Historical martial arts of Europe

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Image from the Codex Wallerstein : Fencer with various weapons.
Illustration of a stab with the "half sword" against a " murderous blow " in plate armor (Fig. 214 of the Codex Wallerstein)

As Historic martial arts (also HEMA called, of English Historical European martial arts ) describe themselves fighting techniques that were used in Europe from the 13th to the 17th century.

history

In contrast to the Asian region, some of the historical martial arts in Europe have not had a living tradition since the 17th century and are only preserved in the form of fencing books. The historical martial arts deal mainly with fighting techniques with edged weapons , but also with unarmed combat and war and siege equipment from that time.

There were different styles of fencing, also called “schools”, in Europe during the High Middle Ages and the Renaissance. These differed in their origins, but mainly in the weapons used and in the age in which they were popular. A distinction is made between the German school , the Italian school, the Spanish school, the English school and the French school. While the earlier fencing books mainly appeared in the German-speaking area, this development shifted to Italy in the course of the 16th to 17th centuries. Sports fencing today developed from the Italian and French schools .

The context in which the respective martial art was practiced must also be considered. So practicing knights and other soldiers fighting techniques for military use on the battlefield.

Fencing was also a bourgeois art for self-defense. The heyday was in the 15th century, when "fencing brotherhoods" were organized like a guild. In the German-speaking area, the "Marx brothers" and the "Federfechter" should be mentioned in particular, in France the "Le jeu de la hache" ("The game of the ax") based in Burgundy .

Fencing was also used for amusement; traveling showmen performed spectacular exhibition fights at fairs. These were disparagingly called "knockers" by the serious fencing masters.

Some European martial arts have emerged from the historical martial arts, on the one hand wrestling , which describes unarmed combat in some fencing books, and on the other hand today's sport fencing with foil , rapier or saber . However, the historical term "fencing" refers to combat in general and is not limited to sword fencing .

There are now a large number of associations that deal with the reconstruction of historical martial arts. Some of these clubs have also adopted elements from the Asian sword arts. In June 2014 the German Umbrella Association of Historical Fencers eV ( DDHF ) was founded. It bundles the interests of the German HEMA groups and represents them in the international umbrella organization IFHEMA (International Federation of Historical European Martial Arts). In Germany there are around 4900 historical fencers at 169 different locations (as of January 2020).

Furthermore, medieval jockeying is practiced as a sport today . Around 300 members from 21 countries are organized in the International Jousting League. In Germany, the International Jousting League is represented by the German Jousting Association.

literature

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DDHF.de, About Us , accessed on August 7, 2016
  2. ↑ Hemaguide: HEMA Census Germany 2019 results. In: HEMA Guide. January 9, 2020, accessed April 24, 2020 (American English).
  3. ^ International Jousting League , accessed May 6, 2012
  4. ↑ German Tjostvereinigung , accessed 6 May 2012