and some more for
armoured. These techniques are as
follows:
Hewing –
this is cleaving with the edge.
Talhoffer calls various techniques done by this method:
schlachen; schlag; haw;
how; hout; krump; gayszlen
Hewing – from plate #01.
Oberhow.
– Vnderhow.
Overhew.
– Underhew.
Thrusting – this is piercing
with the point or ramming with the pommel.
Talhoffer calls various techniques done by this method:
ortt; stich; hefften; stos; stossen [different
from hinweg stossen or shoving]
Thrusting – from plate
#04.
Das
lang Zorn ortt. – Darfür ist das geschrenckt ortt.
The
long wrath-point. – Therefor is the set-point.
Slashing – this is raking with
the edge.
Talhoffer calls various techniques done by this method:
schnit; fahen [!]
Slashing – from plate #21.
Der
gryfft nach der vnderen blosz. – Der schnit von oben daryn.
He
attacks at the lower openings. – He slashes from above therein.
Half-swording – This is when one
hand grips the hilt and the other hand grips the blade.
Talhoffer calls various techniques done by this method:
brentshiren; gewauppet ort; kurtzen Schwert
Morte-striking – This is when both
hands grip the blade to smite with the pommel or crossguard.
Talhoffer calls various techniques done by this method:
mortschlag; mordstreich; tunrschlag
Half-swording against
Morte-striking – from plate #37 (2nd pair).
Vsz
dem Tunrschlag Ain werffen. – Vsz dem Tunrschlag ain Ryszen.
Out
of the thunder-strike throwing. – Out of the thunderstrike wrenching.
Lastly, we should consider
the differences between unarmoured and armoured fighting of that time. However, it is acknowledged that much
similarity unavoidably exists as we are talking about the same weapon – the
European longsword of 15th CentAD.
Yet the distinctions are clear and should be of general agreement
among those who practice historically realistic European swordfighting which
is based upon the German fight-books (fechtbücher) or upon the Italian manuals. What follows is substantiated by perusing
such fight-books as Liechtenauer (1389 via Doebringer and 1440 via Ringeck),
Liberi (1410), Gladiatoria
(1430-1444), Lignitzer (1452 via Danzig), Hundfeld (1452 via Danzig &
1491 via Speyer), Talhoffer (1467), Wallerstein
(1470), Vadi (1482), Lew (1491 via Speyer), Goliath (1510), Czynner (1538) and Mair (1550):
* Hewing and slashing are most wieldy for unarmoured*
The blade of a longsword wielded by hew or slash
is effective against the unarmoured foe, or by hew for breaching the leather
or maille-armoured foe – yet neither does well against the plate-armoured
foe. Against such the hew may batter
yet probably shall not breach. And the
slash is next to worthless. Against
plate-armour such strikes shall most likely simply bounce, glance or
slide. Hewing must have proven
frighteningly destructive against the unarmoured foe, or for that matter, the
maille-armoured foe – as everything from battlefield archaeology to modern
test-cutting on deer carcass shows – yet it just was not the thing for
hurting the plate-armoured foe.
* Half-swording and morte-striking are best for armoured*
An unarmoured fighter can do both as needed,
either against an unarmoured foe or especially against a plate-armoured
foe. A longsword wielded by
half-swording lets the fighter strongly set aside a foe’s strike and allows
accuracy and power for thrusting, especially for seeking the gaps of plate-armour. If wielded to morte-strike, it makes for a
fearsome attack against a foe whether unarmoured or armoured. With the pommel it allows battering of
plate-armour; and with the crossguard, it allows piercing of its gaps or
perhaps the armour itself, and hooking and wrenching of both his armour and
the foe himself. The equally
plate-armoured fighter and foe would surely do both half-swording and
morte-striking against each other.
* Thrusting is ubiquitous to
both armoured and unarmoured*
The point of a longsword wielded this way has overall efficacy, utilised
to smite the unarmoured foe almost anywhere and to smite the armoured foe by
breaching the gaps of his plate-armour.
Thrusts can be driven with hands upon hilt or by half-swording.
* Arms crossed or apart works for unarmoured * yet * Arms apart works for armoured *
When warding or attacking
with the longsword, a man in fight-clothing can work easily with techniques
that either make his arms cross or keep them apart – however, the man in
plate-armour really must tend to keep his arms apart when warding or
attacking, for his steely shell hinders or prevents such with arms crossed (geschrenckt). One may note that the knights in rüstung keep their arms apart in their
fight.
Now, with all this in mind,
a simple analysis of Talhoffer’s captions and pictures finds marked
difference between what prove to be two distinct halves of Talhoffer’s
longsword plates:
|
Plates 01-36 |
Hew |
Thrust |
Slash |
Half-swording |
Morte-strike |
Arms crossed |
Arms apart |
|
Portrayed |
22 |
16 |
02 |
04 |
01 |
10 |
62 |
|
Described |
15 |
14 |
02 |
04 |
02 |
03 |
0 |
|
Plates 37-67 & 74-78 |
Hew |
Thrust |
Slash |
Half-swording |
Morte-strike |
Arms crossed |
Arms apart |
|
Portrayed |
0 |
11 |
0 |
24 |
09 |
0 |
78 |
|
Described |
0 |
10 |
0 |
07 |
06 |
0 |
0 |
So the distinction seems
rather clear. The first half has lots
of hewing and a bit of slashing, whereas the second half has neither
thereof. The first half has little of
half-swording and morte-strikes, whereas the second half has lots of each comparatively. Each half has decent if differing
amounts of thrusting. The first half
portrays a noticeable amount of arms-crossed yet mostly arms-apart, whereas
the second half only portrays arms-apart.
Hence Talhoffer’s fight-clothing-bedecked longswordsmen portray a
definite unarmoured first half and a definite armoured second half for their
totality of longsword fighting techniques.
None of this should be any surprise if we simply realise that it would
be utilitarian, efficient, and couth for the students of a fight-school to
practice differing sets of contextually dependant moves for a given weapon
just as they would practice differing weaponry.
Furthermore, besides the foregoing technical and statistical evidence,
it seems there is also numerological evidence. Talhoffer’s #73 rüstung plate portrays the exact same
struggle of weaponed-point (gewauppet ort) against morte-strike (Mordtschlag), as found in the second pair within his #37 langes schwert plate of weaponed-point
(unnamed) against thunder-stroke (Tunrschlag)
– but with differing outcomes. In the rüstung, weaponed-point-man forsets (versetzen or versatzung) morte-man’s attack and finishes by shoving him away (hinweg stossen) – whereas in the langes schwert, thunder-man wrenches (Ryszen) weaponed-point-man’s attack
and finishes with thrust of pommel (stos)
to face. Thus the rüstung plates end with similar struggle as the beginning of the harnisch half of the langes schwert plates. If this was done wittingly by the arcanity
of Medieval numerology, then perhaps it is indicated by how
switching the digits of “37” makes “73” and
vice-versa. Such thinking may explain
the odd placement of the six rüstung
plates within the seventy-two langes
schwert plates between #67 & #74 rather than between #36 & #37 –
that is, between the end of the bloß and
the beginning of the harnisch. Indeed, the knights
struggle within a battle-yard (schranken)
which is fenced hexagonally, thus reinforcing the idea of the factor of “6”,
which if squared arrives at “36” – a familiar number as already witnessed.
The same Half-swording
versus Morte-striking – from plate #73.
Usz
der versatzung hinweg stossen. – Der haut den straich volbracht.
Out
of forsetting shoving away. – He has fully brought the strike.
Lastly, Talhoffer’s
1459 version contains a plate (87 recto)
portraying a combatant in full plate-armour versus one in
fight-clothing. This plate is set in
the fight-book such that it bridges its own sections of rüstung and langes schwert
– that is, betwixt fighters portraying harnisch
and bloß. Indeed, these combatants are portrayed
within a battle-yard doing half-swording versus morte-strike. The similarity is interesting to consider vis-à-vis Talhoffer’s last edition.
Guess what happens here –
from 87 recto of the 1459.
Das anlouffen nach dem
schutz.
The ready-stance after the
spear-hurling.
One final
thought: Since Talhoffer’s readership
were likely the knights and soldiers of his lord, Herr Leutold von Königsegg,
it makes sense that such men would have need to know the variance
distinguishing bloß from harnisch – thus the emphasis of
technique befitting different combat.
Conclusion: The longsword plates found in Hans
Talhoffer’s fight-book of 1467 AD are dealt into two equal halves which show
the typical and marked differences between armoured fighting and unarmoured
fighting of 15th CentAD European swordsmanship.
*****
Primary Sources:
Cod.icon. 394a Handschrift; Hans Talhoffer (auth); Schwaben; 1467; Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek; München
Fechtbuch
aus dem Jahre 1467;
Hans Talhoffer (auth); 1467; Michael Rasmusson (transcr & transl); 2004;
Schielhau Web-Site; <http://www.schielhau.org/tal.html>
Medieval Combat; Mark Rector
(transl & interp); Hans
Talhoffer (auth); Bayern; 1467; Greenhill Books; London; 2000
Meister Hans Thalhofer: Alte Armatur und Ringkunst; Hans Talhoffer
(auth); Thott 290 2º; Bayern; 1459;
; <www.kb.dk/kb/dept/nbo/ha/index-en.htm>
Talhoffers Fechtbuch aus dem
Jahre 1467; Hans Talhoffer
(auth); Schwaben; 1467; Gustav Hergsell (transcr & transl); Prague; 1887;
Forschungs und
Landesbibliothek Gotha Buch 4° 113/2
Talhoffers Fechtbuch aus dem
Jahre 1467; Hans Talhoffer
(auth); 1467; Mark Rector (transcr & transl); 1999; ARMA Web-Site;
<http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/talhoffer.htm>
Secondary Sources:
Altenn Fechter anfengliche Kunst; Christian Egenolph (auth); Alexander
Kiermaier (transcr); Franckfurt am Meyn; 1529; Die Freifechter Webseite; 2001; <www.freifechter.org>
Armour from the Battle of Wisby; Bengt Thordeman (auth); Brian Price (intro);
Chivalry Bookshelf; Highland Village; 2001
Blood Red Roses: The Archaeology of a Mass Grave
from the
Brief Introduction to Armoured Longsword Combat; Matt Anderson (auth); Shane Smith (auth); ARMA
Web-Site; 2004; <www.thearma.org/essays/armoredlongsword.html>
Codex
Wallerstein; Gregorz
Zabinski (transcr & transl); Bartlomiej Walczak (transl & interp);
Paladin Press; Boulder; 2002 (from 1470)
Flos
Duellatorum; Fiore dei
Liberi (auth); Hermes
Michelini (transl); Italy; 1410; Knights of the Wild Rose; Calgary; 2001;
<www.varmouries.com/wildrose/fiore/fiore.html>
Gotha Buch
4° 113/2 Handschrift; Hans Talhoffer (auth);
1467; Forschungs und Landesbibliothek
Gotha
History
of Art; HW Janson;
Prentice-Hall & Abrams;
Kurzen Schwert; Martin Hundfeld
(auth); from Codex Speyer (Handschrift
M I 29 or Fechtbuch);
Hans von Speyer (edit & comp); Beatrix Koll (transcr); (transcript
thereof & formerly also facsimile); Almania; 1491; Universitätsbibliothek Salzburg;
2002; <www.ubs.sbg.ac.at/sosa/webseite/fechtbuch.htm>
Kurzes Schwert; Andre Lignitzer (auth); Kurzes Schwert; Martein Hundtfeltz
(auth); both from Danzig Fechtbuch; Peter von Danzig (auth & edit); Monika Maziarz (transcr); Preuszen; 1452; ARMA-Poland Web-Site; 2004; <www.arma.lh.pl/index.html>
Liber
Chronicarum; Schedel; Wolgemut; Pleyenwurff; Alt;
Koberger; Füssel; Nürnberg; 1493; bound uncoluored Latin edition; Wilson
Collection; Multnomah County Library
Liber de Arte Gladiatoria
Dimicandi ; Filipo Vadi (auth); Urbino; 1482; Luca
Porzio (transl); ARMA Web-Site; 2002;
<http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/Vadi.htm>
Medieval Meat Cutters; James Knowles (prod-direct); ARMA-Ogden Web-Site;
Quicktime-video; Utah; 2004;
<http://www.arma-ogden.org/content/view/11/2/>
Records of the Medieval Sword; Ewart Oakeshott (auth & illus); Boydell Press;
Ritterlich Kunst; Sigmund Ringeck (auth); Johannes Liechtenauer (auth); Stefan Dieke (transcr); Mscr. Drsd. C 487; Bayern; 1389
& 1440; Sächsische Landesbibliothek-Dresden; Die Freifechter Webseite; 2001; <www.freifechter.org>
Sigmund
Ringeck’s Knightly Art of the Longsword; David Lindholm (transl & interp); Peter Svärd (illus); Johnsson & Strid (contr); Sigmund
Ringeck (auth); Johannes Liechtenauer (auth); Paladin Press; Boulder; 2003
(from 1389 & 1440)
The
Tailoring of the Grande Assiette; Tasha Kelly McGann (auth); La Cotte Simple Web-Site; 2004;
<www.cottesimple.com/blois_and_sleeves/grande_assiette/grande_assiette_overview.htm>
The Wars of the Roses;
Terrence Wise (auth); Gerry Embleton (illus); Osprey; Oxford; 2000
*****
Acknowledgements:
My thanks to Matt Anderson,
About the Author:
Jeffrey Hull holds a BA in Humanities and has been training with ARMA
in European fighting arts for almost five years now. Previously he
studied in Asian martial arts.
Copyright 2005
by Jeffrey Hull
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