Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, specifically designed to be learnt from a book. Many books detailing specific techniques of

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

are often erroneously called manuals but were written as

treatise A treatise is a Formality, formal and systematic written discourse on some subject concerned with investigating or exposing the main principles of the subject and its conclusions."mwod:treatise, Treatise." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Acc ...

s. Prose descriptions of martial arts techniques appear late within the

history of literature The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment or education to the reader, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication of these pie ...

, due to the inherent difficulties of describing a technique rather than just demonstrating it. The earliest extant manuscript on armed combat (as opposed to unarmed wrestling) is Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 ("I.33"), written in

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

around 1300. Not within the scope of this article are books on

military strategy Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired Strategic goal (military), strategic goals. Derived from the Greek language, Greek word ''strategos'', the term strategy, when first used during the 18th ...

such as

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu (; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) may have been a Chinese General, military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the au ...

's ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the late Spring and Autumn period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is compos ...

'' (before 100 BCE) or

Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus Publius (or Flavius) Vegetius Renatus, known as Vegetius (), was a writer of the Later Roman Empire (late 4th century). Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what is contained in his two surviving works: ''Epitoma rei militaris'' (also re ...

' '' De Re Militari'' (4th century), or military technology, such as ''

De rebus bellicis ("On the Things of Wars") is an anonymous work of the 4th or 5th century which suggests remedies for the military and financial problems in the Roman Empire, including a number of fanciful war machines. It was written after the death of Con ...

'' (4th to 5th century).

Predecessors

Some early testimonies of

historical martial arts Although the earliest evidence of martial arts goes back millennia, the true roots are difficult to reconstruct. Inherent patterns of human aggression which inspire practice of mock combat (in particular folk wrestling, wrestling) and optimization ...

consist of series of images only. The earliest example is a

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

in tomb 15 at

Beni Hasan Beni Hasan (also written as Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) () is an ancient Egyptian cemetery. It is located approximately to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as Middle Egypt, the area between Asyut and Memphis.Baines, John ...

, showing illustrations of

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

techniques dating to the 20th century BCE. Similar depictions of wrestling techniques are found on Attic vases dating to

Classical Greece Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." ( Thomas R. Mar ...

. The only known instance of a book from

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 466 Papyrus Oxyrhynchus III 466 (P. Oxy. III,466) is a fragmentary 2nd century Greek language, Greek papyrus manuscript containing instructions for Greek wrestling, wrestling, including the description of various grips and holds, constituting the ear ...

from the 2nd century CE, detailing

Greek wrestling Greek wrestling (), also known as Ancient Greek wrestling and Pále (πάλη), was the most popular organized sport in Ancient Greece. A point was scored when one player touched the ground with his back, hip or shoulder, or conceding defeat due ...

techniques. There are some examples in the

Chinese classics The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian traditi ...

that may predate the turn of the

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the ...

: the ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'' by

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

(c. 100 BCE) documents

, referring to earlier how-to manuals of the

Western Han The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring int ...

(2nd century BCE), which have however not survived. An extant Chinese text on wrestling is "Six Chapters of Hand Fighting" included in the 1st-century CE ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

''. All other extant manuals date to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

or later. The "combat stele" at the

Shaolin Monastery Shaolin Monastery ( zh, labels=no, c=少林寺, p=shàolínsì), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin kung fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak o ...

dates to 728 CE. The earliest text detailing

Indian martial arts Indian martial arts refers to the fighting systems of the Indian subcontinent. A variety of terms are used for the English phrases "Indian martial arts", deriving from ancient sources. While they may seem to imply specific disciplines (e.g. arch ...

is the ''

Agni Purana The ''Agni Purana'', (, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also considered as a text that covers them ...

'' (c. 8th century), which contains several chapters giving descriptions and instructions on fighting techniques. It described how to improve a warrior's individual prowess and kill enemies using various methods in warfare whether they went to war in chariots, horses,

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s or on foot. Foot methods were subdivided into armed combat and unarmed combat. The former included the bow and

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

, the sword,

spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

noose A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can ...

, armour, iron dart, club,

battle axe A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were designed differently to utility axes, with blades more akin to cleavers than to wood axes. Many were suitable for use in one ha ...

chakram The chakram (; ) is a throwing weapon from the Indian subcontinent. It is circular with a sharpened outer edge and a diameter of . It is also known as ''chalikar'' meaning "circle", and was sometimes referred to in English writings as a "war- qu ...

and

trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

. The latter included wrestling, knee strikes, punching and kicking methods. The oldest extant

European martial arts Historical European martial arts (HEMA) are martial arts of European origin, particularly using arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms. While there is limited surviving documentation of the mar ...

manual is Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 (c. 1300). "Illustrations only" manuals do not become extinct with the appearance of prose instructions, but rather exist alongside these, e.g. in the form of the Late Medieval German

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...

Historical European martial arts

German Fechtbücher

(plural ) is

Early New High German Early New High German (ENHG) is a term for the period in the history of the German language generally defined, following Wilhelm Scherer, as the period 1350 to 1650, developing from Middle High German and into New High German. The term is the ...

for 'combat manual', one of the manuscripts or printed books of the late

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

containing descriptions of a martial art. The term is usually taken to include 15th- and 16th-century German manuals, but the nature of the subject matter does not allow a clear separation of these from treatises from other parts of Europe on one hand (particularly from the Italian and French schools), and from manuals of later centuries on the other hand. Notable include: * Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 ("Walpurgis Manuscript") (c. 1300, predating

Johannes Liechtenauer Johannes Liechtenauer (also ''Lichtnauer'', ''Hans Lichtenawer'') was a German Late Middle Ages, German fencing master who had a great level of influence on the German school of swordsmanship, German fencing tradition in the 14th century. Biograp ...

) * Nürnberger Handschrift GNM 3227a (c. 1389) *Fechtbuch of

Sigmund Ringeck Sigmund Schining ein Ringeck (Sigmund ain Ringeck, Sigmund Amring, Sigmund Einring, Sigmund Schining) was a German fencing master. While the meaning of the surname "Schining" is uncertain, the suffix "ain Ringeck" may indicate that he came from th ...

(1440s) * Codex Vindobonensis B 11093, kept in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and " Gladiatoria", discovered in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, both dating to the mid-15th century and largely uninfluenced by Liechtenauer. * of

Hans Talhoffer Hans Talhoffer (Dalhover, Talhouer, Thalhoffer, Talhofer; – after 1482) was a German fencing master. His martial lineage is unknown, but his writings make it clear that he had some connection to the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, th ...

(several surviving manuscripts dating from 1443–1467). * of Peter von Danzig, Cod. 44 A 8, 1452 *Jud Lew Cod.I.6.4°.3 (1450s),

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

* of

Paulus Kal Paulus Kal was a 15th-century German fencing master. According to his own testimony, he was the student of one Hans Stettner, who was in turn an initiate of the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer. He served as fencing master at three different co ...

(1460s) *

Cgm 558 The Cgm 558, or ''Codex germanicus monacensis'', is a convolution of two 15th-century manuscripts with a total of 176 folia, bound together in the 16th century. It is kept at the Bavarian library in Munich. The first manuscript contains two chroni ...

, a Swiss treatise of the later 15th century only loosely related to the German school. * Codex Wallerstein (), 1470s,

*Solothurner Fechtbuch, no text, dependent on Paulus Kal, 1470s,

Solothurn Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

* Johannes Lecküchner Cod. Pal. Germ. 430,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

(1478), Cgm. 582,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(1482) *Cod. Guelf. 78.2, ''Herzog August Bibliothek''

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

(late 15th century) * Peter Falkner P 5012, ''Kunsthistorisches Museum'',

Hans Folz Hans Folz ( 1437 – January 1513) was a German author of the late medieval German Renaissance, early Renaissance period. Folz was born in Worms, Germany, Worms. He was made a citizen of the city of Nuremberg, Germany in 1459 and master barber of ...

Q566 (c. 1480),

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

* Hans von Speyer (MS M I 29) (1491) *

Cluny Fechtbuch The Cluny Fechtbuch is a South German fechtbuch dating to about 1500. It is influenced by Paulus Kal and Peter Falkner, and was in turn drawn upon by Jorg Wilhalm (1520s). The manuscript was number 862 in the nineteenth-century Donaueschingen ca ...

, c. 1500, influenced by Kal and Falkner, drawn upon by Wilhalm. * Glasgow Fechtbuch (1505) *Hans Wurm, grappling, (c. 1505) *"Goliath (manuscript)" (1510s) *

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

's fechtbuch HS. 26-232 (1512),

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

* Andre Pauernfeindt, ,

, 1516 * Cologne Fechtbuch, anonymous (early 16th century) * by Jörg Wilhalm (1520s) *Egenolph: , anonymous, printed by

Christian Egenolff Christian Egenolff or Egenolph (26 July 1502 – 9 February 1555), also known as Christian Egenolff, the Elder, was the first important printer and publisher operating from Frankfurt-am-Main, and best known for his "Kräuterbuch", ''Herbarum, ...

, 1529,

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. This is largely derived from Pauernfeindt's 1516 manual. *Hans Czynner MS. 963 (1538),

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

*the compendia of

Paulus Hector Mair Paulus Hector Mair (1517–1579) was a German civil servant Historical European Martial Arts, fencing master from Augsburg. He collected Fechtbuch, Fechtbücher and undertook to compile all knowledge of the art of fencing in a compendium surpassing ...

(1540s). * Johannes Lecküchner (1558) (this is a reprint from the , printed by Egenolph). *

Joachim Meyer Joachim Meyer (ca. 1537–1571) was a self-described Freifechter (literally, Free Fencer) living in the then Free Imperial City of Strasbourg in the 16th century and the author of a fechtbuch '' Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fech ...

"" (1570) *Gunterrodt: "" (1579),

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

*Codex Guelf. 83.4 (c. 1591) * Jakob Sutor von Baden (1612) * Hanko Döbringer, Cod.ms.3227a (1389)

Italian treatises

The Italian school is attested in an early manual of 1410, at which time it is not yet clearly separable from the German school. Indeed, the author Fiore dei Liberi states that he has learned much of his art from one "Master Johannes of

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

". The heyday of the Italian school comes in the 16th century, with the Dardi school. * Fiore dei Liberi's ''

Flos Duellatorum The Flos Duellatorum is the name given to one of the manuscript versions of Fiore dei Liberi's illuminated manuscript fechtbuch, fight book, written in 1410 (dated to 1409 in the Julian calendar, old reckoning). There are five other surviving rece ...

'' (1410) *

Filippo Vadi Filippo Vadi (; 14251501) was an Italian fencing master of the 15th century. Together with Fiore dei Liberi, he is one of the earliest Italian masters from whom an extant martial arts manual has survived. Biography Very little is known about ...

's '' De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi'' (1485) *

Pietro Monte Pietro Monte (''Pietro del Monte, Pietro Monti'', Latinized ''Petrus Montius''; 1457–1509Fontaine 1991.) was a master of arms who lived in Milan in the late 15th century. He may have been either Spanish or Italian by birth. He was acquainted wi ...

(1509) *Anonimo Bolognese M-345/6 (c. 1510s) *

Antonio Manciolino Antonio Francesco Manciolino (... - ...; Floruit, fl. 1518-1531) is considered one of the most important masters of the so-called "Bolognese School" of fencing. There is very little biographical information about Antonio Francesco Manciolino:. on ...

(1531) * Achille Marozzo (1536) *

Camillo Agrippa Camillo Agrippa (1520 – 1 January 1600) was a noted fencing, fencer, architect, engineer and mathematician of the Renaissance. He is considered to be one of the greatest fencing theorists of all time. Biography Though born in Milan, Agrippa l ...

, ''Trattato di Scienza d'Arme'' (1568) *

Giacomo di Grassi Giacomo () is an Italian given name corresponding to English James. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob. People bearing the name include: * Giacomo Acerbo (1888–1969), Italian economist and Fascist politician *Giacomo Agostini ...

, ''His True Art of Defense'' (1594) *

Vincentio Saviolo Fencing master Vincentio Saviolo (d. 1598/9), though Italian born and raised, authored one of the first books on fencing to be available in the English language. Saviolo was born in Padua. He arrived in London at an unknown date and is first ...

, ''His Practice'' (1595) *

Salvator Fabris Salvator Fabris (1544-1618) was an Italian fencing master from Padua. During his life he taught in various European countries, most notably in Denmark where he was the fencing instructor of King Christian IV. It was during his time in Copenhagen ...

(1606) *

Ridolfo Capo Ferro Ridolfo Capo Ferro da Cagli (Ridolfo Capoferro, Rodulphus Capoferrus) was an Italians, Italian fencing master in the city of Siena, best known for his rapier fencing treatise published in 1610. He seems to have been born in the town of Cagli in t ...

(1610) *

Francesco Alfieri Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri, was a famous Fencing, fencer in the 17th century. He was a representative of the Venetian school of fencing and “Maestro D’Armeuvkb” to the Accademia Delia in Padua in 1640. Alfieri was originally from Padua, ...

, ''La Scherma'' (1640) * Giuseppe Colombani (1711)

French manuals

Similar to the situation in Italy, there is one early manual (c. 1400, dealing with the pollaxe exclusively), and later treatises appear only after a gap of more than a century. *'' Le jeu de la hache'' (c. 1400) *Andre Pauernfeindt, (1528)—This is a French translation of Pauernfeindt's 1516 work. One notable difference between it and the original is that the "noble science" print has colored images, unlike the German. *

Henry de Sainct-Didier The known history of fencing in France begins in the 16th century, with the adoption of Italian styles of fencing. There are medieval predecessors, such as the Burgundian '' Le jeu de la hache'' ("The Play of the Axe") of ca. 1400, but the hist ...

, (1573) *

Gérard Thibault d'Anvers Gérard (or Girard) Thibault of Antwerp (ca. 1574–1627) was a fencing master and writer of the 1628 rapier manual ''Academie de l'Espée''. Thibault was from the Spanish Netherlands, Southern Netherlands which is today Belgium. His manual is o ...

, (1623) *Monsieur L'Abbat, ''The Art of Fencing, or, the Use of the Small Sword'' (1734)

British manuals

England

Apart from three rather opaque texts of the later 15th century, the native English tradition of fencing manuals begins with George Silver's '' Paradoxes of Defense'' (1599). * Harley MS 3542 (''The Man Who Wol''), late 14th–early 15th century *

Cotton Titus This is an incomplete list of some of the manuscripts from the Cotton library that today form the Cotton collection of the British Library. Some manuscripts were destroyed or damaged in a fire at Ashburnham House in 1731, and a few are kept in ot ...

, 15th-century English

greatsword The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification, or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a single- ...

and staff *Additional Manuscript 39564, 15th century * George Silver, '' Paradoxes of Defense'' (1599) *

Joseph Swetnam Joseph Swetnam (died 1621) was an English pamphleteer and fencing master. He is best known for a pamphlet and an early English fencing treatise, criticized by some female writers as women-hating. Three defensive responses as pamphlets were made ...

, ''Schoole of the Noble and Worthy Science of Defence'' (1612) *Captain John Godfrey, ''A Treatise Upon the Useful Science of Defence, Connecting the Small and Back-Sword'' (1747) * John Musgrave Waite, ''Lessons in

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

, singlestick, sabre &

bayonet A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...

, and sword feats'' (1880) *

Alfred Hutton Alfred Hutton Society of Antiquaries of London, FSA (10 March 1839 – 18 December 1910) was a British Army officer, antiquarian and writer. Serving during the Victorian era in the 1st King's Dragoon Guards, he played a major role in the revival ...

, ''Cold Steel, A Practical Treatise on the Sabre'' (1889), ''Old Sword-Play'' (1892)

Scotland

Scottish manuals detailing the use of the basket-hilted Scottish broadsword, besides other disciplines such as the smallsword and spadroon, were published throughout the 18th century, with early and late examples dating to the late 17th and early 19th centuries, respectively: * Sir William Hope, ''The Scots Fencing Master (the Complete Smallswordsman)'' (1687) * Sir William Hope, ''Advice to his Scholar from the Fencing Master'' (1692) * Sir William Hope, ''Complete Fencing Master'' (1691–1692) * Sir William Hope, ''The Swordsman's Vade-Mecum'' (1692) * Sir William Hope, ''New Short and Easy Method of Fencing'' (1st edition, 1707) * Sir William Hope, ''New Short and Easy Method of Fencing'' (2nd edition, 1714) * Sir William Hope, ''A Few Observations upon the Fighting for Prizes in the Bear Gardens'' (1715) * Sir William Hope, ''A Vindication of the True Art of Self-Defence'' (1724) *

Donald McBane Donald McBane (1664 – 12 April 1732) was a noted Scottish swordsman, career soldier, and fencing master, who is widely regarded as one of the most prolific and finest duelists of all time. Early life Donald McBane was born in the Highland town ...

, ''Expert Swords-man's Companion'' (1728) * Captain James Miller, ''A treatise on backsword, sword,

buckler A buckler (French ''bouclier'' 'shield', from Old French ''bocle, boucle'' ' boss') is a small shield, up to 45 cm (up to 18 in) in diameter, gripped in the fist with a central handle behind the boss. It became more common as a companio ...

, sword and

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

, sword and great gauntlet, falchon,

quarterstaff A quarterstaff (plural quarterstaffs or quarterstaves), also short staff or simply staff is a traditional European polearm, which was especially prominent in England during the Early Modern period. The term is generally accepted to refer to a s ...

'' (1737) * Thomas Page, ''The Use of the Broad Sword'' (1746) * Captain G. Sinclair, ''Anti-Pugilism – Anonymous'' (1790) * Captain G. Sinclair, ''Cudgel Playing Modernized and Improved; or, The Science of Defence, Exemplified in a Few Short and Easy Lessons, for the Practice of the Broad Sword or Single Stick, on Foot'' * Archibald MacGregor, ''Lecture on the Art of Defence'' (1791) * Thomas Rowlandson, ''The Guards of the Highland Broadsword'' (1799) *

Henry Angelo Henry Charles William Angelo (1756–1835) was an English memoirist and fencing master, as a member of the Angelo family of fencing, fencers and son of the Italian master, Domenico Angelo. As the leader of his father's Angelo School of Arms f ...

and son, ''Hungarian & Highland Broadsword'' (1799) * John Taylor, ''The Art of Defence on Foot with Broadsword and Saber'' (1804) * Thomas Mathewson, ''Fencing Familiarized; or, a New Treatise on the Art of the Scotch Broad Sword'' (1805)

Iberian manuals

There are some manuals containing training advice for the

medieval tournament A tournament, or tourney (from Old French ''torneiement'', ''tornei''), was a mock fight that was common in the Middle Ages">Mock_combat.html" ;"title="chivalry">chivalrous competition or Mock combat">mock fight that was common in the Middle ...

and

jousting Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...

, such as the early Portuguese work '' A ensinança de bem cavalgar em toda a sela'' by

Edward of Portugal Edward ( ; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), also called Edward the Philosopher King (''Duarte o Rei-Filósofo'') or the Eloquent (''o Eloquente''), was the King of Portugal from 1433 until his death. He was born in Viseu, the son of John I o ...

(1391–1438), a riding instruction manual that also included martial information. In 1599, the swordmaster Domingo Luis Godinho wrote the '' Arte de Esgrima'', the only fencing manual that preserved the older "Common" or "Vulgar" system of Spanish fencing, which has its traditions in the Middle Ages. 17th-century Spanish

destreza is the conventional term for the Spanish tradition of fencing of the early modern period. The word literally translates to 'dexterity' or 'skill, ability', and thus to 'the true skill' or 'the true art'. While is primarily a system of sword ...

is steeped in the Spanish

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

noblemen mindset, so it does not contain graphical explanations of the fencing techniques so much as explanations based on mathematics and philosophical sciences in general. The subsequent difficulty in interpreting the theory and practice of correctly has frequently led to this school of fencing being misunderstood. *

Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza Don Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza, (), Jerónimo de Carranza, ; c. 1539 – c. 1600 or 1608) was a Spanish nobleman, humanist, scientist, one of the most famous fencers, and the creator of the Spanish school of fencing, '' destreza''. He was ...

, (1582) *

Luis Pacheco de Narváez Don Luis Pacheco de Narváez (1570–1640) was a Spanish writer on '' destreza'', the Spanish art of fencing. He was a follower of Don Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza. Some of his earlier works were compendia of Carranza's work while his later ...

, ''

Libro de las grandezas de la espada (lit. ''Book of the Greatness of the Sword'') is a 16th-century Spanish treatise on fencing written by Don Luis Pacheco de Narváez, who is considered one of the founding fathers of Spanish fencing ('' destreza'') and the disciple of Jerónimo S ...

'' (1600) * Gerard Thibault, (1628) *

, (1632) * Luis Méndez de Carmona Tamariz, (1632) * Luis Diáz de Viedma, (1639) and (1639) * Cristóbal de Cala, (1642) * Diogo Gomes de Figueyredo, (1651) * Miguel Pérez de Mendoza y Quijada, (1675) * Francisco Antonio de Ettenhard y Abarca, (1675) * Álvaro Guerra de la Vega, (1681) * Thomas Luis, (1685) * Nicolás Tamariz, (1696) * Manuel Cruzado y Peralta, (1702) * Francisco Lórenz de Rada, (1705) * Nicolás Rodrigo Noveli, (1731) * Manuel Antonio de Brea, (1805) * Jaime Mereló y Casademunt, (1862)

Historical Asian martial arts

Some texts on unarmed combat survive from

Han China The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

(c. 1st century). A list of wrestling techniques is contained in the ''Malla Purana'' of 13th-century

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India. The Chinese ''

Jixiao Xinshu The ''Jixiao Xinshu'' () or ''New Treatise on Military Efficiency'' is a military manual written during the 1560s and 1580s by the Ming dynasty general Qi Jiguang. Its primary significance is in advocating for a combined arms approach to ...

'' dates to the 1560s. The Korean ''

Muyejebo The '' Muyejebo'' (''Compendium of Several Martial Arts'') is the oldest extant Korean martial arts manual, compiled by Han Gyo (韓嶠) in 1598 during the reign of King Seonjo. With the addition of material from Japanese martial arts, a sup ...

'' dates to 1598, the ''

Muyedobotongji ''Muyedobot'ongji'' (; ''Muye Dobo Tong Ji'') was a Korean martial arts text written by , Pak Chega, and Paek Tongsu and published in four volumes in 1795. It was commissioned in 1790 by King Jeongjo (r. 1740–1810). It expanded on the eigh ...

'' dates to 1790. The Japanese ''

The Book of Five Rings is a text on ''kenjutsu'' and the martial arts in general, written by the Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi between 1643-5. The book title from ''the'' ''godai'' (五大) of Buddhist esotericism ( 密教), thus has five volumes: "Earth, Wate ...

'' dates to 1645.

Notes

References

External links

Wiktenauer: A Wiki database dedicated to the masters, manuals, and techniques of Historical European Martial Arts
hosted by the HEMA Alliance
THE ARMARIUM: Online Historical Fencing Manuals & Texts of the Doctrina Armorum
by The

Association for Renaissance Martial Arts Association for Renaissance Martial Arts (ARMA) is a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to the study and practice of historical European martial arts of the 15th to 17th centuries.

(ARMA)
Online Library of Historical Fencing Treatises
hosted by th
Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts
(AEMMA)

hosted by th
Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts
(AEMMA)
Destreza Translation & Research Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martial Arts Manual *