Johannes Liechtenauer
German fencing master of the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, author of the poem Zettel on which the German longsword tradition stands.
Quick Facts
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Johannes Liechtenauer was a German fencing master of the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, whose mnemonic poem Zettel became the foundation of the most widespread German fencing tradition. His dates of birth and death are not documented, and his name also appears in the manuscripts as Hans Lichtenauer or Lichtnawer.
The only biographical record of him is contained in the anonymous manuscript GNM 3227a from the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg. According to it, Liechtenauer did not invent the art but travelled through many lands to learn the true art. We have not found the names of his teachers. His surname refers to one of the places called Liechtenau, of which the researcher Massmann listed five in 1844.
Zettel is a poem in rhymed couplets about the longsword, fighting on horseback, the short sword and the dagger. The oldest dated record is in Talhoffer's manuscript of 1448, and the term zedel first appears in 1452. The tradition knows five master strikes, Zornhau, Krumphau, Zwerchhau, Schielhau and Scheitelhau, and four guards, Pflug, Ochs, Vom Tag and Alber.
Commentaries, or glosses, on his poem were written in the 15th century by Sigmund Ringeck, Peter von Danzig, Jud Lew and others. Around 1470 Paulus Kal recorded a list of seventeen masters of the so-called Society of Liechtenauer, and his tradition was taken over by the Marxbrüder brotherhood.
Early life
The only biographical record of Liechtenauer is contained in the anonymous manuscript GNM 3227a from the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, whose author may still have lived during Liechtenauer's lifetime. The name appears in the variants Hans Lichtenauer and Lichtnawer, and dates of birth and death are not documented. The researcher Massmann listed in 1844 five places named Liechtenau, in Upper Austria, in Franconia near Nuremberg, in Baden, in Hesse and in Westphalia. English Wikipedia considers Franconia the most likely.
Training and teachers
According to the manuscript GNM 3227a, Liechtenauer did not invent the art but travelled through many lands to find and learn the true art. The sources give no name of any of his teachers, and we have not found one either. Wiktenauer gives this passage only in English translation, and we have not read the original German wording.
Contribution and innovations
Zettel is a poem in rhymed couplets about the longsword, mounted combat with spear and sword, the short sword and the dagger. The oldest dated text is in Talhoffer's manuscript MS Chart.A.558 of 1448 on folios 18r and 18v, and the term zedel first appears in the manuscript Cod.44.A.8 of 1452. The tradition knows five master strikes, Zornhau, Krumphau, Zwerchhau, Schielhau and Scheitelhau, and four guards, Pflug, Ochs, Vom Tag and Alber. Wiktenauer lists seventeen manuscripts with unglossed parts of the Zettel and dozens more versions within the glosses.
Legends and documented facts
The dating of the manuscript GNM 3227a to around 1390 and the assumption that its author was a direct student of Liechtenauer are both disputed. English Wikipedia gives around 1400, and Kleinau in 2013 considered the years 1410 to 1420. According to Wiktenauer, the gap between this manuscript and the oldest dated Zettel of 1448 suggests that Liechtenauer may also have been active at the beginning of the 15th century. Sigmund Ringeck is credited with teaching Albert III of Bavaria, but this too is not directly documented.
Legacy
The glosses of the Zettel were written by Sigmund Ringeck, Peter von Danzig and Lew, and further glossators include Pseudo-Hans Döbringer and Antonius Rast. Around 1470 Paulus Kal recorded a list of seventeen masters of the Society of Liechtenauer from present-day Austria, Czechia, Germany and Poland, but most of them are unknown. Kal also recorded the Zettel in the manuscripts MS 1825 in Bologna and KK5126 in Vienna. In the second half of the 15th century the tradition was taken over by the Marxbrüder brotherhood, with a monopoly on examining masters that the Federfechter challenged at the end of the 16th century.
Associated Martial Arts
Works and sources
Quotes
Whoever often only parries is often wounded.
wer offt versezt, wirt offt gelezt
Attributed