Historical European Martial Arts - Early History (before 1350)

Early History (before 1350)

Further information: De Re Militari and Viking Age arms and armour

There are no known manuals predating the Late Middle Ages (except for fragmentary instructions on Greek wrestling, see P.Oxy. III 466), although Ancient and Medieval literature (e.g. Icelandic sagas and Middle High German epics) record specific martial deeds and military knowledge; in addition, historical artwork depicts combat and weaponry (e.g. the Bayeux tapestry, the Morgan Bible). Some researchers have attempted to reconstruct older fighting methods such as Pankration and gladiatorial combat by reference to these sources and practical experimentation, though such recreations necessarily remain more speculative than those based on actual instructions.

The so-called MS I.33 (also known as the Walpurgis or Tower Fechtbuch), dated to between ca. 1290 (by Alphonse Lhotsky) and the early-to-mid-14th century (by R. Leng, of the University of Würzburg), is the oldest surviving fechtbuch, teaching sword and buckler combat.