Dagger book published

[Jay Vail]

An interpretative manual of medieval and Renaissance dagger techniques is now available from Paladin Press, http://www.paladin-press.com/detail.aspx?ID=1418:

Daggers are mentioned in many modern books about medieval and Renaissance swordplay, but until now none described how daggers were used in combat. Drawing from sources written from 1409–1600 (including the works of Hans Talhoffer, Fiore dei Liberi, Filippo Vadi, Joachim Meyer and more), this book uses step-by-step photos and historic illustrations to demonstrate the deadly and effective techniques of European dagger fighting. Talhoffer and the others were men with real fighting experience, not self-promoted “grand masters” or denizens of the training hall, and they wrote the manuals that form the basis for Medieval and Renaissance Dagger Combat. The dynamics of the knife fight have not changed over the centuries, and the masters’ lessons are as useful against an attacker with today’s tactical folder as they were against the first dagger. 8 1/2 x 11, softcover, photos, illus., 234 pp.

[Aaron Pynenberg]

I picked up Jay's book last week. I think that it will be a great asset to our study group. The material is presented in a clear, precise manner. We will have a ton of stuff to go over, great work Jay- AP

[Shane Smith]

Good work Jay! I will be getting my copy soon enough!

[Jay Vail]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. All comments, even the bad, are welcome.

[Mike Cartier]

congrats Jay, I can't wait to get my hands on the book, will order one this week.

[Craig Peters]

I just placed an order for it this morning. Nice work Jay.

[Keith Culbertson]

Great work Jay! I saw Jaron's copy last week and I really appreciate the compilation of several masters' maneuvers plus more. And, although some medieval illustrations are beautiful, photographs remove all doubt about hand/body/head positions. When I can afford it, I will get it, and as a request to continue this line of production, I would like to see one on poleaxe/spear materials---I would help compile it if permitted!

Keith

[CoreyGray]

I am quite interested in learning dagger fighting as I can carry a knife/dagger with me but not a longsword and, as much as I enjoy my Western heritage, my primary concern is self-defense and combat. It seems like this book would be a good place to start but what else will I need? What other books or materials should I look at acquiriing?

...and the link isn't working for me.

[Jaron Bernstein]

I am quite interested in learning dagger fighting as I can carry a knife/dagger with me but not a longsword and, as much as I enjoy my Western heritage, my primary concern is self-defense and combat. It seems like this book would be a good place to start but what else will I need? What other books or materials should I look at acquiriing?

...and the link isn't working for me.

1. Dr. Forgeng's Meyer translation has a wonderful chapter on dagger/wrestling.
2. Jake Norwood's Meyer dagger study guide
3. Fiori
4. Nicholas Petter
4. Get some fencing masks so you can do full speed freeplay and still keep your eyeballs. Do NOT do any knife work without eye protection.
5. Training rondels or knives. A rolled up small catalog wrapped in duct tape is a good short rondel (is that a contradiction?) simulator.

[Jeffrey Hull]

Jay:

Kudos to you!

I still have yet to read the book in full, so I hope these questions are not too tangential or already-answered, or asking more than you would like to tell, but I am curious:

How long did the book take you to write?

Was any master particularly difficult to translate or interpret?

Did you find any one master most accessible?

Thanks,

[Jay Vail]

Jay:

Kudos to you!

I still have yet to read the book in full, so I hope these questions are not too tangential or already-answered, or asking more than you would like to tell, but I am curious:

How long did the book take you to write?

Was any master particularly difficult to translate or interpret?

Did you find any one master most accessible?

Thanks,

Thanks. The actual writing, that is putting words to paper (or WordPerfect file), took about a month or so. Before that I spent considerable time working on an outline, selecting what techniques to illustrate, planning how to depict them. I don't know how long that took; it was quite a while, though, perhaps about a year. The pictures were taken over three long days.

The research and interpretation took years, about as long as I have been in ARMA, in fact. I didn't do any translations. I relied on the work of others, who are noted in the bibliography.

Of the manuals I relied on, I like Fiore, Talhoffer, Meyer and Silver the most, although every one of them I looked at had something important to say.

[Jeffrey Hull]

The research and interpretation took years, about as long as I have been in ARMA, in fact. I didn't do any translations. I relied on the work of others, who are noted in the bibliography.

Of the manuals I relied on, I like Fiore, Talhoffer, Meyer and Silver the most, although every one of them I looked at had something important to say.

Thanks for amplifying those aspects in your answer to my query -- the time of research and interpretation and the value of all the masters.

[CoreyGray]

1. Dr. Forgeng's Meyer translation has a wonderful chapter on dagger/wrestling.
2. Jake Norwood's Meyer dagger study guide
3. Fiori
4. Nicholas Petter
4. Get some fencing masks so you can do full speed freeplay and still keep your eyeballs. Do NOT do any knife work without eye protection.
5. Training rondels or knives. A rolled up small catalog wrapped in duct tape is a good short rondel (is that a contradiction?) simulator.

Okay... the first four items in that list mean nothing to me. I am a brand-new beginner and I need exact titles and authors please. As well as suggestions on where you get them because when I do a search, I get a few different results and am not sure which is correct.

[Jay Vail]

1. Dr. Forgeng's Meyer translation has a wonderful chapter on dagger/wrestling.
2. Jake Norwood's Meyer dagger study guide
3. Fiori
4. Nicholas Petter
4. Get some fencing masks so you can do full speed freeplay and still keep your eyeballs. Do NOT do any knife work without eye protection.
5. Training rondels or knives. A rolled up small catalog wrapped in duct tape is a good short rondel (is that a contradiction?) simulator.

Okay... the first four items in that list mean nothing to me. I am a brand-new beginner and I need exact titles and authors please. As well as suggestions on where you get them because when I do a search, I get a few different results and am not sure which is correct.

"The Art of Combat," by Joachim Meyer, transl by Jeffrey Forgeng, Greenhill Press. The original book was published in 1570. An excellent source.

Fiore dei Liberi, Flos Duellatorum (1409), available in three separate versions, the Getty, the Novati, and the Pisani-Dossi. An indispensible book for the WM artist.

Nicholas Petter, mid 1600's manual on close combat, chiefly wrestling.

[JeffGentry]

1. Dr. Forgeng's Meyer translation has a wonderful chapter on dagger/wrestling.
2. Jake Norwood's Meyer dagger study guide
3. Fiori
4. Nicholas Petter
4. Get some fencing masks so you can do full speed freeplay and still keep your eyeballs. Do NOT do any knife work without eye protection.
5. Training rondels or knives. A rolled up small catalog wrapped in duct tape is a good short rondel (is that a contradiction?) simulator.

Okay... the first four items in that list mean nothing to me. I am a brand-new beginner and I need exact titles and authors please. As well as suggestions on where you get them because when I do a search, I get a few different results and am not sure which is correct.

Corey

You can see the Longsword portion here http://www.schielhau.org
I would advise getting Dr Forgeng's book it contain's much more of Meyer than you can get on the web this link will get you starte dthough.

Fiori can be found here http://www.varmouries.com/wildrose/fiore/fiore.html

Petter can be found here http://ejmas.com/jwma/articles/2000/jwmaart_steenput_1000.html

There is three of the four to get you started, This is more than enough to keep you busy for awhile.

Jeff