De Veris Principiis Artis Dimicatoriae (Heinrich von Gunterrodt, 1579)

De Veris Principiis Artis Dimicatoriae is a Neo-Latin printed fencing treatise that Heinrich von Gunterrodt published in 1579 in Wittenberg with the printer Mattheus Welack. The full title calls it a short treatise (tractatus breuis) and dedicates it to Johann VII, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who ruled independently only from 1585. We have not been able to establish whether Gunterrodt served at his court. The print has 42 pages. The treatise deals with the theory and history of fencing and with individual weapon disciplines: the dussack, the two-handed sword, the spear, the long war axe (poleaxe), the rapier alone and in combination with another weapon, the dagger and wrestling. Unlike the manuscript it is based on, it is not illustrated. Besides the exposition it contains poems by Gunterrodt himself, Johann Maior and the theologian Heinrich Bolschen. The print is an abridged version of Gunterrodt's manuscript Sciomachia et hoplomachia from the same year (MS Dresd.C.15), which is designated as book one. No further volume appeared. According to Wiktenauer, the work refers to Johannes Herwart of Würzburg, to Joachim Meyer and to monastic fencing manuscripts. Gunterrodt was born in 1557 in Lengefeld in Saxony. In Wittenberg he studied Greek, Latin and law, and he learned fencing from Balthasar Cramonius Pomeranus, a pupil of Herwart. The work is the subject of a monograph by Bert Gevaert from 2014 and of an analysis of its scholastic elements published in 2023 by Leblanc and Cinato.

Martial arts in this work

Contents

Gunterrodt proceeds in the treatise from the theory and history of fencing to individual weapons. The disciplines covered include the dussack, the two-handed sword, the spear, the long war axe (poleaxe), the rapier, the dagger and wrestling. The rapier, framea in Latin, appears alone and in combinations with another weapon. Wiktenauer lists thirteen categories of weapons in all, among them rapier and dagger, with shield, with cloak and two rapiers at once. This list, however, probably derives from the more extensive manuscript Sciomachia et hoplomachia, and the shorter print may therefore not represent it in full. Wiktenauer describes the print as unillustrated, although it reproduces its title page and heraldic images. The book also contains poems by the author, Johann Maior and the theologian Heinrich Bolschen.

Origin

Heinrich von Gunterrodt was born in 1557 in Lengefeld in Saxony, probably at Rauenstein castle, the son of Hans von Gunterrodt and Elisabeth von der Linda. At the University of Wittenberg he studied Greek, Latin and law, and it is unclear whether he obtained a degree. He learned fencing from Balthasar Cramonius Pomeranus, a pupil of Johannes Herwart of Würzburg. The treatise was printed in 1579 in Wittenberg by Mattheus Welack. The dedication is addressed to Johann VII of Mecklenburg, who was then under a regency and ruled independently from 1585. We did not find in the sources whether Gunterrodt served at the Mecklenburg court. The manuscript Sciomachia et hoplomachia, designated as book one, of which the print is an abridged form, originated in the same year. No continuation appeared.

Editions and translations

The only edition before 1800 that we have documented is the Wittenberg one of 1579. The sources spell the printer's name Mattheus or Matthaeus Welack. A modern transcription of the Latin text was prepared by Jay Acutt. The work is the subject of a monograph by Bert Gevaert from 2014 and of a 2023 study by Leblanc and Cinato, which analyses the scholastic elements of Gunterrodt's exposition. We did not find a separate translation of the whole treatise into a modern language. The English title The True Principles of the Art of Fencing is only a translation of the title.

People and martial arts

• Heinrich von GunterrodtAuthor
• Johann VII. von Mecklenburg-SchwerinPatron

Details

Form

Printed book

Repository

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München

Library digitisation

digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb10814670

Editions

• 1579 · LA · De veris principiis artis dimicatoriae · Mattheus Welack, Wittenberg · 42 pp. · first edition