New Kůnstliches Fechtbuch (Jakob Sutor von Baden, 1612)

New Kůnstliches Fechtbuch is a German printed fencing book by Jakob Sutor von Baden, a free fencer (Freifechter) from the Baden region. It appeared in 1612 in Frankfurt am Main, printed by Johann Bringer and published by Wilhelm Hoffman. The full title continues with the words Das Ist, Ausführliche Desckription der Freyen Adelichen und Ritterlichen Kunst des Fechtens. The text is written in Early New High German and accompanied by woodcuts by unknown artists. The book is divided into four main parts: the sword, the dussack, the rapier, and a shared part on the staff and the halberd. For the dussack it builds on five basic stances, and the rapier part includes both thrusting and cutting techniques. The preface is dedicated to the Dukes of Württemberg and openly states that the book is compiled from various fencing writings. Its relation to the treatise Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens, which Joachim Meyer published in 1570, and to Michael Hundt's book Ein new Kunstliches Fechtbuch im Rappier of 1611 is clear. The encyclopedia Wiktenauer places Sutor in the Liechtenauer tradition of German fencing.

Martial arts in this work

Contents

The book covers four groups of weapons. The first part belongs to the sword and draws on the German longsword school. The second deals with the dussack and builds it on five basic stances named Zornhut, Stier, Mittelhut, Eber and Wechsel. The third part, on the rapier, works with the point and the edge and divides the body by imaginary vertical and horizontal lines. The last part joins the staff and halberd into one whole. The explanation is accompanied by woodcuts whose authors we have not been able to determine, and we did not find their number in the sources.

Editions and translations

The only documented edition is the Frankfurt print of 1612, the year being carried by the title page as M. DC. XII. The printer was Johann Bringer, the publisher Wilhelm Hoffman. Bibliographies refer to earlier editions, but we have not been able to find direct evidence that one ever existed. The parts on the sword and the dussack are translated in full, the sword part by Keith P. Myers. The concordance of the book was prepared by Michael Chidester.

People and martial arts

• Jakob SutorAuthor

Details

Form

Printed book

Library digitisation

archive.org/details/jakobsutorsknst01schegoog

Editions

• 1612 · DE · New Kůnstliches Fechtbuch · Wilhelm Hoffman · first edition