Heinrich von Gunterrodt
German scholar and fencer who in 1579 wrote the illustrated manuscript Sciomachia et hoplomachia and the printed treatise De Veris Principiis Artis Dimicatoriae.
Quick Facts
GermanyBiography
Heinrich von Gunterrodt was born in 1557 in Lengefeld as the son of Hans von Gunterrodt and Elisabeth von der Linde, probably at Rauenstein Castle. In the history of fencing he is known for two treatises from 1579.
He studied Greek, Latin and law, among other places at Wittenberg University. He learned fencing from Balthasar Cramonius Pomeranus, who was a pupil of Johannes Herwart of Würzburg, whose name is linked to the discovery of the manuscript MS I.33, known as the Walpurgis.
In 1579, at the age of 22, he wrote two versions of his treatise on fencing. The first is the richly illustrated manuscript Sciomachia et hoplomachia (MS Dresd.C.15), the second its shortened printed version De Veris Principiis Artis Dimicatoriae, published in Wittenberg. He dedicated both works to John VII, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The manuscript covers unarmed combat as well as fighting with weapons: the dussack, the two-handed sword, the spear, the halberd, the rapier, the dagger, and also wrestling.
The source assesses his work as an attempt to introduce systematic, theoretically grounded fencing instruction in place of the informal practice common at the time. We have not been able to verify the date of his death.