Hroarr

17/05/2024

For anyone interested in Meyer, here's a part of my research into his connections to nobility.

02/09/2023

In a way, this represents two lives on paper, Meyer's, and my own. After almost 15 years of studying, teaching and lecturing on Renaissance fencing master Joachim Meyer, I finally put my understanding of the man and the world he lived in, into print, in the form of an extensive biography, packed with information, and plentiful of footnotes and references for further study. In it, you will read about as diverse topics as martial culture, Meyer's cities, fencing guilds, craftsmen guilds, weapons, social and financial developments, religious conflict, Middle-Eastern astrology, Greco-Roman culture and humanism, linguistics and the effects on it by book printing, the characteristics of Meyer's teachings in combat, and more.
The translation by Garber is an important addition to HEMA, and to all students of Meyer, and I am very happy to have been given the honor to be involved.

I also feel immensely grateful to all the people involved in making this happen; HEMA Bookshelf and its owner Michael Chidester, to Chris Vanslambrouck, Kevin Maurer and Olivier Dupuis, brothers and fellow scholars of the Meyer Freifechter Guild whose generosity in sharing is amazing and who helped with feedback, to dear friend and scholar Jean Chandler who likewise is generous beyond compare, and whose knowledge and understanding of this world is astonishing. To deeply missed Mike Cartier, first captain of the MFFG and who left us far too soon, but who managed to inspire countless of people. To brother-in-arms Mattias Moberg, whom I have practiced and taught around the world with for so many days and nights, and who could equally well teach great workshops himself. And to all three clubs I have been involved in; the Gothenburg Free Fencers, the Gothenburg Historical Fencing School, and the Meyer Freifechter Guild. A big thank you, finally to everyone who has taken part of the many classes and lectures I have taught around the world. You, and the whole HEMA community changed my life forever.

It's been an amazing 15 years and with this I place a marker on it, a milestone of sorts, or perhaps a manifestation of legacies of the dreams of both Meyer and myself. I hope you will enjoy it and find it useful.

Thank you

Roger Norling

In case you haven't heard, the Reading Edition of Dr. Rebecca L. R. Garber's new translation is OUT!

To aid in the study of Meyer’s work, in this edition the 61 elaborate Figures created by the circle of Tobias Stimmer have been broken up into individual pairs of fencers and placed inline in the text, and hundreds of footnotes have been added throughout. In addition, Roger Norling has provided an exhaustive, 110-page introduction to Meyer and the world that he inhabited.

Available in hardcover, softcover, and epub:
https://www.hemabookshelf.com/meyer-translation

Also available on Amazon, Booksamillion, and other online vendors.

22/05/2023

Shameless self-plug here, but I might perhaps be forgiven since it marks a bit of an end point to my HEMA career and 15 years of studying Meyer in particular. So, here it is. The first time I've written something on HEMA in actual print, all about Meyer and his world. While at first just intending to write a brief biography for this new translation, I got a bit carried away and wrote a bit more about the amazing, complex time and place he lived and worked in, including some esoteric, but, I feel, important topics.

https://www.hemabookshelf.com/shop/p/foundational-description-of-the-art-of-fencing-reading-edition?fbclid=IwAR16GKveVfMEmj9-DdUV4CXvde8dMss_u1jQB481F7JVQWZJVIr38mk0nTw

This is a full English translation of Meyer’s 1570 treatise by Dr. Rebecca L. R. Garber, with an extensive introduction by Roger Norling. It includes all of the illustrations broken down into individual figures and placed inline next to the techniques they portray.

18/01/2023

We're back again with a new, and very interesting article on poisoned weapons in medieval warfare, by renowned HEMA scholar and instructor Jean Chandler! The title of the article is Were Poisoned Weapons ever used in Medieval Warfare? and it is live now.

Jean has published a number of articles in the academic HEMA periodical Acta Periodica Duellatorum, and of course here at HROARR too. He has also lectured at a number of events, including IGX in Boston, at HEMAC Dijon in France, at the Higgins Armoury in Worcester, Ma, and numerous times at the Massachusetts Center for Renaissance Studies in the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In 2016 Jean won the HROARR Scholar of the year award for “Best Rookie Scholar”.

03/12/2022

The broadcast from the Museum of Martial Arts and the IFHEMA Symposium is now up.

Don't miss it

Multilingual and Intercultural interactions and excanges in the ancient fencing books

28/11/2022

Coming up next weekend, one of the most exciting HEMA meetings of all time: The MAM — IFHEMA Symposium and IFHEMA General Assembly on December 3th – 4th 2022.

There will be four great HEMA collections presented from a cross-cultural point of view: Gotti, Corble, Mokken & Valle.

On Sunday, in the morning there will be a Round Table on future projects: a large exhibition in the Belgian Royal Library) and a discussion on the future of culture / research / competition cooperations in the HEMA Community, with a formal announcement of the cooperation between IFHEMA and DTE / HEMAC Dijon for the new style IFHEMA Cup! In the afternoon, the ninth IFHEMA General Assembly will take place.

The Symposium will be streamed to the general public, so stay tuned for updates and follow the IFHEMA YouTube page!

https://www.youtube.com/

20/08/2022

13/08/2022

In case you missed it: Wiktenauer director Michael Chidester runs a small HEMA book publishing company which mainly produces facsimiles, i.e. fine "copies", of old treatises. As part of this, he launched a crowdsourcing campaign for having a new translation, and a very luxurious and near-the-original facsimile of Fechtmeister Joachim Meyer's 1570 treatise "Gründtliche Beschreibung der Freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen Kunst des Fechtens" of 1570.

You will also learn new things about Meyer and his world, from an associated biography written by myself, Roger Norling, and Chris Vanslambrouck, both scholar members of the Meyer Freifechter Guild.

This is a rare opportunity to own something truly remarkable.

We're creating several versions of Joachim Meyer's 1570, including a free, professional translation! | Check out 'Joachim Meyer Translation and Facsimile' on Indiegogo.

05/08/2022

Still one of my favourite HEMA discoveries and anecdotes. And also fu***ng metal.

“Likewise, there was a student who unfortunately got into godless company, by the name of Heinricus Cornelius Agrippa, a fine student and Freyfechter, who came to Ingolstadt just as the Katzianers had invited the students to a fight. But although they could all have accepted, some students told the others they should stay calm. They knew someone who could master them all, him all of the others followed. Heinricus Cornelius offered them an earnest fight, and told them to defend themselves, as he alone would defeat them all. Now as they came to strikes, he brought out (cast) his black magic that could devour all swords. The furriers worried that if that happened with their fencing weapons it could even reach past their Katzbalgers, and took to the heels and left. This Henricus always had a black dog with him.”

In other words, Fechtmeister, Freyfechter, and black magician Agrippa’s reputation was so fearsome that little fencing was actually needed, and a word and gesture were enough to strike enough fear into the hearts of his opponents, causing them to flee.

05/08/2022

Alchemy - refinement of materia, body, and soul (the latter two through the Art of Fencing) in two versions of Splendor Solis.

Also relates to the Planetenkinder, the Children of Planets, the Pythian Games in Delphi, "Solar Arts", and the fechtschule practice directly referencing the former, including the use of the laurel wreaths for the winners.