Monday, June 27, 2011

Judith & Holofernes as Portrayed by Mantises

From artist Judith G. Klausner. Here is her Queen of Hearts, which I find more esthetically effective.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Duarte Translation Reissued as Self-Published Second Edition

The Art of Riding on Every Saddle: Livro da Ensinança de Bem Cavalgar Toda Sela by Dom Duarte tr. António Franco Preto. Reviewed here, but note that the review is of the first edition. The second, which I have not seen, is longer and contains new content, and changes to the title, as well as what I know of the history of the first edition, suggest that the text may have been significantly revised. It is now published through CreateSpace rather than Chivalry Bookshelf.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Medieval European Martial Arts

This page will focus on European martial arts before 1600.

There were two main traditions in the European martial arts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: German and Italian. While they shared some common elements, they differed enough that I would advise a student to master one or the other tradition well first before attempting to become competent at the other.

At the same time, both schools were trying to solve similar problems and did exchange ideas, so some knowledge of the Italian school might be of value to a student who wishes to master the German, and vice versa

Sites:
AEMMA Primarily study the Italian tradition, as well as I.33, but their online library covers a broader array of resources.
ARMA They have a useful collection of historical manuals. Their interpretation of the historical evidence is often very, very unreliable.
The Chicago Swordplay Guild. Studies the Italian tradition.
Forteza Studies the early masters: I.33, Ms. 3227A (AKA Doebringer) and Fiore
The Higgins Armory Sword Guild German and Italian material, as well as later sources and a speculative attempt to reconstruct Viking combat.
HROARR"This site focuses on different aspects of Historical European Martial Arts." Articles on a wide range of sujects, and manuscripts from the German, Italian and Iberian schools
Die Schlachtschule
This group is dedicated to the study of medieval martial arts. We focus particularly on the teachings of Liechtenauer as interpreted by Döbringer, Ringeck, and von Danzig, and we also rely heavily upon Le Jeu de La Hache and Talhoffer, although material from other sources is very welcome.

Their Web Page
The site and group are very focussed on German sources. They do study Le Jeu de La Hache but none of the Italian school. Many useful links.
Schielhau: another group studying German sources.
The Selohaar Fechtschule. Concentrates on the Liechtenauer tradition of German combat manuals.
Wiktenauer. A very large collection of Historical European Martial Arts resources.

Translations and Interpretations:

German School
The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship: A Facsimile & Translation of Europe's Oldest Personal Combat Treatise, Royal Armouries MS I.33 by Jeffrey Forgeng ca. 1300
Codex Wallerstein: A Medieval Fighting Book from the Fifteenth Century on the Longsword, Falchion, Dagger, and Wrestling by Grzegorz Zabinski with Bartlomiej Walczak Reviewed here. Compilation: oldest portion first third of the 15th c., rest ca. 1470
The Gladiatoria Fechtbuch by Hugh Knight Reviewed here. 1430s-1440s
"Ringeck" (Actually a compilation that ascribes some material to Ringeck,mentioned in the third person, and includes other material from unidentified sources) Plausibly from the 1440s, but could be as late as 1470 and perhaps as early as 1390.
Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship: Sigmund Ringeck's Commentaries on Liechtenauer Translated and interpreted by Christian Henry Tobler* Reviewed here. Available from Freelance Academy Press
Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of the Longsword .
By David Lindholm and Peter Svard Reviewed here
The Ambraser Codex by Master Hans Talhoffer By Hugh Knight (commentary and translation) (Talhoffer 1449)
Medieval Combat: A Fifteenth-Century Illustrated Manual of Swordfighting and Close-Quarter Combat translated and edited by Mark Rector (Talhoffer 1467) Reviewed here
Paulus Kal's In Service of the Duke by Christian Tobler Available from Freelance Academy Press. ca. 1470
In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts by Christian Henry Tobler Reviewed here. (1452-1495)
Master Peter Falkner's Art of Knightly Defense Reviewed here ca. 1495
The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570 by Joachim Meyer, tr. Jeffrey Forgeng. Reviewed here.

General Interpretation of the German School:
Fighting with the German Longsword, by Christian Henry Tobler

Fencing With Spear and Sword: Medieval Armored Combat
Grappling and Dagger Combat in Armor
The Play of the Axe: Medieval Pollaxe Combat
Introduction to Liechtenauer's Longsword
The Last Resort: Unarmored Grappling and Dagger Combat
Medieval Sword & Buckler Combat
The Knightly Art of the Longsword
Die Schlachtschule Fechtbuch

All by Hugh Knight on Lulu


Italian School
Fiore dei Liberi 1409 Wrestling and Dagger by Colin Richards
Fiore de' Liberi's Fior di Battaglia By Tom Leoni
Fiore dei Liberi’s Armizare by Robert Charrett. Reviewed here and here.
Arte Gladitoria Dimicandi: 15th Century Swordsmanship of Master Fillipo Vadi translated by Luca Porzio & Gregory Mele* Reviewed here 1482-1487 Available from Guilt Free Books
The Complete Renaissance Swordsman : Antonio Manciolino’s Opera Nova (1531) tr. Tom Leoni
Fighting with a round shield strapped to the arm, as taught by the Bolognese School. First half of the 1500s.
Opera Nova by Achille Marozzo. Partial translation here As Arte dell’Armi (1536 ) and Opera Nova (1540)
Di Grassi his true Arte of Defence Also partially transcribed here. 1570, English translation 1594

French
Le Jeu de la Hache

English
MS 39564 Just because it's in English doesn't mean you'll be able to understand it. This is written in very specialized technical language, and we no longer have the glossary. 15th c.
Man yt Wol (Harleian MS 3542) Ditto. 15th c.
Paradoxes of Defense (1599) and Brief Instructions Upon My Paradoxes of Defense (after 1595) by George Silver

Iberian
The Art of Riding on Every Saddle: Livro da Ensinança de Bem Cavalgar Toda Sela by Dom Duarte tr. António Franco Preto. Reviewed here, but note that the review is of the first edition. The second, which I have not seen, is longer and contains new content, and changes to the title, as well as what I know of the history of the first edition, suggest that the text may have been significantly revised. It is now published through CreateSpace rather than Chivalry Bookshelf.
Jousting in Medieval and Renaissance Iberia by Noel Fallows. Reviewed here.

Anthology: Various Schools
In the Service of Mars: Proceedings from the Western Martial Arts Workshop 1999–2009, Volume I

*Published by Chivalry Bookshelf. Please read this important information about Chivalry Bookshelf

Posts on this blog on recreating medieval combat. and on armor vs. weapons.

Other Blogs
Armizare & Co.
Hans Talhoffer

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Singing Bird Pistols

A splendid pair of early 19th century automatons. When you pull the trigger of the pistol, a tiny bird, covered with real iridescent feathers, pops out of the barrel to perch there, twisting back and forth while it flaps its wings and sings.

For generations these ingenious devices passed from one wealthy individual to another, who from time to time took them out of their case, wound them up, and heard them sing. Less often, they displayed them to a few friends or acquaintances.

And now Christie's, in their effort to to facilitate a transfer to yet another wealthy individual and profit by that transaction, provide the rest of us with a dazzling video of the amazing mechanisms.

Apparently someone paid $5.8 million to own them. I suspect that this was paid by someone who had an ample surplus beyond essential food and shelter, and so they are happy with the exchange, and why not?

I, on the other hand, paid nothing to hear them sing. And so I am certainly enriched. And so are you.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Oh Brave New World, That Has Such Flamethrower Trombones in It!


It is new to thee.

The logical next step, of course, is the Flaming Brass Marching Band. You could add some flame shooting trumpets and sousaphones:



Yes, you'd have to play with the instruments elevated at about a 45 degree angle when marching in formation. And fire resistant helmets and Nomex greatcoats would be a good idea, but that would just make it more all more awesome.

And goggles. They could wear goggles.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Monday, June 13, 2011

Othon de Grandson vs. Gérard d'Estavayer, 1397

Ordinance of the Gage Of Battle

De la Marche's account of the duel.


And they say that as he (Othon) mounted his horse at his lodgings to come to the day of battle, a lame of his cuirass hindered him, and he quickly had his armorer remove it. Among the others present was a follower of his opponent Sir Gerard Estavayé, who advised his master of the removed lame. Sir Gerard took pains to seek the exposed place and find it with his sword and put it into his stomach.

At the beginning of the battle Sir Othon pierced the thigh of his enemy with a lance stroke. If he had been able to keep it there Sir Gerard would have had the worst of it, but he let the point withdraw.

And in the end, Sir Othon was overthrown and put to a sorry death and a pitiful end.

His enemy lifted the visor of his bascinet and stabbed him in both eyes saying:

“Surrender and recant!” (te desditz)

And the good knight, in spite of his distress, would neither surrender nor recant. As long as he could speak he said:

“I surrender myself to God, and to my lady, St. Anne”

And so he died.

Translation copyright Will McLean, 2011.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Push

"Push" often occurs as a technical term in medieval accounts of combats written in French. What seems to distinguish a "push" from other thrusts is that it's expected to include a lot of momentum transfer, and to knock the target back or down if everything goes right. This would be in contrast to a rapid pool-cue pop.

The combat at Vannes in 1381 seems like a promising starting point, since Froissart describes pushing attacks with the lance, and he agrees with Cabaret d'Orville, the other chronicler of the combat, that there were several knockdowns. Unfortunately, while Froissart and Cabaret agree on the broad outline of the combat, they disagree so thoroughly on the specifics of who was struck where that the core account of the combat that they both agree on tells us little about where exactly the combatants were trying to hit each other.

Here are some other accounts where the blow is specifically described as a push and where blows are said to hit.

Galiot de Baltasin and Phillipe de Ternant Fight on Foot with Lances, 1446
Edge of the bascinet, piercing it.

Galiot de Baltasin and Phillipe de Ternant Fight with Swords, 1446
On the bascinet, piercing it close to the earlier lance hit
Below the left shoulder, piercing and carrying away the gardebras
Top of the head. (Many great bascinets have perforations considerably higher than eye level. A thrust that lodged there could reasonably be described as hitting the top of the head).
Breaking the sword rondel
Piercing the gauntlet

Jacques de Lalaing and Jacques d'Avanchies Fight with Swords, 1450
De la Marche's Account
Chastelain's Account.
Between the left shoulder and the bevor of the armet, twice.
On the left flank

The pattern of hits described seems consistent with:
Aiming for the visor, and sometimes hitting points adjacent, and:
Aiming for gaps between plates, such as between the breastplate and armharness or at the inside of the elbow, and sometimes hitting points adjacent.

Thursday, June 09, 2011

15th c. Deeds of Arms by Consent on Foot with Sword: Edge vs. Point

When 15th c. men-at-arms freely agreed to fight on foot with swords, how often did they choose the edge and how often the point? Often we can't tell because the description of the deed is ambiguous. Also, the sword seems to have been a distinctly less popular choice for these combats than the pollaxe during this period, so examples of sword combats are somewhat limited. Still, we do have some accounts that shed light on the question.

Arms the Seneschal of Hainault Did on his Voyage to Santiago: 1402-1403. The three combats at Bourdeaux, against Alvaro d'Avile and against Rodis de Mendoza all speak of pushes of the sword, attacks with the point rather than the edge.

Continge vs. de Bars (1415) . Striking with point and edge of the sword.

Galiot de Baltasin and Phillipe de Ternant Fight with Swords, 1446 Attacks only with the point.

How Sir Jacques de Lalaing did arms in Scotland, 1449. According to Chastellain’s account, in the course of his combat Jacques drew his sword, which was an slim estoc designed only for thrusting.

Jacques de Lalaing and Jacques d'Avanchies Fight with Swords, 1450
De la Marche's Account
Chastelain's Account.
Thrusting only.

So the evidence of these accounts is that the edge was sometimes used, but thrusting was far more common.

For My Readers Who Are Interested in Creative Anachronism


Knight on a Dinosaur by ~WillMcLean on deviantART

Sunday, June 05, 2011

More Saturn

5.6k Saturn Cassini Photographic Animation from stephen v2 on Vimeo.


Along with a team of effect artists, Van Vuuren has pieced together thousands of stills taken from the Cassini spacecraft during its flyby of Saturn, animating the four-year journey around the ringed planet with incredible effect.

More here.

Peer Review with SWoRD

SWoRD is a site that not only facilitates peer review, it allows for student grades to actually be determined by their classmates' reviews.


More here.

Shaving Viking


Shaving Viking by ~WillMcLean on deviantART

Saturday, June 04, 2011

Glurge

The word was invented by Patricia Chapin, a member of the urban legends discussion mailing list run in conjunction with this site. At a loss for words to describe the retching sensation this then-unnamed category of stories subjected her to, she fashioned a word that simultaneously named the genre and described its effect.

Glurge (a term which can be used to describe one story or applied to the genre as a whole) is the body of inspirational tales which conceal much darker meanings than the uplifting moral lessons they purport to offer, and which undermine their messages by fabricating and distorting historical fact in the guise of offering "true stories." Glurge often contains such heart-tugging elements as sad-eyed puppies, sweet-faced children, angels, dying mothers, or miraculous rescues brought about by prayer.


From Snopes.com. Until today, I did not know there was a word for this. This is good to know.

Bascinet-Faced Pig


Bascinet-Faced Pig by ~WillMcLean on deviantART

Friday, June 03, 2011

R/C Planes with First Person Video


Raphael Pirker used to fly traditional remote-controlled airplanes, but he can’t remember now what the thrill of it was. He no longer settles for watching model aircraft fly around over his head and thinking how much fun it would be to be up there soaring among the birds.

Now Pirker flies FPV, or First Person Video, using electronic goggles to watch video streaming in real time from a camera mounted on the airplane. In effect, it’s like being in the cockpit. His airplane, a flying-wing-style Zephyr with a 54-inch wingspan, is light and fast, with a top speed of 90 mph—ideal for feeding his addiction to high-speed aerobatics.


Pilot Cam

Banned Weapons of the SCA: the Carthaginian War Elephant


Elephant by ~WillMcLean on deviantART

Cassini Mission

CASSINI MISSION from cabbas on Vimeo.


Sequential still photos from Cassini edited into a breathtaking short film by Chris Abbas.

More on the video here.

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Fighting on Foot in the Lists With Spear or Lance

This happened fairly often. There were three main ways this could occur.

1. Thrusting or pushing, lance against lance. The push was a high impact attack, often delivered at a good pace, that could knock a man to the ground. Typically, the lance fight was part of a sequence of combats with different weapons. Examples:
Vannes, 1381
Challenge by Michel D'Orris 1400
Galiot de Baltasin and Phillipe de Ternant Fight on Foot with Lances, 1446
Ayre, Picardy 1494
Challenge of Lady May, Greenwich 1506
Paris 1515 Challenge by the Dauphin in honor of the marriage of the French King “First six foins with hand spears, and after that eight strokes to the most advantage if the spears so long held, and after that twelve strokes with sword” also casting spear and target followed with two-handed sword
Noseroy 1519 “two against two, with strokes of the lance, turning the large end of the said lance; and afterwards they were to fight with sword in one hand, as long as my lords the judges ordered them to.” The next day of combat “each one threw a stroke of the partisan and afterwards they fought with the two handed sword as long as it pleased my lords the judges.” Combat with axes at the barriers was originally planned but apparently not actually fought.

2. Both parties were expected to throw their lances at their opponent, and then continue the fight with other weapons:
Victory of Seven French against Seven English in a Private Combat 1402
D’Ollumen vs. de la Haye 1415
Alvaro Continge vs. Clugnet de Brabant 1415
Maillotin de Bours vs. Hector de Flavy, 1431
A Combat between Sir John de Mello and the Lord de Chargny, 1435
Merlé vs de Chargny 1435
Habourdin vs. de Bearn ca. 1449
Greenwich May 1510 Casting spear and target followed by twelve strokes with a two handed sword
Paris 1515 Challenge by the Dauphin in honor of the marriage of the French King “First six foins with hand spears, and after that eight strokes to the most advantage if the spears so long held, and after that twelve strokes with sword” also casting spear and target followed with two-handed sword
Noseroy 1519 “two against two, with strokes of the lance, turning the large end of the said lance; and afterwards they were to fight with sword in one hand, as long as my lords the judges ordered them to.” The next day of combat “each one threw a stroke of the partisan and afterwards they fought with the two handed sword as long as it pleased my lords the judges.” Combat with axes at the barriers was originally planned but apparently not actually fought.

3. Both parties enter the field each armed with a lance and other weapons to use as they see fit. They can throw the lance or keep it to push and thrust with as long as they can. This was much more common in judicial duels than combats by consent. This scenario was often discussed in German fighting manuals.
Combat between Sir John Anneslie and Thomas Katrington, squire, 1380
How Sir Jacques de Lalaing did arms in Scotland; and of many other particulars in the house of Burgundy. (1449)

Baaa


Animated mutating sheep.

Hoisted from the comments:
children wept, women screamed, and grown men fainted.

It's like I said. Animated. Mutating. Sheep. Don't say you weren't warned.