Lance, Spear, Sword, and Messer

Christian Tobler has revealed the lost world of German knightly martial arts to a modern audience. His Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship (2001) was the first complete English translation of a medieval fighting text combined with a textual and photographic interpretation of its hundreds of techniques. Since then, he has published three translation-editions of other 15th-century combat treatises, and an extensive, fully illustrated training guide for students interested in the practical study of the art, Fighting with the German Longsword. His collection, In Saint George’s Name (2010), was an anthology of essays on the art. In 2021 he joined forces with Dierk Hagedorn to present a transcription, translation and analysis of the complete 15th-century manuscript of The Peter von Danzig Fight Book, devoted to the fencing tradition of German grandmaster Johannes Liechtenauer. Christian Henry Tobler is Principal Instructor for the Selohaar Fechtschule, a school for historical fencing.