Events at Hedeby, Bruges, and Berlin Living & training at the Hedeby Bouts in April 2024 Dear sword-and-shield fighters and medieval arms aficionados, Time is flying! If you’re planning to join us at the Hedeby Bouts (12–13 April), fence shield fighters from Poland, the UK, the US, and Germany at the Berlin Buckler Bouts (24–25 May), or attend our classes at Fechtschule Bruges 2025 (1–4 May), now is the time to sign up. These events are driven by the passion and commitment of their...
12 days ago • 1 min read
Final Day to Save 40% on the New I.33 Course Learn to apply obsessiones to safely enter a fight Dear Fellow Sword Fighter, If you want to: Unlock 700-year-old martial concepts & sword fighting technique Understand the merits and limitations of attacking with cuts Master measure and timing Train with clear, precise instructions Apply core martial concepts to your fencing Deepen your understanding of martial legacy & lineage across European sword arts Prevail against left-handers as well as...
12 days ago • 1 min read
Fast, Efficient, Lethal First-person view of a so-called durchtritt (from our latest online course) Dear Fellow Researcher and Fighter, The stylised cute images in the 14th-century fechtbuch I.33 mask the lethal efficiency of the combat techniques they illustrate. Now, you can unlock the manuscript’s teachings embedded in the glosses and its medieval artwork. With clarity and depth, we guide you through decoding its visuals and understanding their martial relevance. The very same technique as...
13 days ago • 1 min read
A Medieval Martial Legacy A first-person perspective of schutzen against the right-shoulder ward Dear fellow sword-and-shield enthusiast, Contrary to popular misconception, I.33 is not an isolated oddity but firmly part of the martial lineage that later produced the famed fechtbücher of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance. At the same time, it preserves core concepts of shield fighting that dominated combat for millennia—making it a vital key to understanding martial arts across eras. A...
18 days ago • 1 min read
Now available: Schutzen – Fighting with Sword & Buckler 2 Dear fellow fencers and fighters, medievalists and scholars, The long-awaited follow-up to our foundational online course has arrived! Schutzen – Fighting with Sword & Buckler 2 presents the plays of the second and third wards. Together with the section on half-shield against first ward (covered in Course 1), these form the core of the combat system preserved in Royal Armouries manuscript I.33—the oldest known treatise on sword...
21 days ago • 1 min read
New I.33 Online Course Launches This Weekend! I.33's durchtritt or tread-through accomplished Dear sword-and-shield enthusiasts, martial artists, and gamers, Cornelius and I are excited about our new online course on medieval sword-and-buckler fencing, based on Europe’s oldest surviving combat treatise—Royal Armouries manuscript I.33. It will be released this weekend. What we will present to you adds an important set of options to your repertoire of sword-and-buckler techniques, complementing...
26 days ago • 2 min read
The Geometric Logic of Bronze Sword Hilts Nordic bronze swords at the Danish National Museum in Copenhagen Hello scholars of archaeology and practitioners of historical swordsmanship, The way technical requirements and socio-cultural influences have shaped the sword throughout history continues to fascinate me, and it remains a central focus of my research. For my book, I am now exploring the origins of ergonomic design. Fellow researcher Holger Heid recently pointed me towards surviving...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Bronze Swords Galore 3000-year old swords waiting to be examined Hello, fellow sword-and-shield aficionados, I’m sure you’ve heard of the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle—the one that houses the famous Nebra Sky Disc. But that’s just one highlight of its immense collection, and the museum is well worth a visit for many other reasons. They have plenty of swords too, you know! The pommel supports the weight of a top-heavy blade Thanks to the generosity and support of the museum’s direction,...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
AI and Historical Accuracy: A Mismatch Detail of Hamburg's Alster fortification in the early 11th century Hello, fellow medieval military history enthusiasts, Recently, one of my illustrations of Hamburg’s 11th-century fortifications went viral on Facebook. A follower kindly commented: “AI has nothing on you, sir.” I was delighted by this enthusiastic response—and he is absolutely right. Generative AI cannot create historically accurate images of pre-modern eras. This is because AI is trained...
2 months ago • 3 min read