The Fechtbücher of Hans Talhoffer (1443–1467)

Hans Talhoffer (attested 1433–1467) was a German fencing master and mercenary who made his living teaching swordsmanship and preparing men for judicial duels. In his lifetime he compiled at least five fight books, the Fechtbücher, and it is these that keep his name known. The most important manuscripts are Chart. A. 558 of 1448 in Gotha, Thott 290 2° of 1459 in Copenhagen and Cod. icon. 394a of 1467 in Munich, alongside a number of later copies. The content is broad: longsword, messer, dagger, armoured combat, wrestling, the duel between a man and a woman under unequal conditions, and even shield combat before a court. The illustrations are what he is famous for — Talhoffer's books are among the most richly illustrated sources of the late Middle Ages and are irreplaceable for today's HEMA reconstruction. His link to the Liechtenauer tradition is plain from the text, even though Paulus Kal does not list him among the Fellowship of Liechtenauer. **A note on this record:** Talhoffer founded neither a school nor a style — he was an author of manuals. This entry belongs among sources or people rather than among martial arts. The practical purpose of his books was concrete: judicial combat was still legal in parts of the Empire in the fifteenth century, and Talhoffer prepared people for it for money, including drill in the prescribed weapons and conditions.