THE MARTIAL ARTS OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE Brian R. Price Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2011 APPROVED: Laura Stern, Major Professor Geoffrey Wawro, Committee Member Adrian R. Lewis, Committee Member Robert M. Citino, Committee Member Stephen Forde, Committee Member Richard McCaslin, Chair of the Department of History James D. Meernik, Acting Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Price, Brian R. The Martial Arts of Medieval Europe. Doctor of Philosophy (History), August 2011, 310 pp., 2 tables, 6 illustrations, bibliography, 408 titles. During the late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, fighting books—Fechtbücher— were produced in northern Italy, among the German states, in Burgundy, and on the Iberian peninsula. Long dismissed by fencing historians as “rough and untutored,” and largely unknown to military historians, these enigmatic treatises offer important insights into the cultural realities for all three orders in medieval society: those who fought, those who prayed, and those who labored. The intent of this dissertation is to demonstrate, contrary to the view of fencing historians, that the medieval works were systematic and logical approaches to personal defense rooted in optimizing available technology and regulating the appropriate use of the skills and technology through the lens of chivalric conduct. I argue further that these approaches were principle-based, that they built on Aristotelian conceptions of arte, and that by both contemporary and modern usage, they were martial arts. Finally, I argue that the existence of these martial arts lends important insights into the world-view across the spectrum of Medieval and early Renaissance society, but particularly with the tactical understanding held by professional combatants, the knights and men-at-arms. Three treatises are analyzed in detail. These include the anonymous RA I.33 Latin manuscript in the Royal Armouries at Leeds; the early German treatise attributed to Hanko Döbringer that glosses the great Johannes Liechtenauer; and the collection of surviving treatises by the Friulian master, Fiore dei Liberi. Each is compared in order to highlight common elements of usage that form the principles of the combat arts. Copyright 2011 by Brian R. Price ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Like all endeavors, this dissertation has been made possible through the efforts of many people, whose contributions, large and small, will be felt on every page. Any errors, however, remain the fault of the author. The College of Arts and Sciences and the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies at the University of North Texas graciously provided a Dissertation Scholarship for the 2010-11 academic year, which enabled me to complete the work at a much accelerated pace. To my advisor, Laura Stern, I must extend sincerest appreciation for years of advice, guidance and friendship. To my committee members, Adrian R. Lewis, Geoffrey Wawro, Robert M. Citino and Stephen Forde, go my sincerest appreciation not only for the considerable time and attention generously given to me for this project, but for innumerable insights discovered through their expert guidance. The Department of History has supported my work since I began the graduate program in 2007. Thanks are due especially to Randolph B. Campbell, Regents Professor; Rick McCaslin, Department Chair; Alfred F. Hurley, Guy Chet, Ken Johnson, Aaron W. Navarro, Christopher J. Furhmann, Michael V. Leggiere, Richard G. Lowe, Nancy Stockdale, Olga Velikanova, Keith Mitchener, and Donald Chipman. To Professor Sydney Anglo I owe a special debt of thanks. Finally, immeasurable thanks are due to my family, my wife Ann; children Elizabeth and Edward, for their forbearance and patience. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii Chapters 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 Introduction ..................................................................................................3 Historiography .............................................................................................4 Personal or “Micro” Combat and the Study of Military History .....5 In Sitù ...............................................................................................9 Historians on the Art of Fencing ....................................................13 Counterpoint ..................................................................................19 Recent Historiography of the Fighting Treatises ...........................23 Working Definitions ..................................................................................29 Medieval vs. Renaissance ..............................................................29 Martial Arts, Fighting, and Fencing ...............................................30 Methodology ..............................................................................................39 2. RA MS I.33 AND THE TRADITION OF MARTIAL VERSE: DEFENSE FOR THE GENERALIS WITH SWORD AND BUCKLER ........................................42 Overview ....................................................................................................42 Sword and Buckler .....................................................................................47 The Royal Armouries RA MS I.33 Manuscript .........................................56 Context: Arms and Armour ...........................................................59 Walpurgis and Women in Combat .................................................60 The System.................................................................................................61 Guards ............................................................................................61 Guards in Opposition .....................................................................67 Special Counter-Guards .................................................................68 Using the Guards............................................................................69 Binding ...........................................................................................73 Principles in the Verse ...................................................................75 Kernel Verse ..............................................................................................77 iv Conclusion .................................................................................................80 3. ADVICE FROM A MEDIEVAL MARTIAL ARTS MASTER ...........................82 Overview ....................................................................................................82 The Hausbüch Tradition ............................................................................86 GNM 3227a by Hanko Döbringer .............................................................87 Conclusion ...............................................................................................123 4. THE L’ARTE D’ARMIZARE OF FIORE DEI LIBERI .......................................125 Overview ..................................................................................................125 Historiography .........................................................................................127 Il Magistro Fiore dei Liberi .....................................................................133 Context .....................................................................................................139 Surviving Treatises ..................................................................................144 L’Arte d’Armizare ....................................................................................148 Development of the Arte d’armizare ...........................................149 Presentation and Pedagogy ..........................................................150 Contents .......................................................................................152 Principles..................................................................................................156 Segno ............................................................................................157 Elephant ...........................................................................160 Tiger .................................................................................161 Lion ..................................................................................162 Lynx .................................................................................162 The Man Himself .............................................................163 Principles in the L’Arte d’Armizare .............................................164 Unity of Principle .............................................................165 Principle of Guards (Covertarsi) .....................................168 Principle of Power............................................................169 Imperative Principle of Control .......................................170 Finishing, Following On (Time) and the Principle of Resolving Pressure/Position.............................................173 Follow-on Selection, “Finishing,” Finirsi .......................174 Disarming: Tor la daga, Tor di spade .............................175 v Striking: Colpire and Ferire ............................................176 Binding: Ligare li brazi ...................................................179