History UsefulNotes / HistoricalEuropeanMartialArts

* LongTitle: The manuals were written back when you had to advertise everything in the book on the title page. Therefore, you got examples such as:
** Thibault's ''Académie de l'epee, ou se démontrent par reigles mathématique, sur le fondement d'un cercle mysterieux, la theorie et pratique des vrais et jusqu'a present incognus secrets du maniement des armes, a pied et a cheval.'' ''(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 on horseback.)''
** Saviolo's ''His Practice, in Two Books: the First Entreating the Use of the Rapier and Dagger, the Second of Honor and Honorable Quarrels.''
** Joachim Meyer's ''Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen unnd Adelichen kunst des fechtens in allerley gebreuchlichen Wehren mit schȯnen und nůtzlichen Figuren gezieret unnd fůrgestellet'', which means ''A Thorough Description of the Free, Chivalric, and Noble Art of Fencing, Showing Various Customary Defenses, Affected and Put Forth with Many Handsome and Useful Drawings''
** George Silver's ''Paradoxes of defence, wherein is proved the true grounds of fight to be in the short auncient weapons, and the short sword hath the advantage of the long sword or long rapier, and the weakness and imperfection of the rapier fight displayed.''
** Practically every book by Johann Georg Pascha, for example ''Kurze Unterrichtung belangend die pique die Fahne, den Jägerstock, Das Voltesiren, das Ringen, das Fechten auf den Stoss und Hieb, und endlich das Trincieren verferrigts'' ''(Brief Information About the Pike, the Flag, the Half-Pike, the Vaulting Horse, the Grapple, the Fence of Thrust and Blow, and Finally [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the Carving Knife]])''

For all the glamour of swords, giving every man a BladeOnAStick and relentlessly drilling some basic moves and maneuvers into them is the quickest way to turn a bunch of volunteers or conscripts into an army. Staff weapons weren't disdained by the professionals either, and many manuals deem it necessary to expound upon their proper use. The technique of the pollaxe, for instance, is of equal or nearly equal sophistication compared to the sword. Ash was usually the favored wood for the shaft, since it is both strong and springy, but other hardwoods were used as well. Dedicated thrusting staff weapons tended to have shafts with a round cross section, while those for chopping or hammering tended to have a square or octagonal cross section to help the wielder keep the edge aligned properly. Contrary to popular belief, a hardwood shaft can block repeated hits from an edged weapon without being chopped in two. This does tend to wear it down over time, however, and some polearms address this by having tongues or straps of metal called langets that run some distance down from the weapon's head. Langets may have also helped to prevent the head from breaking off. Here are some of the ones that appear in fencing manuals:

Fencing masters recommended rapiers with long blades, offering various and sometimes contradictory rules of thumb for your ideal blade length: a) as long as the distance between your left shoulder and the fingertips of your right hand held straight out, (b) the distance between the ground and your navel when standing up straight, and (c) the distance between the ground and your armpit when standing straight up, if you were one to put your faith in reach. The advantages of length are significant. One is that it gives you more reach than your opponent, which gives you the advantage in measure: he needs to get closer to thrust you than you need to get to thrust him, and you have more opportunities to attack him at a range where he can't hit you while he attempts to close the distance. Another is that it lends itself to single-time attack and defense; compared to a shorter weapon such as a falchion or arming sword, the blade is long enough that you can set aside your opponent's attack with your forte while still being able to skewer him with your debole. A sword in one hand like the rapier will also have slightly more reach than a sword of equal blade length gripped in two hands, because on the lunge you can open up your shoulders to be parallel to the thrust in a way that isn't possible to do with a second arm reaching across your chest. On the other hand, blades of excessive length had the disadvantages of being more difficult to draw quickly, having less agility, and being less wieldly if your opponent got past your point compared to shorter rapiers. Which length offered the best compromise was a matter of opinion.

** Christians don't have a monopoly on their authorship either, since there are wrestling techniques in the Liechtenauer tradition credited to a wrestling master called Jude Lew, or "Lev the Jew".

** Christians don't have a monopoly on their authorship either, since there are wrestling techniques in the Liechtenauer tradition credited to a wrestling master called "Jud Lew", or Lew the Jew (Lew is probably a Germanized version of the Hebrew name Levi).

Medieval combat experts such as Tobias Capwell and Roland Warzecha believe that Early Medieval civilizations such as the Vikings and Anglo Saxons must have had refined fighting techniques to match the finely crafted weapons which have been discovered by archaeology, but unfortunately we do not know and may not ever know for sure exactly how they fought. Tantalizing descriptions of combat appear in epic poetry and the sagas, but besides the fact that the sagas were composed long after the events they describe and may contain artistic license, they only offer glimpses without laying down a comprehensive and organized system. The fact that human biomechanics remain the same throughout history and that the form of weapons can offer clues about how to use them has encouraged many who seek to reconstruct Viking Era combat or high medieval sword and shield as an exercise in experimental archaeology. These groups and individuals have offered compelling theories about what such combat may have been like, but that is beyond the scope of this article. Instead, we will deal with the fighting systems for which we have actual instructive texts.\\

** While less useful against armor or at killing people quickly, the staff is arguably one of the more dangerous weapons in a the modern HEMA club and is rarely done in sparring. It's heavy and can easily come down with a lot of momentum, an enthusiastic novice with poor contact control can break the bones sparring partner. For other swords and weapons blunted or plastic versions are used, but there is no "safe" version of the staff with the same feel and weight.

** The ''messer'' is also sometimes confused with the "falchion," a similar weapon which was in use across Europe from the 11th century on. The main difference is that the falchion is hilted more like a regular arming sword, with the tang hidden inside the grip and a larger, more sword-type pommel.