Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2019
Abstract
The goal of this article is to provide a view of the medieval master of martial arts and his life, using primary sources as well a conclusions of modern research. The main sources are Fechtbüchers - fencing and wrestling manuals from the late Middle Ages as well as early modern period.
The medieval master of armed and hand to hand combat held diverse ranks in a social hierarchy. Additionally, he participated in the social life of the majority of the medieval society.
For his contemporaries, he was a person of various skills, the bearer of knowledge and mystery. He could also be an assassin, troublemaker or brute, but in many cases he was an honorable teacher of self-defense and defender of God's law.