Images from 15th century Fechtbuch, "Goliath"

The "Goliath" is a rare manuscript from the late-1400's. The manuscript is dated c. 1510-1520.  It is one of the more obscure Fechtbucher and one which has not been examined at length before by pracitioners.  We are excited to present online select portions from the more than 200+ pages of this unique work.  Originally in color (as seen on the far right), this version is black & white. As with other recent acquisitions, we have just begun a modest translation effort of the Goliath text. If you can assist in translating Medieval or Old German and Latin and would like to be a part, please email the webmaster. We also welcome observations and comments about the content. Goliath is so named for the opening scene depicting the Bible story of David versus Goliath. The work is interesting in that it features a range of clearly depicted armored and unarmored techniques and indeed features some of the best artwork of great-sword usage from any historical fencing text.  Noticeable is the distance between the combatants and the lack of defensive edge on edge action. The orginial is in color but these are black & white. More sections will be added here in time.  Please note, these images are slow to load.

The manuscript was illustrated by a Swiss guild and may come from Austria. It reveals three different handwriting styles and may be the work of multiple authors over time. The final few illustrations appear to be only sketches and captions on several pages are not complete suggesting the work was unfinished or being added to.

Note: all these online images have been marked as originating at the ARMA
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