Lesser Manuscripts?

[Jesse Mott]

Are there any manuscripts that teach on the fighting axe, flail or double wielding of the messer? Most seem to focus on longsword and buckler.

[Zach Palfreyman]

I was also curious about the axe. I think I saw poleax among the different proficiencies you could earn, so I was wondering what exactly would define a poleax and if there was anything on smaller axes (smaller than a poleax, I mean).

[Brian Hunt]

Ummm,

There are manuals on the poleaxe, the halberd, the bill, dusack, dagger, ringen, spear, staff (both long and short), sword and buckler, longsword, great sword, arming sword, 2-handed flail, boar-spear (a few brief plates in Mair), scythe, sickle, mounted combat (with sword, spear, lance), cut and thrust swords, rapier, small sword, backsword, navaja, 2-handed duelling sheild (with sword, club and mace), armoured combat (both foot and horse), etc.

If you are talking a small single handed axe, that may be used with a shield, then I don't know of one. However, IMHO, most of your basic cuts that you would do with a arming sword, would be done with a single handed axe. You would have to adjust for a difference in mass and reach, but your foot work would remain the same.

hope this helps some.

Brian Hunt
GFS.

[Andrew Kesterson]

As far as the poleaxe goes, check out Le Jeu de la Hache. 15th century, fully translated (no pictures).

[Casper Bradak]

They are specialized versions of foundational weaponry. Learn your foundational weaponry, and you should have no problem with specialized weaponry, and their nuances should come to you quickly enough.

[Jeffrey Hull]

Well, Talhoffer 1459 & 1467 both show meesser stuff.

Duerer has a nice section for Messer.

Andreas has a comparitve text daling with Messer and Langenschwert.

JH

[Jake_Norwood]

However the "double wielding of the messer," by which I assume you mean two messers at once, does not exist in any manual that I am aware of--nor do I think it to be a functional combination.

Jake