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.
Fiore Furlano de Cividale d'Austria, delli Liberi da Premariacco was a late 14th century knight, diplomat, and itinerant fencing master.
Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword. The formation of the English word "swordsman" is parallel to the Latin word gladiator, a term for the professional fighters who fought against each other and a variety of other foes for the entertainment of spectators in the Roman Empire. The word gladiator itself comes from the Latin word gladius, which is a type of sword.
Johannes Liechtenauer was a German fencing master who had a great level of influence on the German fencing tradition in the 14th century.
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.
Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, specifically designed to be learnt from a book. Many books detailing specific techniques of martial arts are often erroneously called manuals but were written as treatises.
The German school of fencing is a system of combat taught in the Holy Roman Empire during the Late Medieval, German Renaissance, and Early Modern periods. It is described in the contemporary Fechtbücher written at the time. The geographical center of this tradition was in what is now Southern Germany including Augsburg, Frankfurt, and Nuremberg. During the period in which it was taught, it was known as the Kunst des Fechtens, or the "Art of Fighting". The German school of fencing focuses primarily on the use of the two-handed longsword; it also describes the use of many other weapons, including polearms, medieval daggers, messers, and the staff, as well as describing mounted combat and unarmed grappling (ringen).
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.
The Gladiatoria Group is a series of several 15th-century German manuscripts that share the same art style and cover the same material—various types of armored combat. The texts are contemporary with the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, but not directly influenced by it. Gladiatoria is thus one of very few glimpses into the characteristics of a potentially independent German martial tradition.
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.
Joachim Meyer was a self described Freifechter living in the then Free Imperial City of Strasbourg in the 16th century and the author of a fechtbuch Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens first published in 1570.
Association for Renaissance Martial Arts (ARMA) is a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to the study and practice of historical European martial arts of the 15th to 17th centuries.
De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi was written by Italian fencing master Filippo Vadi between 1482 and 1487. It consists of an opening prologue describing the art of fencing followed by colored plates illustrating specific techniques for the longsword, dagger, pollaxe, spear and club. While much of what he describes closely follows the work of Fiore dei Liberi, author of Flos Duellatorum, Vadi's work also differs in some respects, including his footwork and several original techniques of his own.
The Company of Maisters of the Science of Defence was an organisation formed in England during the reign of Henry VIII to regulate the teaching of the Arte of Defence or fencing, using a range of weapons, including the rapier, quarterstaff, and, most notably, the broadsword.
Bolognese Swordsmanship, also sometimes known as the Dardi school, is a tradition within the Italian school of swordsmanship which is based on the surviving fencing treatises published by several 16th century fencing masters of Bologna, As early as the 14th century several fencing masters were living and teaching in the city: a maestro Rosolino in 1338, a maestro Nerio in 1354, and a maestro Francesco in 1385.
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.
Nova Scrimia is an Italian organisation which promotes the teaching of the Italian school of swordsmanship, of stick fencing, of short range fencing (dagger) and of unarmed fencing from the documented period that goes from the 15th century to the 20th century. Nova Scrimia is currently represented in Italy and other European countries, in USA and in Mexico.
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.
Ars Ensis is the largest Hungarian HEMA association. It is a non-profit martial arts organization whose members research and teach mainly medieval and Renaissance historical European martial arts, based on period sources. The instructors of AE have been working on creating this HEMA community since 2003, and Ars Ensis has been operating as a Hungarian incorporated association since 2010.
Laurentius Guild (Laurentiusgildet) is a historical European martial arts group headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark with chapters in Nyborg and Vordingborg. Its membership consists of academic researchers specializing in fencing with a focus on the 14th and 15th centuries.
