In 1467, Talhoffer, a Swabian fencing instructor, produced a lavishly illustrated fechtbuch (“fight-book”) with 270 beautifully drawn pictures demonstrating techniques for nearly every weapon in the medieval knight’s arsenal, as well as techniques for judicial combats between nobles and between peasants. Greenhill were responsible for resurrecting this remarkable how-to with when it published the first ever English translation, Medieval Combat: A Fifteenth-Century Illustrated Manual of Swordfighting and Close-Quarter Combat, and we are now pleased to announce that it will also soon be available in accessible paperback format. Medieval swordfighting was not the hacking, blade-on-blade, ring of steel affair represented in films and on the stage. Combatants in the Middle Ages used footwork, avoidance, and the ability to judge and manipulate timing and distance to exploit and enhance the sword’s inherent cutting and thrusting capabilities. These skills were supplemented with techniques for grappling, wrestling, kicking and throwing the opponent, as well as disarming him by seizing his weapon. Every attack contained a defence and every defence a counter-attack. In his attractive and highly influential manual Talhoffer reveals the intricacies of the medieval art of fighting and with its striking contemporary images provides a unique glimpse of real people fighting with skill, sophistication and ruthlessness. When it was first published by Greenhill in 2000 Medieval Combat received a number of favourable reviews: ‘This authentic contemporary guide to medieval combat is a must for re-enactors engaging in close combat.’ - Skirmish ‘‘Excellent ... forget the knightly chivalry this is a Medieval handbook for street-fighting with every conceivable dirty trick being used with the sole aim of winning the fight.’ - Arms & Armour Society ‘This authentic contemporary guide to medieval combat is a must for re-enactors engaging in close combat - and also incidentally an ideal Christmas present.’ - Skirmish: The Re-Enactment Magazine ‘‘... the book offers freeze-frame instructions on medievel martial arts using swords, shields, poleaxes, daggers and wrestling, both on foot and on horseback ... Aside from their historical merit, Talhoffer’s beautiful and austere illustrations provide a visual vocabulary of historical combat that might prove inspirational for directors, artists, re-enactors or stunt co-ordinators; others should not be surprised to find themselves posing in front of the nearest mirror.’ - Publishers’ Weekly (USA) Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 126 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com