The "Gladiatoria" group of German fencing manuscripts are several
editions of a treatise on armoured foot combat, specifically aimed at
duel fighting.
Gloriously-illustrated, and replete with substantial commentary, these
works are some of the greatest achievements in the corpus of late
medieval fight books. These works have both tremendous artistic merit
and incalculable historical value.
In this remarkable full color volume, authors Dierk Hagedorn and
Bartlomiej Walczak elegantly present their work on the copy of this
treatise now in the Yale Center for British Art, including a
reproduction of the manuscript, a full transcription, and translations
into English.
The work includes a foreword by Sydney Anglo which explains how the work
shows a highly sophisticated pedagogical system of movement and applauds
the editors for presenting the material in a clear and practical way.
Additional essays discuss other aspects of the manuscript - including a
tale of Dierk Hagedorn's adventures tracking down the manuscript.