Collection: Freelance Academy Press
Bringing readers innovative books in the fields of Western martial arts, American and European history, arms and armour, chivalry, and historical arts and crafts, Freelance Academy Press has particular strengths in the areas of medieval and renaissance European arms and armour.
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Paulus Hector Mair's Ars Athletica Volume I
Scholar-swordsman Paulus Hector Mair (1517-1579) commissioned a study of medieval European combat, the Treatise on the Martial Arts. This edition presents both the original German and Latin texts, as well as a modern English translation, with full-colour illustrations. Volume 1 is the Longsword, ...
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Paulus Hector Mair's Ars Athletica Volume 2
Scholar-swordsman Paulus Hector Mair (1517-1579) commissioned a study of medieval European combat, the Treatise on the Martial Arts. This edition presents both the original German and Latin texts, as well as a modern English translation, with full-colour illustrations. Volume 2 is the Dusack, the...
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Paulus Hector Mair's Ars Athletica Volume 3
Scholar-swordsman Paulus Hector Mair (1517-1579) commissioned a study of medieval European combat, the Treatise on the Martial Arts. This edition presents both the original German and Latin texts, as well as a modern English translation, with full-colour illustrations. Volume 2 presents 108 train...
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Fighting in Armour
A detailed exploration of armoured combat with sword, dagger, spear and axe. Filled with techniques, drills, explanation of armour and its component parts, and an overview of the various sources and their authors, the pages are illustrated with photographs, mainly in colour, of beautiful replica ...
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Captain of the Guild
In this first printed edition of Falkner's work, a full translation and analysis, combined with a photographic reproduction of the original manuscript are included. The result is an attractive translation of a 500 year old picture-book that shows an adaptation of the Liechtenauer tradition, by a ...
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The Combat of the Thirty
In this volume Steven Muhlberger translates the historical accounts of the Combat of the Thirty and then examines both what contemporaries thought, and how the battle has been remembered through the centuries, giving readers a window into late medieval chivalric culture.
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Art and Practice of 16th-Century German Fencing
Joachim Meyer (ca. 1537 - 1571) was one of the most influential fencing masters of the Renaissance—a prolific writer of fencing manuals. In Art and Practice of 16th-Century German Fencing Robert Rutherfoord unpacks the complex and elegant art of Meyer's rapier in word and image, including over 20...
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In Service of the Duke
Writing in the mid-15th century, Master Paulus Kal was the agent and fencing master to the powerful Duke Ludwig IX of Bavaria. In this fencing book prepared for his ducal patron he presented in beautifully rendered and highly detailed illuminations figures wielding the sword, sword and buckler, d...
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The Complete Renaissance Swordsman
Translated into English for the first time, this book includes a valuable and extensive technical introduction, with illustrations from both original sources and modern photographs. Antonio Manciolino's instructions are easy to follow, sword-in-hand, even by beginners, while providing years of tr...
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In Saint George's Name
As a window into the knight and his craft, In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts brings readers a treasure trove of historic combat treatises, musings on the culture and context of the martial arts in the late Middle Ages and hands-on illustrated training exercises...
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In the Service of Mars Volume 1
In the Service of Mars, Volume One is both a compilation of some of the most popular and detailed lectures and class notes from Western Martial Arts Workshop's first decade (1999-2010), and a record of the growth of the Western martial arts community in depth and breadth over the same time.
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Introduction to the Italian Rapier
Internationally renowned swordsman and instructor Devon Boorman demonstrates the fundamentals of Renaissance rapier combat. Practical guide for students from an expert author. Over 500 illustrations.
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Royal Jousts at the End of the Fourteenth Century
Bringing together some of the most important accounts of medieval jousting, especially those of the jousts at St. Inglevert, this is a direct look at the sources that have influenced our modern ideas and reconstructions of late medieval jousting.
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The Twelve of England
A complete translation of the earliest known version of the Twelve of England, Professor Fallows presents the text in both the medieval Portuguese and an accompanying English translation. Contains a facsimile of the original manuscript, an introduction covering the historical context, colour illu...
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Flowers of Battle The Complete Martial Works of Fiore dei Liberi Vol. I
First in new five-part series presenting full-colour facsimiles, transcriptions and translations of the early 15th-century manuscripts by Fiore dei Libere, considered to be the father of Italian swordsmanship. Includes chapters on his life, students, patrons, and arms and armour in the Getty Manu...
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Iberian Swordplay
First publication of 1599 manuscript by Portuguese master-at-arms Domingo Luis Godinho entitled Arte de Esgrima (The Art of Fencing).Tim Rivera provides detailed introduction explaining Godinho's relationship to earlier sword masters, and a short primer on the various weapons, guards, parries, fo...
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Will a Frenchman Fight?
This book describes a campaign of the Hundred Years War in 1380-1. The campaign itself was a great chevauchée, or raid, by the English through France and though it had its practical goals, it was also a striking illustration of the place of chivalric self-image in shaping warfare. Colour illustra...
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Fighting with the German Longsword
Recorded over six centuries ago, the teachings of the Master-at-Arms Johannes Liechtenauer have been given new life in this book. Used as a self-contained course, or a primer for studying the medieval works, this book will be invaluable to martial artists, reenactors, medieval historians, or anyo...
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Flowers of Battle The Complete Martial Works of Fiore dei Liberi Vol III
Third in new five-part series presenting full-colour facsimiles, transcriptions and translations of the early 15th-century manuscripts by Fiore dei Libere, considered to be the father of Italian swordsmanship. Includes a translation, transcription and reproduction of the last and most recently di...
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The Peter von Danzig Fight Book
Noted medieval combat authorities Dierk Hagedorn and Christian Henry Tobler join forces to present a transcription, translation and analysis of the Peter von Danzig Fight Book, one of the finest manuscripts of the 15th century devoted to the fencing tradition of German grandmaster Johannes Liecht...
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Murder, Rape, and Treason
Murder, Rape and Treason: Judicial Combats in the Late Middle Ages contains accounts of some of the most sanguine, unusual or controversial judicial duels of the late Middle Ages. These duels—formal, limited combats—are among the best-known medieval deeds of arms, and were an important part of la...
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Historical Fencing Manual
A true, modern fencing manual for training in the tradition of the southern Italian school of the late Renaissance, written by a modern master of the art. The texts of the 17th- and 18th-century masters are broken-down, synthesized and arranged into a concise, modern pedagogy; a complete course u...
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The Chronicle of the Good Duke Louis II of Bourbon
The Chronicle of the Bourbon Duke Louis II is translated here into English for the first time. A striking picture of the Hundred Years' War, it provides vivid descriptions of military life of the late 14th century. It spans the war against the English, the campaigns by the French in the Baltic re...
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In the Service of Mars Volume 2
A compilation of the most popular and detailed lectures and class notes from Western Martial Arts Workshop. From longsword to sword and buckler fencing; deadly knife-fighting to mounted combat, the martial traditions of England, Germany, Italy and Spain are all amply represented and combined with...
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Charny's Men-at-Arms
Steven Muhlberger turns his pen to the final section of Charny's work to reveal what it tells us about how medieval 'men-at-arms' conceived of themselves as a class, at precisely the moment that their world was undergoing a series of sweeping changes that would forever change the profession of arms.
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The Book of Historic Fashion
Provides a visual snapshot of the courtly elegance and common wear of the Middle Ages. Filled with hundreds of sketches taken from original sources, mechanical drawings and detailed 'layer drawings' demonstrating how the clothing was worn, the book will help newcomers find their way into the stud...
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Venetian Rapier: The School, or Salle
This book takes you to the fencing School of celebrated renaissance rapier Master Nicoletto Giganti of Venice. This faithful translation of Giganti's The School by internationally-known rapier teacher Tom Leoni includes the complete text, original illustrations and an introduction on rapier fenci...
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Ancient Swordplay
In late Victorian England, Captain Alfred Hutton and Egerton Castle, both devoted fencers and amateur historians, led a systematic study and reconstruction of combat with all the weapons of the Elizabethan arsenal. Their work found practical expression in classes, exhibitions, academic lectures a...
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Swordplay
Translation of illustrated 1595 Dutch manuscript Schermkunst (Swordplay). Discusses fencing with single sword, rapier and dagger, rapier and buckler, halberd, and full pike. Translated and contextualised by Reinier van Noort, a respected Dutch swordsman, instructor and researcher. 39 colour illu...
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Revelations of Rapier
Robert Childs' book seeks to bestow not just mechanical advice, but also to provide a philosophy of fencing that shows the swordsman not only the how, but the why. The book is both a primer on Childs' own eclectic system of rapier combat and an exploration of the wide variety of topics that fence...
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Fiore dei Liberi's Armizare
Robert Charrette here brings together his experience as a martial artist and respected 14th century historian to take readers on a tour of Fiore's manuscripts, and into the mindset behind its creation. This is a tool-kit that reveals Fiore dei Liberi's brilliance as a fighter, and as a martial ar...
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Medieval Wrestling
Jessica Finley, of the renowned medieval martial arts association the Selohaar Fechtschule, guides the reader on a journey that begins with the historical background of Master Ott's wrestling and culminates in step-by-step instruction for practicing the techniques of this ancient fighting art.
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Hidden in Plain Sight
Ellis Amdur's writing on martial arts is ground-breaking. Completely revised and substantially expanded second edition. New material includes discussion of the transfer of esoteric power training from China to Japanese jujutsu systems, Japanese swordsmanship from the Kurama traditions, Daito-ryu ...
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'Can These Bones Come to Life?'
This volume examines the depth and breadth in which experimental archaeology and textual analysis can come together to reveal the past. From glass beads to iron smelting, the profession of arms to chivalric virtues, this collection provides a unique insight into both the daily and intellectual li...
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Lance, Spear, Sword, and Messer
This book covers the fighting traditions of the late 14th and early 15th centuries, particularly as recorded by Johannes Liechtenauer (1300-1389), with sections on the two-handed sword, spear, poleaxe, wrestling, and the use of long shields. It also provides analysis and historical commentary on ...
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Surviving Examples of Early Plate Armour (1300-1430)
Surviving Examples of Early Plate Armour (1300-1430) will be a series of four volumes, a lavishly illustrated catalogue of early plate armour. Volume One focuses on the bascinet, the ubiquitous helmet of the period: a detailed record of the surviving pieces, noting their provenance, characteristi...
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Burgundian Poleaxe
Le Jeu de la Hache, written in the mid fifteenth century for the Burgundian Court, is the oldest known French-language martial arts text. In this new translation and interpretive guide, Jason Smith presents a complete translation of Le Jeu, photographic reconstructions of techniques and a primer ...
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The Art of Defence on Foot with the Broad Sword and Sabre
First published in 1804, intended for civilians wanting to learn to fence with the sabre, broadsword or spadroon. Illustrated - 21 digitally enhanced originals. Original text is reproduced in a modern typesetting, aimed at current students and enthusiasts of Historical Martial Arts.
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The Medieval Dagger
Guy Windsor presents a complete guide to Italian dagger combat, as set down in Il Fior di Battaglia, a manuscript written in 1410. Readers are guided through the processes of this six hundred year old art, from guard positions to steps and turns; from disarms to locks and takedowns; from safe fal...
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Old School
This new, expanded edition brings readers inside the dojos of the ancient schools of Japanese martial arts, analysing the evolution of Japanese weaponry, addressing the myth and reality of Japan's naginata-wielding warrior women, and discussing the modern relevance of the blood oaths, magical rit...
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The True Principles of Combat
The late 16th century was one of great political and social upheaval, an era in which medieval knights, feudal armies, town levies and hired mercenaries were giving way to modern militaries. Pike and shot had come to dominate the field, and swordplay had become a pastime, as often used to settle ...
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'Can These Bones Come to Life?'
This volume examines the study and reconstruction of medieval and early modern fight-books and related subjects. The subjects covered range from manuscript studies to philology, from Aristotelian physics to martial musicality, from medieval textuality to women and warfare.
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Dueling with O-Sensei
O-Sensei was a martial artist and founder of the Japanese martial art of Aikido. Amdur brought something new to martial arts writing – a startling honesty about the flaws, not only within martial arts culture, but also within its practitioners. Originally published in 2001, fully revised, with 8 ...
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Ridolfo Capoferro's The Art and Practice of Fencing
Rapier instructor Tom Leoni offers a full, accurate and accessible English translation of Ridolfo Capoferro's teachings in the Great Representation of the Art and Practice of Fencing, complete with high-resolution reproductions of the 43 original illustrations. Includes a glossary of rapier-fenci...
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