Joachim Meyer: The Art of Fencing with the Longsword From the celebrated printed treatise — Strasbourg 1570

When Joachim Meyer's Gründtliche Beschreibung des Fechtens appeared in Strasbourg in 1570, the German fencing tradition received its crowning achievement. Meyer, a free fencer and master of the Strasbourg fencing school, gathered everything two centuries of Liechtenauer's teaching had accumulated and turned it into a coherent, systematic course—the most extensive and richly illustrated fencing book of its age. Rather than a collection of cryptic verses reserved for the initiated, it was written as an open textbook, guiding the reader step by step from the very foundations to the master's highest skills.

This volume presents Meyer's teaching on the longsword in its entirety—the heart of his work. It leads you through the fight exactly as Meyer taught it: from the onset (Zufechten), through work in the bind and the "handwork" (Handarbeit) at the strongest point of the encounter, to a safe withdrawal (Abzug). You will learn the guards (vom Tag, Ochs, Pflug, Alber, Eisenport, Wechsel, Langort), the master hews (Zornhaw, Zwerchhaw, Mittelhaw, Krumphaw, Schielhaw, Scheitelhaw), together with the full range of secondary hews and tactical devices that made Meyer's system famous.

The text is accompanied by Meyer's detailed illustrations: fencers captured in motion and clear diagrams of the cutting lines, allowing the geometry of every strike to be understood at a glance. A work already regarded in its own time as the pinnacle of the art now speaks again in a clear English translation, with carefully crafted typography that preserves the spirit of the Renaissance original, including decorative initials, period-inspired layout, and facsimile pages.

Because this is a digital edition, Meyer is always with you: available for immediate download after purchase, ready to open on your computer, tablet, or phone, fully searchable, and easy to take with you to seminars, training sessions, or while travelling.

What the edition contains

• Complete English translation of Meyer's teaching on the longsword (1570 treatise).
• Original illustrations and facsimile pages from the printed source.
• A complete account of the fight, from the onset (Zufechten) to the withdrawal (Abzug).
• Guards, master and secondary hews, and binding techniques presented with consistent terminology.
• Carefully designed typography inspired by the original edition, optimized for comfortable on-screen reading.

Discover the longsword as taught by the master who not only brought the German tradition to its fullest expression, but preserved it in a form that can still be studied and practised today.