The oldest known European fencing manual in existence.

One of the oldest and most enigmatic treasures in the Royal Armouries archives is the Royal Armouries manuscript, a surviving example of a Fechtbuch, or Fight Book. This particular manual was produced in Germany in the early 14th century and it documents historical martial arts techniques through a number of illustrated don’t know who it was written by or for, or even why it was written, but what we do know is that it is the oldest known European fencing manual anywhere in existence. Jeffrey Forgeng’s latest translation of is also available to pre-order through the Royal Armouries Shop: Where to find us: ⚔Website: ⚔Blog: ⚔Facebook: ⚔Twitter: The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom’s national collection of arms and armour. On this channel, discover what goes on behind the scenes at the museum and to see our collection come to life. From combat demonstrations to jousting coverage to behind the scenes tours with our curators, we’ve got it covered. Have a question about arms and armour? Feel free to leave us a comment and we’ll do our best to answer it.