Jeffrey Forgeng Presents a Medieval Manual: The Art Of Combat

One of the many treasures acquired by the Worcester Art Museum as part of the Higgins Armory collection is a rare original copy of Joachim Meyer’s sixteenth-century swordplay manual, The Art of Combat (Die Kunst des Fechtens). This work is one of the most important sources for modern swordfighters who are today reviving the combat arts of Medieval and Renaissance Europe. In 2015 the museum also acquired an equally rare two-hand fencing sword of the type used by Meyer, one of only three examples known to be in the Americas. The museum’s Curator of Arms, Armor, and Medieval Art, Jeffrey Forgeng, published the manual in translation in 2014, and he discusses the fascinating prints it contains to illustrate the Art of Combat. (Image: Tobias Stimmer from Joachim Meyer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons, image cropped)