I am Roland Warzecha, a professional illustrator – and a swordsman. Hence the name ‘Dimicator’ which is a Latin term meaning sword fighter. I present to you cutting-edge research into historical martial arts, and Viking & high medieval sword & shield fighting in particular. I am co-operating with museums, fellow martial artists and scholars worldwide. Renowned expert for historical arms, Dr Alfred Geibig, says: “The careful reconstruction of historical swordsmanship, impressively demonstrated by Mr. Warzecha, is a valuable supplement to archaeological insights, and clearly proves the efficiency of European swords and the sophistication of the associated historical fighting arts.” To get regular up-dates on the archaeology and history of sword & shield and how they were used, sign up for my newsletter! I would be delighted if you would join my quest.
Up is Down: Decoding Gothic Fight Book Images
New Academic Paper on the Artwork in Europe’s Oldest Combat TreatiseHello medievalists and sword-and-buckler fighters, A new open-access paper relevant to the study of medieval swordsmanship has just been released. In their article, my fellow instructors and researchers, Cornelius Berthold and Ingo Petri, present our hypotheses on how to interpret perspective in MS I.33’s illustrations, based on a lecture they delivered at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. In their paper, they state: „Fight books throughout the centuries had to find solutions for conveying crucial details of the depicted martial arts, both in text and image. Naturalistic depictions of fighters, while more intuitive to the modern viewer who is accustomed to photographs, do not necessarily provide such information. Later authors therefore elaborated on the illustrations used in their books or they added more images or enriched the existing ones with additional visual markers. One can consider photographs taken from multiple perspectives in today’s martial arts manuals a modern response to this problem. As we have argued in this article, MS I.33 uses a repertoire of artistic conventions from Gothic painting to solve this issue.“ Discover how exactly this was achieved and learn to better understand the imagery of the oldest fight book.
Unfolding I.33Their paper links to a post of mine on the same subject. If you would like to see additional examples of how oddities in Gothic illustration, such as multiple view planes or compositions with unrealistic body sizes, still remain a standard element of art and illustration today—probably without you even noticing—take a look at my post.
70-4-7-4-7To celebrate the results of this research into the fight book’s combat system, we are offering our foundational I.33 online course at the Seven-Wards fare for one week: for seven days, seven sword-and-buckler enthusiasts can acquire the course at seventy percent of the regular price—that’s 30% off! You can pay in one lump sum of $350 or in ten monthly instalments of $35 to get lifetime access to more than six hours of video tutorials. Plus, you’ll get the best value when the follow-up course is released.
Lay your I.33 foundation now! So, that's it for today. Take care, and keep your blade well-honed. If you enjoyed this newsletter, please recommend it to your friends. They can sign up here or on my website. Or simply forward them this email. To learn to fight, consult our sword & buckler online course. If you wish to read more, find hundreds of related posts on my Patreon. Special thanks to all my loyal supporters on Patreon – you keep me going! And if you are not a patron yet, you are most welcome to join. If you feel like dropping a coin into my tip jar, you can do so here. Thank you for your time and your interest. Yours, Roland You are receiving this newsletter because you have signed up for it, or because you have previously expressed your interest in my work and events. If you prefer to not receive further emails, you can unsubscribe below. |
Dimicator
I am Roland Warzecha, a professional illustrator – and a swordsman. Hence the name ‘Dimicator’ which is a Latin term meaning sword fighter. I present to you cutting-edge research into historical martial arts, and Viking & high medieval sword & shield fighting in particular. I am co-operating with museums, fellow martial artists and scholars worldwide. Renowned expert for historical arms, Dr Alfred Geibig, says: “The careful reconstruction of historical swordsmanship, impressively demonstrated by Mr. Warzecha, is a valuable supplement to archaeological insights, and clearly proves the efficiency of European swords and the sophistication of the associated historical fighting arts.” To get regular up-dates on the archaeology and history of sword & shield and how they were used, sign up for my newsletter! I would be delighted if you would join my quest.
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...
Armour, Helmets, Sword & Shield Late medieval church in Neckarsteinach, built 1481–1483 Dear fellow sword fighters, scholars, and history enthusiasts, I hope you had a wonderful festive season and a great start to 2025. Over the Christmas holiday, I used a family trip as an opportunity to visit an enchanting medieval church in Neckarsteinach. This picturesque city is situated on the banks of the Neckar River, marking the border between Hessen and Baden-Württemberg. The surrounding slopes and...
Limited Offer: The Foundational I.33 Online Course Dear Fellow Sword Fighter, Start the new year by stepping into the fascinating world of medieval single combat! Our foundational online course, The Medieval Art of Fighting with Sword & Buckler, offers you a comprehensive introduction to the 14th-century fighting system outlined in MS I.33. With over 60 videos and 5.5 hours of detailed instruction, this course covers everything from tactics and footwork to blade binds and striking mechanics....