Alongside the re-enactment community has sprung up what I have affectionately termed the "fechtbuch" crowd, students of medieval weaponcraft I should probably more correctly term medieval martial artists.

The objective of these groups, led by the Historical Armed Combat Association (HACA), is to attempt a reconstruction of medieval fighting systems based upon the remaining fighting manuals. Using various combat systems, they spar and attempt to rebuild something of the lost Western tradition.

Medieval Swordsmanship presents the novice with the basics needed to approach the study of the sword along the lines championed by HACA. The strength of the work is the obvious care and research that has gone into the study of medieval records and their distillation into a clear fighting system that makes use of medieval German terminology in an attempt to craft a common vocabulary.

This important work has stimulated both interest and discussion surrounding the fechtbuchs, valuable sources of martial information for martial artist, reconstructive archeologist or student of living history.

Two small weaknesses detract from the book's mission, though as I mentioned above overall the book has accomplished and contributed a great deal. The first of the weak areas is the lack of footnoting for specific techniques. Personally, I would have preferred if each technique was shown with reproductions of the medieval from which it was drawn, but production expenses may have precluded this given the sheer quantity of material covered. The second weakness is the rather sharp rebuke John points at many other practitioners of medieval swordsmanship. I think this tendency draws a line between John's valuable information and the thousands of swordsmen active within combat societies throughout the world.

Despite these two weaknesses, I think the book is a valuable addition to any swordsman's library. The living history student should be braced for undiluted venom, but would also be well served to ignore the barbs and look at the technique itself, which is well presented and reasonably complete.

This book is the first in what I hope will be more exhaustive studies of the medieval fechtbuchs. Presented in clear, concise English with easy-to-digest diagrams, anyone wanting to become a more skilled swordsman will benefit by studying this book.

Medieval Swordsmanship
John Clements -- The Historical Armed Combat Association
Paladin Press, Boulder, CO
8 1/2 x 11" paperback
ISBN
$39.95

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