fol. 32r showing the priest in first ward and in schutzen, and Walpurgis remaining in her 'special ward' on the right shoulder

fol. 4v showing the student first in krucke and then gripping the priest's arms with his shield arm

I.33, also known as "the tower manuscript" because of its long stay in the Tower of London, is the earliest known surviving European treatise on the use of sword and buckler. The manuscript now resides in the collection of the Royal Armouries at Leeds, England. It is referred to as British Museum No. 14 E iii, No. 20, D. vi. fol 32r of MS I.33 The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... fol 32r of MS I.33 The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... fol 4v of MS I.33 The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... fol 4v of MS I.33 The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... The Tower of London, seen from the river, with a view of the water gate called Traitors Gate. ... A sword (from Old English sweord; akin to Old High German swerd lit. ... A buckler (French bouclier shield, from old French bocle, boucle boss) is a small shield gripped in the fist -- it was generally used in hand-to-hand combat during the Middle Ages, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons (e. ... The Royal Armouries houses the British national collection of arms and armour. ... Leeds is a city in the county of West Yorkshire, in the north of England. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum is one of the worlds greatest and most famous museums. ...

On 64 pages, the treatise shows a martial arts system of defensive and offensive techniques between a master and a pupil, referred to as sacerdos and scolaris, each armed with a sword and a buckler, drawn in ink and water colour and accompanied with latin text, interspersed with German fencing terms. On the last two pages, the pupil is replaced by a woman called Walpurgis. Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... A sword (from Old English sweord; akin to Old High German swerd lit. ... A buckler (French bouclier shield, from old French bocle, boucle boss) is a small shield gripped in the fist -- it was generally used in hand-to-hand combat during the Middle Ages, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons (e. ... Saint Walpurga Walpurgis Night MS I.33, also called Walpurgis MS. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

The manuscript has not been conclusively dated in printed publication; Alphonse Lhotsky in a handwritten note suggested the late 13th century and identified the scribe as a secretary to the bishop of Würzburg, but other experts tend to assign it to the early to mid- 1300s. (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Würzburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. ... (13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ...

The manuscript is first mentioned by Henricus a Gunterrodt in his De veriis principiis artis dimicatoriae of 1579, where he reports it to have been discovered by a friend of his, one Johannes Herbart of Würzburg. The manuscript was part of the ducal library of Gotha until it disappeared in WW2 and resurfaced at a Sotheby's auction in 1950, where it was purchased by the Royal Armouries. The author of the treatise may be a cleric called Lutegerus (possibly a latinised form of the German proper name Liutger appearing in the text). (Heinrich von Gunterrodt) author of a treatise on the art of fencing published in 1579 and dedicated to the duke of Wittenberg (De veriis principiis artis dimicatoriae Tractatus brevis) His book is the first to mention the treatise known today as I.33, which he claimed was found by a... Events January 6 - The Union of Atrecht united the southern Netherlands under the Duke of Parma, governor in the name of king Philip II of Spain. ... Würzburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. ... Gotha may refer to: A district in the German state of Thuringia A town in the District of Gotha (its capital) A former Thuringian Dukedom, see Sachsen-Gotha the Gothaer Waggonfabrik Company. ... German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... Sothebys is a noted auction house. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Royal Armouries houses the British national collection of arms and armour. ... (also spelled Liudger) German male personal name, composed of liut people and ger spear. St. ...

The fencing system is based on a number of wards (custodie) which are answered by displacements (obsessiones). The wards are numbered 1 to 7 on the first two pages and supplemented by various 'special' wards later in the text. The seven basic wards are: A ward or guard (translating German Hut protection) is a defensive position in the German school of swordsmanship. ... Displacement can have one of several meanings: Displacement (distance), a physical quantity in kinematics; Particle displacement, acoustics of sound in air. ...

1. under the arm (sub brach)
2. right shoulder (humero dextrali)
3. left shoulder (humero sinistro)
4. head (capiti)
5. right side (latere dextro)
6. breast (pectori)
7. 'long-point' (langort)

The German terms appearing in the latin text are the following: (German for long-point) position in the German School of historical fencing. ...

• albersleiben (possibly the fool's guard position)
• durchtreten, durchtritt ('stepping through')
• halpschilt ('half shield', one of the obsessiones)
• krucke ('crutch', a defensive position)
• langort ('long-point', may be either a custodia or an obsessio)
• nucken ('nudge', a specific attack)
• schiltslac ('shield-blow')
• schutzen ('protect')
• stich ('stab')
• stichschlac ('stab-blow')
• vidilpoge ('fiddle-bow', a specific custodia)

Sporadic dialectal elements in these terms (notably nucken and halpschilt) suggest a location of composition consistent with the reported discovery in a franconian monastery in the wider area of Würzburg. the Alber position (right) as depicted in Cod. ... (German for long-point) position in the German School of historical fencing. ... Franconia (German, Franken), a region in Germany now part of the state of Bavaria. ... Würzburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. ...

Literature

• Jeffrey L. Singman (now Forgeng), The medieval swordsman: a 13th century German fencing manuscript, Royal Armouries Yearbook 2 1997, 129-136.
• Jeffrey L. Forgeng, The Medieval Art of Swordsmanship, A Facsimile & Translation of the World's Oldest Personal Combat Treatise, published jointly with the Royal Armouries at Leeds, Chivalry Bookshelf, 2003; ISBN 1-891448-38-2
• Paul Wagner & Stephen Hand, Medieval Sword And Shield: The Combat System of Royal Armouries MS I.33, Chivalry Bookshelf, 2003.

External links

• full text of I.33 and translation (http://freywild.ch/i33/i33en.html) (freywild.ch)
• A Partial, Possible Interpretation of the I.33 Manuscript (http://home.armourarchive.org/members/jester/I33/A_Possible_Interpretation.html) by John (Tony) Jordan
• Fechtbuch I.33 - c1280 (http://www.aemma.org/onlineResources/i33/i33Home.htm) (aemma.org)
• demonstration of basic attacks (http://www.higginssword.org/guild/demo/muse/buckler/index.html) includes slow-motion video clips (higginssword.org)