Foundational Description of the Art of Fencing: The 1570 Treatise of Joachim Meyer (Reading Edition)

Dr. Rebecca Garber's landmark new translation of Joachim Meyer's 1570 masterwork brings one of the most sophisticated fencing treatises of the Renaissance into clear, accessible English. Meyer — master cutler, Freifechter, and renowned fencing master to craftsmen and nobility alike — authored a system so comprehensive it was copied by other masters for over a century after his death.

This Reading Edition is designed for active study. All 62 elaborate figures by the circle of Tobias Stimmer have been broken into individual fencer pairs and placed inline with the relevant text, so you never lose your place cross-referencing illustrations. Hundreds of footnotes support the technical content throughout, and historian Roger Norling contributes an exhaustive 110-page introduction covering Meyer's life, context, and the world of 16th-century German fencing.

Covers longsword, dusack, rapier, dagger, and polearms — the complete weapons system of the Imperial Free Cities militias and the Liechtenauer tradition.