Longsword
The longsword is the subject of the majority of historical fencing manuals from the medieval/high medieval period. While many of the texts also describe other weapons, the longsword provides a common thread throughout. Meyer also uses many of the lessons from the longsword as a basis for his other weapon treatises.
From its earliest days the longsword was a battlefield weapon and remained in use as such through the 14th and 15th centuries, eventually fading into disuse as a common battlefield weapon at the close of the 16th century. During this period, however, it also became the weapon of choice for judicial duels, as well as one of the central weapons in competitive schulefechten. This last application became the central focus of the longsword during the 16th century with the rise in popularity of fencing as a sport amongst the citizens of German towns and cities.
This section describes the late period longsword of Joachim Meyer and his contemporaries.
Guards
Fundamentals
Principal Guards
Secondary Guards
Low Side Guards
- Wechsel (change)
- Nebenhut (near guard)
- Schranckhut (barrier guard)
High Side Guards
Centreline Guards
Hanging Guards
Strikes
Principal Cuts
- Oberhauw (high cut)
- Unterhauw (low cut)
- Mittelhauw (middle cut)
- Zornhauw (wrath cut)
Secondary Cuts
Crooked cut variations:
False edge cuts which parry:
- Schielhauw (squinting/glancing strike)
- Glutzhauw (clashing strike)
Zwerch variations:
- Zwerch (thwart)
- Kneichelhauw (wrist strike)
Plunging Oberhauw variations:
- Sturtzhauw (plunge strike)
- Kronhauw ( crown strike)
Changing Strikes:
- Wechselhauw (change strike)
- Prellhauw (rebound strike)
Flicking hits:
- Schneller (flick)
- Blendthauw (blind strike)
Unterhauw & Zornhauw combination cuts:
- Windthauw (winding strike)
Thrusts
- High thrust
- Low thrust
Meisterhauw
- Zornhauw
- Scheitelhauw
- Krumphauw
- Schielhauw
- Zwerch
Cutting to the Openings
Handwork Descriptions
Entering
- Nachreisen (chasing)
- Schlaudern (slinging)
- Einlauffen (running in)
Anbinden (Binding)
- Umbschlagen (striking around)
- Rinde (looping/rounds)
- Doplieren (doubling)
- Umbschnappen (snapping around)
- Winden (winding)
- Durchwinden (winding through)
Verstullen (blocking)
- Schneiden (slicing)
- Hendtrucken (pressing hands)
- Verkehren (reversing)
- Außreissen (wrenching)
- Sperren (barring)
- Ubergreiffen (over gripping)
Versetzen (parrying)
- Absetzen (setting off)
- Verschieben (sliding/deflecting)
- Hengen (hanging)
- Abschneiden (slicing off)
Verfuhren (deceiving)
- Zirckel (circle)
- Zucken (pulling)
- Verfliegen (fleeing/flying away)
- Wechseln (changing)
- Fehlen (failing)
- Ablauffen (running off)
