Pieces of Ringeck

The Definitive Edition of the Gloss of Sigmund Ainring. By Sigmund Ainring, Michael Chidester, and Dierk Hagedorn.

Sigmund Ainring is one of the most important fencing masters of the Liechtenauer tradition. The only member of the fellowship of Liechtenauer to offer an explanation of his long sword teachings, Ainring’s treatise is part of the bedrock of HEMA today. Where previous books have focused on only one or two copies of his work, this new edition by Michael Chidester and Dierk Hagedorn incorporates all nine known manuscripts and allows us to fully appreciate the breadth of Ainring’s teachings.

Included is a new translation of Ainring’s gloss on the unarmored sword and the spear and sword in armor, on horse and on foot, streamlined for easier reading and based on 20 years of advancement in our understanding of Liechtenauer’s art; the translation of the long sword also includes illustrations from the Cluny Fechtbuch, the Glasgow Fechtbuch, and other sources for the first time. In addition, each copy of Ainring’s text is transcribed and translated separately, arranged side-by-side so they can be easily compared. To round this off, it features introductory material about Johannes Liechtenauer, Sigmund Ainring, Hans Medel, and Albrecht of Bavaria, as well as a discussion of the gloss tradition and the structure of Liechtenauer’s teachings and a codicological study of all nine manuscripts included in this book.

Contents

Foreword by Tea Kew …  i

Preface …  ⅲ
Michael Chidester

Introduction: Why I used to despise the Sigmund Ringeck manuscript …  1
Dierk Hagedorn

1. Historical context …  17
Michael Chidester

2. Structure of the gloss …  33
Michael Chidester

3. Combined translation …  51
Michael Chidester

4. Manuscript discussion …  153
Michael Chidester

5. Reading apparatus …  205
Michael Chidester & Dierk Hagedorn

Appendix 1: Hans Medel overflow …  443
Appendix 2: Concordance …  445
Glossary …  451
Bibliography …  459
About the authors …  483

HC, 484 pp., num. ill.