Der mittelalterliche Zweikampf als agonale Praktik zwischen Recht, Ritual und Leibesübung

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Uwe Israel (†)
• Subject Area: Medieval History
• Term: from 2005 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 12508351

In the prolongation phase of the project, the central concern is to analyse the formation of a specific culture of knowledge and experts regarding duelling and fencing practices between the medieval and early modern periods. By applying a comparative perspective to European and particularly transalpine developments, the project will trace how the practical knowledge of self defense strategies and martial techniques was generated and didactically conveyed under constantly changing conditions, thereby focusing on the impact of the transition from manuscript to print and from the 'body memory' to the cultural 'literal memory'. Insofar, the project will address the intermediality of the topic between performance, textuality and visuality. Consequently, the face-to-face instruction of fencing masters in the context of urban fencing schools and their habits of self-expression will be examined, as well as the relationship of text and image in the extensive tradition of fencing manuals of Germany and Italy. The textual organisation of these fencing books after the principles of textus and glosa commenting on the canonical textbook reveals a closeness to academic milieus at the universities, then as now closely related to fencing skills and practices up to the 'measure' of students' fraternities. Given the high visual content of fencing books and material artefacts of the medieval weapons culture, the project's results will be presented in an exhibition scheduled for early 2015 and documented in an exhibition catalogue.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Persons: Professor Dr. Michael Matheus; Professor Dr. Frank Rexroth