Talhoffer: Alte Armatur und Ringkunst (2 vols. HC)

The Royal Danish Library Ms. Thott 290 2º, by Hans Talhoffer, Rebecca L. R. Garber (translator), Dieter Bachmann (transcriber), and Michael Chidester (editor). Articles by Paul Becker, Michael Chidester, Ariella Elema, Dierk Hagedorn, Daniel Jaquet, and Christian Henry Tobler.

The Kongelige Bibliotek MS Thott.290.2º is a German fencing manual commissioned by Hans Talhoffer in 1459. This was our first facsimile, which is now sold out, so to keep the commentary volume useful, we decided to release the scans from the facsimile as a normal book.

This manuscript, Talhoffer's third or fourth, seems to have been a reference book for his personal use. Aside from his own work, this manuscript also includes Liechtenauer's Zettel and Konrad Kyeser's Bellifortis. The text is inverted on the final ten folia, and opening the book from the back reveals a brief treatise on a variety of esoteric subjects.

Talhoffer's writings cover a wide assortment of weapons, including the buckler, crossbow, dagger, flail, Messer, longshield, mace, poleaxe, spear, sword, and unarmed grappling, often both armored and unarmored, on horse and on foot, and in scenarios including tournaments, formal duels, and unequal encounters implying urban self-defense.

Despite the obvious care and detail that went into the artwork, the manuscript generally has only a few words captioning each technique (and in many cases none at all).

Volume 1 is a complete reproduction of the manuscript, using the same scans as our Talhoffer facsimile but printed and bound in a conventional book. Volume 2 is a commentary volume, including a complete transcription and translation of the manuscript as well as a wealth of research related to Talhoffer and his works. In its pages, you will find a detailed description of the manuscript itself, a full transcription by Dieter Bachmann and translation by Rebecca L. R. Garber, and articles from some of the leading scholars in the field of historical European martial arts studies that highlight various aspects of the manuscript and its history.

Paul Becker describes the life of Hans Talhoffer in unprecedented detail. Dierk Hagedorn discusses the many treatises of Talhoffer and their relationships to each other. Michael Chidester delves into the life of Konrad Kyeser and his treatise Bellifortis, which is the source for the manuscript’s war machines. Daniel Jaquet describes the judicial dueling culture and customs that Talhoffer existed in, and Ariella Elema discusses the background and history of the specialized dueling weapons that Talhoffer presents to readers. Finally, Christian Henry Tobler explains the strange collection of esoterica that forms the final, inverted chapter of the book.

Hardcover, vol. I: 300 pp. (full-colour tables), vol. II: 194 pp. w/ num. ill.