Medieval Combat: A Fifteenth-Century Manual of Swordfighting and Close-Quarter Combat
Categories: Kindle Store, Kindle eBooks, History

“[A] remarkable how-to . . . offers freeze-frame instructions on medieval martial arts using swords, shields, poleaxes, daggers and wrestling” ( Publishers Weekly ). Written by German fencing master Hans Talhoffer in 1467, this book illustrates the intricacies of the medieval art of fighting, covering both the “judicial duel” (an officially sanctioned fight to resolve a legal dispute) and personal combat. Combatants in the Middle Ages used footwork, avoidance, and the ability to judge and manipulate timing and distance to exploit and enhance the sword’s inherent cutting and thrusting capabilities. These skills were supplemented with techniques for grappling, wrestling, kicking and throwing the opponent, as well as disarming him by seizing his weapon. Every attack contained a defense and every defense a counterattack. Talhoffer reveals the techniques for wrestling, unarmored fighting with the long sword, poleaxe, dagger, sword and buckler, and mounted combat. This unparalleled guide to medieval combat, illustrated with 268 contemporary images, provides a glimpse of real people fighting with skill, sophistication and ruthlessness. This is one of the most popular and influential manuals of its kind. “This superb treatise, amply illustrated, provides valuable insight into the real world of medieval combat. Magnificent!” — Books Monthly


Publisher: Frontline Books (April 30, 2014)
Publication date: April 30, 2014
Language: English
File size: 21232 KB
Text to Speech: Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported
Enhanced typesetting: Enabled
X Ray: Enabled
Word Wise: Not Enabled
Sticky notes: On Kindle Scribe
Print length: 294 pages