Joachim Meyer

Quick Facts

Date of Birth1537

Date of Death2/23/1571

Country of OriginGermany

Biography

Joachim Meyer was a Strasbourg cutler and free fencer (Freifechter), author of the manual Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens of 1570. He was born in Basel, according to Wiktenauer probably in August 1537, and died on 23 February 1571 in Schwerin, the cause of death unknown.

In Basel he probably trained as a cutler, and by June 1560 he had settled in Strasbourg, where he married Appolonia Ruhlman. In a dedication of 1561 he writes that he learned fencing from his youth and names no teacher. From 1561 to 1568 he repeatedly asked the city council for permission to hold fencing schools.

In 1561 he wrote the manuscript MS Bibl. 2465, now in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich, dedicated to Count Palatine Georg Hans. The printed book was published in Strasbourg by Thiebolt Berger, completed on 24 February 1570 and dedicated to Johann Casimir. Unlike the manuscript, it does not describe fighting in armour and adapts its techniques to the city bans on the thrust. It was reissued in 1600, 1610 and 1660.

At the end of 1570 he accepted the post of fencing master with Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg. He left Strasbourg on 4 January 1571, in debt because of the publication of the book, and arrived in Schwerin on 10 February. The book received its first English edition, in the translation of Jeffrey Forgeng, in 2006.

Early life

Joachim Meyer was born in Basel, and Wiktenauer gives 16 August 1537 as the date, with a question mark. In Basel he probably trained as a cutler. By 4 June 1560 he had settled in Strasbourg, married Appolonia Ruhlman, became a master cutler and later also an officer of the guild of smiths. In a dedication of 1561 he writes that he learned fencing from his youth, and he names no teacher.

Training and teachers

In the manuscript of 1561 he signs himself Joachim meyer Frey Fechter, that is, a free fencer. As a Freifechter he asked the Strasbourg city council for permission to run a fencing school in 1561, 1563, 1566, 1567 and 1568. The petition of 1568 is the first in which he calls himself a master of fencing. We have not found who taught him fencing.

Contribution and innovations

The manuscript MS Bibl. 2465 was made in 1561, its dedication is dated 7 March and addressed to Count Palatine Georg Hans. The manuscript is kept in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich. The shorter manuscript MS A.4º.2 in Lund from 1563 to 1568 was made for Otto von Solms, and the Rostock MS Var.82 is an anthology of older treatises with Meyer's outline of the rapier. The printed Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens was published in Strasbourg by Thiebolt Berger, completed on 24 February 1570 and dedicated to Johann Casimir. The book does not describe fighting in armour and circumvents the city bans on the thrust with cutting strokes.

Legends and documented facts

Wiktenauer marks the birth date of 16 August 1537 with a question mark, and only the birth in Basel around that year is certain. The cause of his death, less than two weeks after his arrival in Schwerin, is unknown. The manuscript of 1561 is dedicated to a Count Palatine whom Dupuis transcribes as Görg Hans. We believe he is Georg Johann I of Veldenz, but we have not found verification.

Legacy

At the end of 1570 he accepted the post of fencing master with Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg. Because of the publication of the book he fell into debt of about 300 crowns, left Strasbourg on 4 January 1571 and arrived in Schwerin on 10 February. His brother-in-law Antoni Rulman became guardian of the widow and on 15 May 1571 asked the duke to return Meyer's belongings and books, and Appolonia remarried in April 1572. The book was reissued in 1600, 1610 and 1660 and translated into English by Jeffrey Forgeng in 2006, with another translation published in 2023.

Associated Martial Arts

Kata and forms

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