IGX 2018 Lecture: Syllabus vs. System: The Method of Johannes Liechtenauer by Michael Chidester

Lecture by Michael Chidester at Iron Gate Exhibition 2018. http://irongateexhibition.com Slides: https://wiktenauer.com/wiki/File:IGX_... Johannes Liechtenauer, grand master of the oldest known German fencing tradition, recorded his art in a 358-line poem called the Zettel. To unlock the secrets of this poem, we rely on the writings of his students and associates, as well as later masters in his tradition. This lecture consists of two parts. The first will explore the different types of fencing manuals that have been preserved and what they contribute to our understanding of Liechtenauer’s tradition, and how they can be used together to construct a comprehensive explanation of Liechtenauer’s techniques. Much of the focus will be on sources that have only become available in the past few years and how they have changed or informed our current understanding. The second part will take a step back from the raw instructions in those sources and consider what they tell us about the fencing system itself. It will argue that the Zettel and glosses are not intended to describe a system of fencing in a straightforward or comprehensive fashion, but rather contain a syllabus for teaching that system to students. At the same time, clues in the text can lead us toward and understanding of the shape and nature of the system that underlies those teachings and suggest ways in which we can escape the trap of “fencing according to the lessons.” Michael Chidester has been studying historical European martial arts since 2001. He was a member of the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts until 2006, where he achieved the rank of general Free Scholar, and he acted as the ARMA Provo Study Group Leader from 2007 until its dissolution in 2009. Michael co-founded the True Edge Academy of Swordsmanship in 2009, and until late 2010 was senior instructor at its Provo, Utah branch. In 2012, Michael was appointed to the newly-established position of Director of the Wiktenauer by the Historical European Martial Arts Alliance general council, formalizing the role of principal designer and editor that he had assumed in early 2010. As Wiktenauer lead, Michael has assembled the most complete catalog of HEMA manuscripts currently available, including such resources as scans, transcriptions, and translations, and is currently laboring to assemble a similar catalog of printed treatises. In 2013, these efforts earned him a HEMA Scholar Award for Best Supporting Researcher. Michael has lectured on Medieval and Renaissance martial arts at the Historical Swordsmanship Symposium at the Massachusetts Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies, Life, the Universe, & Everything: the Marion K. “Doc” Smith Symposium at Brigham Young University, and numerous HEMA events including Broken Point, Fechtschule America, Fechtschule New York, the Iron Gate Exhibition of Historical Martial Arts, Longpoint, and thePurpleheart Armoury Open. In 2010, Michael received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Brigham Young University, with a minor degree in Military Science and additional coursework in Italian and Spanish. He developed a degree of fluency in the latter while living abroad in Mexico between 2002 and 2004. He is a member of the Western Martial Arts Coalition and a Lifetime Member of the HEMA Alliance.