What are German Medieval Martial Arts
From Fechtbuch Project
German Medieval Martial Arts is the the tag line that Ars Gladii uses to describe what it is that we practice. In a sense, it is synonymous with other such descriptive terms such as:
- Western Martial Arts (WMA)
- Kunst des Fechtens
- Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA)
- Historical Fencing
So why don't we use any of those? All four of these terms in one way or another describes what Ars Gladii does to one degree or another. Why a new term? Basically, it comes down to accessibility and proximity. The term "German Medieval Martial Arts" is fairly easily understood by the layman and - more importantly - new students. While "Kunst des Fechtens" is a period term and rather exacting in its definition, the average person has no idea what it means. And while "Historical European Martial Arts" is an accessible term, it is not terrible precise in its definition. Various disciplines such as Glima, navaja, Fiore's sword in one hand, and English longbow all could fall under the umbrella of HEMA. Therefore, the term "German Medieval Martial Arts" is used to be both accessible and definitive in describing what it is that we practice.
So it is now known why we are using the term. What exactly does "German Medieval Martial Arts" entail?
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German
Ars Gladii works almost exclusively with sources that originated in the lands commonly known today as Germany. For the period that we are referring to, however, the term German is somewhat anachronistic. The idea of a unified German state did not exist in the 14th-15th centuries. Germany at that time was a collection of principalities and territories under the auspices of the Holy Roman Empire. By the word "German" we are referring more to a shared language and cultural heritage than a political or geographical distinction.
To be more precise, we really should replace the word German with a name - Liechtenauer. Johannes Liechtenauer was a fencing master from 14th century Bavaria that started a fencing tradition that lasted for some 250 years. He was the first fencing master from the German region that we have record of his teachings in the vernacular (one earlier text exists from the region that is written in Latin - see Tower Manuscript I.33) - though we do not have a copy of his teachings firsthand. All of Liechtenauer's teachings come to us second hand through the commentaries of his various students. See Liechtenauer's page for more information on him.
Like "Kunst des Fectens", Liechtenauer is a name familiar only to the initiated and is not well suited as a general description. Also, Liechtenauer's tradition is not the only tradition to come out of Germany in the medieval period. The aforementioned Tower Manuscript I.33 pre-dates Liechtenauer's writings by 50-90 years (the exact date of both I.33 and Liechtenauer's verses is currently unknown). There are also numerous other manuals that do not have a direct connection to Liechtenauer that come from the German region. While Ars Gladii's primary focus is the Liechtenauer tradition, we do also utilize other German manuals in our interpretations.
Medieval
The term "Medieval", like any other catch-all phrase to describe a period in history, is a fairly loaded descriptor. The exact timing of the "Medieval" period changes both between the region of Europe in reference and the scholar who is doing the referring. For Ars Gladii's purposes, we are using the term "Medieval" to separate the texts and masters consulted from the later "Renaissance" masters. There is a difference, in places subtle and in others marked, between the character of the art as practiced in the 14th-15th century and that practiced in the 16th-17th century. This primarily applies to the major weapon of the school, the longsword. We feel the earlier material is more "martial" in flavor than the later material which is slightly more "sportive" in nature. Therefore, our primary focus is on the earlier material, especially where the longsword is concerned. In this regard, we use the term "Medieval" as a general temporal descriptor, evoking a general sense of the period in question.
Martial
The arts Ars Gladii practices are martial in nature - they were and are meant for war, be that war personal or national. While we pursue these arts for the enjoyment gained therein, the original purpose of these arts was for overcoming one's opponents through the use of extreme, though still artful, violence. We practice these arts with the serious intent in which they were originally pursued, even though we will probably never have cause to use them in this sense. We are not out to play tag with swords, nor to re-create history in detail, nor to assume the persona of a historical character. We are here to learn the artful application of extreme violence. And have a beer afterwards with those we practice with!
Arts
The system that Liechtenauer and others have left for us is an art. It is not a science - it holds no hard and fast rules, nor any pre-determined outcomes. It is fluid and living, dynamic and varied. Most importantly, it is something to be internalized, to be lived. One does not internalize a science, but one can embody art.
The Oriental cultures are not the sole creators of martial systems. Any time people express violence on each other, a martial system can be born to help others survive. Therefore, the "martial arts" are not the exclusive property of the East, but of fighting men (and women) everywhere. Nor are the martial arts a static entity; they change as all human understanding changes. The Medieval arts as left to us through the manuals of the period may be "dead" in the sense that the environment there were designed to operate in is no longer, but there are still those people who long to understand and practice them. Ars Gladii is but one of these groups. If what you read here inspires you, please stop by and see these arts firsthand. If you are not in our area, check the group links section to find a group in your area.
