Chivalry Bookshelf

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Chivalry Bookshelf was a small press based in the United States founded by Brian R. Price which published booklets and books from 1992 to 2007. It was most notable for its contributions to the Society of Creative Anachronism and the early historical fencing movement and for a dispute about plagiarism and nonpayment of royalties in 2011-12.

Contents

Notable publications

Early Chivalry Bookshelf publications were mostly written or edited by Price and focused on European knightly culture and the SCA. These included Chronique, the Journal of Chivalry and The Book of the Tournament as well as modernized English translations of Ramon Lull's Book of Knighthood & Chivalry and the Ordène de Chevalerie and a reprint of Bengt Thordeman's 1939–1940 two-volume Armour from the Battle of Wisby, 1361 (2001).

From 2001 to 2007, the Chivalry Bookshelf published nineteen books by other authors involved in the growing Western Martial Arts movement.

In 2007, Price published Fiore dei Liberi's Sword in two hands: a full-color training guide for Medieval longsword based on Fiore dei Liberi's Fior di Battaglia , which is also the most recent book published by The Chivalry Bookshelf. [36]

Controversies

In 2009, Dr. Yuri Cowan, a postdoctoral Research Fellow concentrating on "nineteenth-century poetry, historiography, medievalism, and the history of the book" at Ghent University, Belgium, and a member of the William Morris Society, edited the Kelmscott edition of The Ordination of Knighthood for the "Morris Online Edition," a web-based scholarly edition of the works of William Morris published at the University of Iowa Libraries website. [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]

In the Headnote: Introduction, Cowan accused Price of plagiarizing William Morris's translation of the Ordene de chevalerie in Price's 2001 The Chivalry Bookshelf edition: [42]

Whereas the cover of the book and the title page both name the book as "Ramon Lull's Book of Knighthood and Chivalry & the Anonymous Ordene de Chevalerie" without reference to any translators, and the endicia lists "Ramon Lull's Book of Knighthood and Chivalry/Translated by William Caxton/Rendered into modern English by Brian R. Price", the back of the hardcover dustjacket includes a paragraph crediting Morris as the translator of the Ordene de Chevalerie.

But perhaps the most striking instance of the afterlife of this volume is a little book published by The Chivalry Bookshelf in 2001, entitled Ramon Lull's Book of Knighthood and Chivalry and the anonymous Ordene [sic] de Chevalerie ("translated by William Caxton / Rendered into modern English by Brian R. Price"). This book is avowedly a work of enthusiasm by Price, who writes in his introduction that "with the growing convergence between students of chivalric lore, reenactors, Western martial artists, and medievalists – the time seems right to release this new version. I hope it brings much pleasurable contemplation and provokes thought along [sic] what it meant – and what it means – to be a knight" (iii). There is no reason why Price should have included both works together, except that William Morris had once done so in his Kelmscott edition of 1892–3. In fact, a close look at Price's edition reveals that he has stolen Morris' translation verbatim for the entire text of the Ordène, and gives Morris no credit whatsoever. Indeed, he does not mention Morris even once throughout his entire introduction, nor anywhere in the book [5]. Although Morris' work is certainly in the public domain, Price's appropriation of it without attribution is a decidedly unchivalrous piece of plagiarism. And yet this lately pirated edition, too, is an example of the long reach of Morris' influence in unexpected places – as a translator, as a medievalist, and as a shaper of the canon.

[5] In his introduction, Price repeatedly emphasises the "anonymity" of the Ordène. It is possible that, owing to Morris's rather medieval humility in not appending his own authorial name to the translation of the Ordène, Price understood the translation of the Ordène in the Kelmscott volume to be Caxton's – suggesting at least that Morris's medievalising idiom was convincing!

No mention is made of Morris's work on the Lull text, however, and the paperback edition does not mention Morris at all. [43] Further, the two were included together in this enthusiast's volume because they are discussed together in the first chapter of Maurice Keen's foundational work, Chivalry (Yale University Press, 1984), a work that provided the underpinning for many of Price's early works.

In early 2011, seven authors who had published with Chivalry Bookshelf (Dr. Jeffrey Forgeng, Guy Windsor, Dr. Steven Muhlberger, Christian Tobler, Luca Porzio, Gregory Mele and Tom Leoni) stated that royalty payments had been withheld since 2006, editorial fees had not been paid, verbal agreements had not been honoured, Tobler had not been paid his portion of foreign language rights-sales on one of his title, and that a Chivalry Bookshelf affiliated editor and co-author had been over-paid in the production of the Filippo Vadi treatise discussed above. The dispute was settled out of court, with Chivalry Bookshelf releasing all remaining product and copyright to the individual authors. [44] [45]

In February, 2011, Price announced that "there will be no further Bookshelf titles except for my own, and there are only three of these planned, if they ever come out." As of 2023, no books have appeared under the Chivalry Bookshelf imprint since then.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapier</span> Slender, sharply pointed sword

A rapier or espada ropera is a type of sword with a slender and sharply pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chivalry</span> Traditional ideology and code of conduct of knights

Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood, with knights being members of various chivalric orders; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed by chivalrous social codes. The ideals of chivalry were popularized in medieval literature, particularly the literary cycles known as the Matter of France, relating to the legendary companions of Charlemagne and his men-at-arms, the paladins, and the Matter of Britain, informed by Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written in the 1130s, which popularized the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. All of these were taken as historically accurate until the beginnings of modern scholarship in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longsword</span> Sword (two-handed, double-edged)

A longsword is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use, a straight double-edged blade of around 80 to 110 cm, and weighing approximately 1 to 1.5 kg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Armouries Ms. I.33</span>

Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 is the earliest known surviving European fechtbuch, and one of the oldest surviving martial arts manuals dealing with armed combat worldwide. I.33 is also known as the Walpurgis manuscript, after a figure named Walpurgis shown in the last sequence of the manuscript, and "the Tower manuscript" because it was kept in the Tower of London during 1950-1996; also referred to as British Museum No. 14 E iii, No. 20, D. vi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannes Liechtenauer</span>

Johannes Liechtenauer was a German fencing master who had a great level of influence on the German fencing tradition in the 14th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historical European martial arts</span> Martial arts of European origin

Historical European martial arts (HEMA) are martial arts of European origin, particularly using arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sigmund Ringeck</span>

Sigmund Schining ein Ringeck was a German fencing master. While the meaning of the surname "Schining" is uncertain, the suffix "ain Ringeck" may indicate that he came from the Rhineland region of south-western Germany. He is named in the text of his treatise as Schirmaister to one Duke Albrecht, Count Palatine of Rhine and Duke of Bavaria. Other than this, the only thing that can be determined about his life is that his renown as a master was sufficient for Paulus Kal to include him on his memorial to the deceased masters of the Society of Liechtenauer in 1470. Ringeck seems to have authored one of the few complete glosses of the epitome of the grand master Johannes Liechtenauer, making him one of the most important German fencing masters of the 15th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paulus Kal</span>

Paulus Kal was a 15th-century German fencing master. According to his own testimony, he was the student of one Hans Stettner, who was in turn an initiate of the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer. He served as fencing master at three different courts in his career, serving in various military capacities including commanding men in at least three campaigns. Perhaps his most significant legacy is an honor role of deceased masters included in the Bologna and Munich versions of his treatise, which he styled the Society of Liechtenauer. While several of these masters remain unknown, the majority wrote treatises of their own and Kal's list stands as an independent confirmation of their connection to the grand master. Kal's treatise is also interesting in that it represents the first attempt to give pictorial illustrations for parts of Liechtenauer's tradition of fencing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Half-sword</span> Sword technique

Half-sword, in 14th- to 16th-century fencing with longswords, refers to the technique of gripping the central part of the sword blade with the left hand in order to execute more forceful thrusts against armoured and unarmoured opponents. The term is a translation of the original German Halbschwert. The technique was also referred to as mit dem kurzen Schwert, "with the shortened sword" in German.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian school of swordsmanship</span>

The term Italian school of swordsmanship is used to describe the Italian style of fencing and edged-weapon combat from the time of the first extant Italian swordsmanship treatise (1409) to the days of Classical Fencing.

Ott Jud was a 15th-century Austrian martial arts master, specialized on grappling (Ringen).

<i>Bem cavalgar</i>

Bem cavalgar, fully Livro da ensinança de bem cavalgar toda sela, is a book written by Edward of Portugal, left incomplete as Edward died of a plague in 1438. It is one of the oldest remaining manuals of medieval horsemanship and jousting. Together with Leal Conselheiro, the other book written by King Edward, the manuscript is kept at the French National Library, Paris. It is the basis of the curriculum at the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art, one of the Big Four riding academies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claymore</span> Two-handed sword

A claymore is either the Scottish variant of the late medieval two-handed sword or the Scottish variant of the basket-hilted sword. The former is characterised as having a cross hilt of forward-sloping quillons with quatrefoil terminations and was in use from the 15th to 17th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gérard Thibault d'Anvers</span>

GérardThibault of Antwerp was a fencing master and writer of the 1628 rapier manual Academie de l'Espée. Thibault was from the Southern Netherlands which is today Belgium. His manual is one of the most detailed and elaborate extant sources on rapier combat, painstakingly utilizing geometry and logic to defend his unorthodox style of swordsmanship.

The Chicago Swordplay Guild is a modern school of swordsmanship and Western martial arts, and non-profit organization based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It provides organized instruction in the study and practice of historical European swordplay, with a principal focus on the Italian school of swordsmanship and other martial arts of the 14th–17th centuries. Co-founded in 1999 by Gregory Mele and Mark Rector, the Chicago Swordplay Guild seeks to be consistent with the methodology of the ancient European fencing schools by combining scholarship and research into the teachings of the historical Masters, with the practical knowledge gained through solo and partnered drilling and fencing. Since techniques are taught in reference to how effective they would be in a real encounter, the Guild practices with an absolute emphasis on safety, control, competence, and skill at arms.

Brian R. Price is an American university professor, historical fencing instructor, and member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. He taught at Hawai'i Pacific University, until some time before Nov. 11, 2022, when he was not listed among the faculty there. As of Nov. 10, 2022, Price is listed as "an Associate Professor in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College", Air University at Maxwell AFB in Alabama

Italian martial arts include all those unarmed and armed fighting arts popular in Italy between the Bronze age until the 19th century AD. It involved the usage of weapons. Each weapon is the product of a specific historical era. The swords used in Italian martial arts range from the Bronze daggers of the Nuragic times to the gladius of the Roman legionaries to swords which were developed during the renaissance, the baroque era and later. Short blades range from medieval daggers to the liccasapuni Sicilian duelling knife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schola Gladiatoria</span>

Schola Gladiatoria (SG) is a historical European martial arts (HEMA) group based in Ealing, west London, Great Britain, founded in 2001 and led by Matt Easton. It provides organized instruction in the serious study and practice of historical European swordplay. Schola seeks to be consistent with the methodology of the ancient European fencing schools by combining scholarship and research into the teachings of the historical masters, with the practical knowledge gained through solo and partnered drilling, and free play (sparring).

The Ordene de chevalerie is an anonymous Old French poem written around 1220. The story of the poem is a fiction based on historical persons and events in and around the Kingdom of Jerusalem before the Third Crusade. The title translates to Order of Knighthood.

References

  1. Wilson, William E. The Arte of Defence: an introduction to the use of the rapier. Union City, Calif.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2002. Print. Library of Congress. 2002. ISBN   978-1-891448-18-8 . Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  2. "Review of Arte of Defence: An Introduction to the Use of the Rapier, by Richard Mackenzie. Online". Renaissance Magazine. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  3. Porzio, Luca, tr., edited by Gregory Mele. De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi: 15th century swordsmanship of Master Filippo Vadi. Union City, Calif.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2002. Print. Library of Congress. 2002. ISBN   978-1-891448-18-8. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  4. "Review of "Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi: The 15th Century Swordsmanship of Master Filippo Vadi" Luca Porzio and Gregory Mele (eds.), by Holger Berwinkel, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany. December, 2003. Online". De Re Militari. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  5. Holger Berwinkel (March 2004). "Review of Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi: The 15th Century Swordsmanship of Master Filippo Vadi, Luca Porzio and Gregory Mele (eds.)". Medieval History Magazine.
  6. "Review of Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi: The 15th Century Swordsmanship of Master Filippo Vadi, by Ken Mondschein. Online". Renaissance Magazine. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  7. "Review of Ars [sic] Gladiatoria Dimicandi: The 15th Century Swordsmanship of Master Filippo Vadi by Philip Kaveny, Literary Editor. Midwest Book Review Bookwatch. Vol. 2, No. 9. September 2003. Online". Midwest Book Review. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  8. Muhlberger, Steven, tr. Jousts and Tournaments: Charny and the Rules for Chivalric Sport in Fourteenth-Century France. Union City, Calif.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2002. Print. Library of Congress. 2002. ISBN   978-1-891448-28-7 . Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  9. ""Review of Jousts and Tournaments. Charny and the Rules for Chivalric Sport in Fourteenth-Century France by Geoffroi De Charny, Steven Muhlberger", by Andy King, University of Durham. March 2004. Online". De Re Militari. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  10. "Review of Jousts and Tournaments by Geoffroi De Charny, Steven Muhlberger", by Philip Kaveny, Literary Editor. Midwest Book Review Bookwatch. Vol. 2, No. 9. September 2003. Online". Midwest Book Review. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  11. Hand, Stephen. SPADA: An Anthology of Swordsmanship in Memory of Ewart Oakeshott. Union City, Calif.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2002. Print. WorldCat. February 2003. ISBN   978-1-891448-37-9. OCLC   64699776.
  12. ""Review of "Spada: An Anthology of Swordsmanship in Memory of Ewart Oakeshott ", Stephen Hand (ed.), by Michael J. Basista, Western Michigan University. September 2004. Online". De Re Militari. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  13. ""Review of Spada: An Anthology of Swordsmanship in Memory of Ewart Oakeshott", by Philip Kaveny, Literary Editor. Midwest Book Review Bookwatch. Vol. 2, No. 9. September 2003. Online". Midwest Book Review. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  14. "Review of "Spada: An Anthology of Swordsmanship (in memory of Ewart Oakeshott)", by Charles Rammelkamp. Online". Renaissance Magazine. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  15. Forgeng, Jeffrey L. The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship: a facsimile & translation of Europe's oldest personal combat treatise, Royal Armouries MS I.33. Union City, Calif.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2003. Print. Library of Congress. November 2003. ISBN   978-1-891448-43-0 . Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  16. "Review of Jeffrey L. Forgeng, ed. and trans. The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship: A Facsimile & Translation of Europe's Oldest Personal Combat Treatise, Royal Armouries MS. I.33, by Valerie Eads, School of Visual Arts, N.Y.C. September 2009. Online". De Re Militari. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  17. Hand, Stephen and Paul Wagner. Medieval Sword & Shield: the Combat System of Royal Armouries MS I.33. Union City, Calif.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2003. Print. WorldCat. 2003. ISBN   978-1-891448-38-6. OCLC   57319325.
  18. ""Review of "Medieval Sword & Shield: the Combat System of Royal Armouries MS I.33, by Stephen Hand and Paul Wagner, to be reviewed by Amy West., Tufts University. Forthcoming. Online". De Re Militari. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  19. Tobler, Christian Henry. Fighting with the German Longsword. Union City, Calif.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2004. Print. Library of Congress. 2004. ISBN   978-1-891448-24-9. OCLC   56661126 . Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  20. Windsor, Guy. The Swordsman's Companion. Union City, Calif.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2004. Print. Library of Congress. May 2004. ISBN   978-1-891448-41-6. OCLC   56661951 . Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  21. "Review of "The Swordsman's Companion: A Modern Training Manual for Medieval Longsword," by Ken Mondschein. Online". Renaissance Magazine. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  22. Fabris, Salvator and Tomasso Leoni, tr. The Art of Dueling: 17th Century Rapier Combat as Taught by Salvator Fabris. Union City, Calif: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2004. Print. Library of Congress. September 2004. ISBN   978-1-891448-23-2. OCLC   56647734 . Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  23. Hand, Stephen. SPADA 2: An Anthology of Swordsmanship. Highland Village, TX: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2005. Print. WorldCat. December 2005. ISBN   978-1-891448-35-5. OCLC   144563756.
  24. Teaching and Interpreting Historical Swordsmanship. Highland Village, TX: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2005. Print. WorldCat. 2004-12-30. ISBN   978-1-891448-46-1. OCLC   76877421. This anthology also included articles by The Chivalry Bookshelf authors Stephen Hand, Luca Porzio, William E. Wilson and Guy Windsor, as well
  25. Muhlberger, Steven. Deeds of Arms: Formal Combats in the Late Fourteenth Century. Highland Village, TX: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2005. Print. Library of Congress. 2005. ISBN   978-1-891448-44-7 . Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  26. "Review of "Deeds of Arms" by Steven Muhlberger", by Don Kagay, Albany State University. April, 2011. Print and online". The Medieval Review. ISSN 1096-746X. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  27. Preto, Antonio Franco, tr., and Steven Muhlberger, ed. The Royal Book of Jousting, Horsemanship, and Knightly Combat: a Translation into English of King Dom Duarte's 1438 Treatise Livro da Ensinança de Bem cavalgar Toda Sela (The Art of Riding in Every Saddle). Highland Village, TX: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2005. Print. Library of Congress. 2005. ISBN   978-1-891448-34-8 . Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  28. "Review of "The Royal Book of Jousting, Horsemanship, and Knightly Combat: a Translation into English of King Dom Duarte's 1438 Treatise Livro da Ensinança de Bem Cavalgar Toda Sela (The Art of Riding in Every Saddle)," translated by Antonio Franco Preto and edited by Dr. Steven Muhlberger", by Elizabeth Tobey, John H. Daniels Fellow of the National Sporting Library. National Sporting Library Newsletter, No. 85, Fall 2007, p. 9. Print and online" (PDF). The National Sporting Library. ISSN 1096-746X. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  29. Windsor, Guy. The Duellist's Companion: a Training Manual for 17th Century Italian Rapier. Highland Village, TX.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2006. Print. WorldCat. 2006-10-30. ISBN   978-1-891448-32-4. OCLC   162132868.
  30. "Book Review: The Duellist's Companion, by Bill Grandy". Western Martial Arts Illustrated Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 1. Fall 2007. p. 46.
  31. Hand, Stephen. English Swordsmanship: the True Fight of George Silver. Vol. 1, Single Sword. Highland Village, TX.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2006. Print. WorldCat. 2006. ISBN   978-1-891448-27-0. OCLC   122273574.
  32. Lindholm, David. Fighting with the Quarterstaff: a Modern Study of Renaissance Technique. Highland Village, TX.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2006. Print. WorldCat. 2006-06-30. ISBN   978-1-891448-36-2. OCLC   71316330.
  33. Thibault d'Anvers, Gerard and John Michael Greer, tr. Academy of the Sword: wherein is demonstrated by mathematical rules on the foundation of a mysterious circle the theory and practice of the true and heretofore unknown secrets of handling arms on foot and horseback (1628). Highland Village, TX: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2006. Print. Library of Congress. 2006. ISBN   978-1-891448-40-9 . Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  34. Tobler, Christian Henry, tr. In Service of the Duke: the 15th Century Fighting Treatise of Paulus Kal. Highland Village, TX.: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2006. Print. Library of Congress. 2006. ISBN   978-1-891448-25-6 . Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  35. "Book Review: "In Service of the Duke": Paulus Kal's Fechtbuch, by Dr. Jeffrey Forgeng". Western Martial Arts Illustrated Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 1. Fall 2007. p. 47.
  36. Fiore dei Liberi's Sword in two hands: a full-color training guide for Medieval longsword based on Fiore dei Liberi's Fior de Battaglia. Highland Village, TX: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2007. Print. WorldCat. 2007-08-14. ISBN   978-1-891448-13-3. OCLC   188047309.
  37. "Yuri Cowan Research Staff Profile". Universiteit Gent. Archived from the original on October 12, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  38. "Yuri Cowan Research on Authorship as Performance Profile". Universiteit Gent. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  39. "William Morris Society". William Morris Society. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  40. ""The Ordination of Knighthood", translated by William Morris, Ed. by Yuri Cowan, Morris Online Edition, 2009. Online". University of Iowa Libraries. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  41. Cowan, Yuri (2009). "'The Ordination of Knighthood', translated by William Morris". Universiteit Ghent. hdl: 1854/LU-1171769 .
  42. ""Headnote / Introduction": "The Ordination of Knighthood", translated by William Morris, Ed. by Yuri Cowan, Morris Online Edition, 2009. Online". University of Iowa Libraries. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  43. Ramon Lull's Book of Knighthood and Chivalry and the anonymous Ordene de Chevalerie, Brian R. Price (Ed.). The Chivalry Bookshelf, s.l., 2001. ISBN   1-891448-03-X.
  44. ""The Sword in Two Hands by Brian Price" review wan - the Armour Archive".
  45. "Creator-Owned Titles: Chivalry Bookshelf - Author Settlement - the Armour Archive".