Geometry of the Nebra Twin Swords, 1600 BC Harald Meller and myself discussing sword grip designs through the centuries Hello fellow sword and (pre-)history enthusiasts, You may already have read about my recent trip to the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle. Together with Professor Harald Meller, I filmed several segments on historical and prehistoric arms and combat. Demonstrating a late medieval buckler play by Andres Lignitzer with Jonas Radtke Harald Meller and I did not part without...
15 days ago • 1 min read
Exploring Prehistoric Fighting Arts Bronze Age weapons from the inventory of the Museum of Prehistory in Halle Hello fellow fighters and (pre-)history aficionados, This newsletter is all about Bronze Age weaponry — their design, handling, and function. As this email goes out, I am on my journey home from two days of filming at the Museum of Prehistory in Halle, home to the world-famous Nebra sky disc. Professor Harald Meller in front of the Museum in Halle At the invitation of Professor...
29 days ago • 2 min read
Mark Your Calendar Contents of my sword case Hello fellow fighters, sword enthusiasts and living history experts, I’ve just returned from a wonderful sword-and-shield weekend in Berlin, training at the 24th Berlin Buckler Bouts with around forty dedicated practitioners from all over the world. As one of the organisers, I’d like to express my gratitude for a cheerful and safe training environment. It was a physically demanding two days — yet I enjoyed each of my 500+ passes. Thank you all! The...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Final Event Info Dear fellow buckler fighters, This weekend, we will gather for the 24th Berlin Buckler Bouts — hurrah! We anticipate 35 dedicated fencers from the Czech Republic, the US, Poland, Denmark, and Germany. If you’d like, you can watch my video of the BBB XI, which nicely captures the atmosphere. The event logo is available for download. Additionally, you’ll find links to a great article on slow fencing and another video on the BBB here. These two texts are also highly recommended:...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
The Pen and the Sword—and the Buckler My I.33 character sheet Hello fellow medievalists and sword enthusiasts, As many of you know, I’m both an illustrator and a researcher/instructor of historical combat with sword and shield. To help promote the unique I.33 online courses I’ve developed with top swordsman and scholar Cornelius Berthold, I’ve created a series of comic characters to bring a little extra fun to our upcoming campaign. Want to meet the I.33 cartoon crew? Join the waitlist and...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Viking Age come to Life ... Rowing into the morning mist Hi Viking enthusiasts, sword people and time travellers, I’ve created this piece of concept art for a new video that my fellow illustrator Oliver Wünsch at HistoRealities and I are currently working on. See the full image on my Patreon, watch previous videos here. Winter is coming to the Ribe VikingeCenter Frosty Nights and Daily Fights at Ribe Previously, I shared with you images from Arttu's spear workshop at the recent Ribe Bouts....
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Close Combat with Shield and Short Spear The threat of a throw is how Arttu dominates an opponent at wide range Hello historical martial arts enthusiasts, What happens when a professional dancer, researcher, and martial artist explores the dynamics of spear and shield combat? At the Ribe Bouts 2025, Arttu Peltoniemi shared fifteen years of study on how javelin-sized spears and sharp spearheads behave in close combat — with impressive precision and physical control. The Ribe class also...
2 months ago • 1 min read
HistoRealities.com — Authenticity Animated Our new project: Historical accuracy meets cutting-edge animation Hello history enthusiasts, Regular readers will recall recent editions of this newsletter discussing both the exciting possibilities and the frustrating absurdities of AI image and video generation — particularly when it comes to creating animated depictions of historical figures and settings. The conference took place at Augsburg University on 9/10 October I’ve just returned from a...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Fall for Swords: From Viking Shields to Bronze Blades On the training field in the Ribe VikingeCenter Hello fellow sword enthusiasts, Autumn has arrived, and the calendar is brimming with exciting events. The Ribe Bouts are now fully booked. I am delighted by the event’s popularity and look forward to welcoming Viking re-enactors from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Finland at the wonderful Ribe VikingeCenter in just two weeks. Attendees will receive final information by email...
3 months ago • 2 min read