Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey (Andre Paurñfeyndt, 1516)

Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey is a fencing manual printed in Vienna in 1516 by Hieronymus Vietor. Its author, Andre Paurenfeyndt, was born in Ernsbrunn in Lower Austria and enrolled at the University of Vienna on 13 October 1512, and we have not been able to document any other details of his life. In the introduction he presents himself as a Freifechter and bodyguard of Cardinal Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, to whom he dedicated the book. The text is written in Early New High German and is accompanied by 32 numbered illustrations and a heraldic image. According to the preface, Paurenfeyndt did not write for experienced fencers but for young pupils. He gives them twelve rules for beginners and wants to steer them away from gambling and bad company. The largest part, pages 3 to 44, is devoted to the sword, followed by sections on the dussack, the staff, the dagger and the sword and buckler. The last two sections come from Andre Lignitzer. The book follows the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer and contains his verses, yet it also offers considerable material of its own. According to the editors of Wiktenauer, the differences from Liechtenauer may be related precisely to the fact that it is intended for beginners. Sydney Anglo described it as probably the earliest printed fencing treatise with illustrations. Christian Egenolff in Frankfurt am Main took over the complete redaction of the text in his print, a French translation appeared in Antwerp in 1538, and in 1564 Lienhart Sollinger copied the whole work.

Martial arts in this work

Contents

The 1516 print opens with a preface on pages 1 and 2. The sword occupies pages 3 to 44, the dussack pages 45 to 58 and the staff pages 59 to 65. The dagger follows on pages 66 and 67 and the sword and buckler on pages 68 and 69, both of these short sections coming from Andre Lignitzer. The book closes with a conclusion on pages 69 and 70. The twelve rules for beginners are not illustrated in the print. The illustrations on pages 57 and 59 show pairs in which both fencers hold a dussack, although the text describes one of them as unarmed. Some illustrations are composed of fourteen half blocks marked with the letters A to O, while the others are made of whole blocks.

Editions and translations

According to the editors of Wiktenauer, only the Vienna edition of 1516 has the complete illustrations, while later versions are incomplete and disordered. Christian Egenolff in Frankfurt am Main included the complete redaction of the text in his print Der Allten Fechter gründtliche Kunst. Its first edition is undated and appeared between 1531 and 1537 with new illustrations by Hans Weiditz, which match the text better than the Viennese ones. Further editions followed, the fourth being published in 1558 by Egenolff's heirs. In 1538 Willem Vorsterman published in Antwerp a French translation, La noble science des ioueurs d'espee. It omits all of Liechtenauer's verses but keeps the rest of the content and the original pictures. The section on pole weapons was copied by an unknown scribe between 1535 and 1540 into the manuscript Goliath (MS Germ.Quart.2020), and in 1564 Lienhart Sollinger copied the whole text into a codex bound by Paulus Hector Mair.

People and martial arts

• Andre PaurenfeyndtAuthor
• Andreas LiegnitzerCo-author

Details

Form

Printed book

Shelfmark

E.1939.65.357

Illustrations

32

Editions

• 1516 · DE · Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey · Hieronymus Vietor · first edition
• 1538 · FR · La noble science des ioueurs d'espee · Willem Vorsterman · translation
• DE · Der Allten Fechter gründtliche Kunst · Christian Egenolff