Fencing masters in HEMA are often shrouded in mystery. Old books, old names, old German, all coupled with the obscurity that the centuries apply to all things. Names like Lew, Ringeck, and Lichtenauer become shorthand for fleeting images of bearded men pouring over pages of text with a feder propped against their shoulders, placing them on pedestals as mythic creatures more than men. There is very little we know about the people that these fencing masters were because so much of their legacy is only in the form of their fencing treatises, causing us all too often to lack a picture of who was behind the pen. Even our personal knowledge of Joachim Meyer—a fencing master of whose life we know relatively much more; dates of marriage, death, extensive fencing writings, etc.—is still surprisingly deficient in what we know about the person himself.
I had this idea in mind when I happened to read the appendix of the 1568 Meyer translation by Dr. Forgeng, which contains Olivier Dupuis’ archival references to the minutes of Stasbourg’s Council of XXI. I was inspired! Seeing Meyer have to petition the local council to run a fechtschule, and more interestingly, seeing the other fencing masters doing the same along with him made me wonder if these documents could more fully flesh out the lives of the people fencing in the same era as Meyer. Through learning more about these fechtmeisters, their lives, their professions, struggles, and other details, I hoped to gain a better understanding and picture of what being a fechtmeister was like in late 1500s Strasbourg. In this article I present the lives and details about three “other” fechtmeisters of Strasbourg, including their families, professions, and even possible addresses, in order to humanize all historical fencing masters just a little bit more.
Wygand Brack
A Fechtmeister of many titles
Wygand Brack (d. 5/29/1583) was a tailor, Nights Watch Captain, Council Messenger, Freifechter, and fencing master of Strasbourg. Records show that he gained citizenship in Strasbourg in 15611 with “von Dresden'' as his place of origin. It is annoyingly spelled “von Tresten,” and inconsistent spellings of names and places are extremely common in these documents. Interestingly, Brack appears a second time in the citizenship books in 1570,2 again purchasing his citizenship and being assigned to the tailors. It is still a mystery as to why he may have rescinded his citizenship, with over a year-long record gap with no mentions of him in the minutes occurring before his new citizenship record.
Brack is mentioned extensively in the XXI notes not only as a fencer but also for multiple positions he held relating to the city administration. This included being accepted as a captain of the city’s Night Watch (Scharwächter)3 (a position he held for only 9 months, being fired in 1567)4 and then applying for and being hired as a Council messenger, or rhatsbott (Ratsbote), which he held for 8 years from 1575 to 1583.5 Brack is an anomaly, being a fencing master also closely involved with local government which resulted in a glut of notes about him -- around 52 mentions over 22 years. Also quite helpful is that his name is unique and easily recognizable even by someone who couldn’t read a lick of handwritten 1500s German, making it possible to spot references to him across the pages.
FENCING LIFE
Although Brack has no fencing treatise or writings attributed to him, his fencing career in Strasbourg was an interesting one. A 1563 entry in the Council of XXI records is the first note of Wygand entering the fencing scene, notably as a student of Joachim Meyer, requesting a school so Meyer can make him a Freifechter.6
“Weigand Branck es willt ime Johim der messerschmidt und fechtmeister begert zur einer freifechter machen bitt derwegen ime bitz montag ein schul zuvergonnen. Erkant und ist ime zugelassen
Wygand Brack - Johim the cutler and fencing master wants to make him freyfechter - asks because of this to let him have a school before Monday. Recognized and approved to him”
(transcription by Olivier Dupuis)
Although Joachim Meyer had other students mentioned in his fechtschule requests to the city council, such as Christoff Elias, none were as prolific and active in Strasbourg as Wygand. Brack would go on to request 35 fechtschule during his 18-year career,7 and is the only fencing master of the Meyer-era Strasbourg to request fechtschule in concert with other notable fechtmeisters and contemporaries of Meyer (who I expand upon below), such as Gorg Kelerle, Wolff Brand, and of course Meyer himself. Could Wygand Brack be one of the figures depicted in the illustrations for Meyer’s fencing treatises, or have contributed to the writings themselves? With such close alignment to Meyer, such a hypothesis is not far-fetched.
The many supplications to the city council for fechtschule provide detail into Brack’s fencing, such as one in 1572 which notes he educates young men daily in his art, “vil Junge Hern darinn täglich vnterrichten,”8 and others which contain him complaining about new fencing regulations not being read out in good time.9 During his most active, Brack would appear up to 4 times per year in the Council notes in regards to fechtschule, and from 1565 to 1581 there are only 2 years with no fechtschule requested by Brack. He also taught young nobles who were attending the university in Strasbourg in the early 1570s. The final fechtschule request from Brack was approved in 1581, requested on the same day as a schule with Gorg Kelerle.
ILLNESS AND DEATH
Wygand Brack struggled with a long-term illness, first noted during a fechtschule request in 1572 as a “dire coinciding illness." In 1575 his illness was the catalyst for a career change, as the council was alarmed that Brack had been requesting so many fechtschules as of late, and Brack goes on to explain to them that his frequent requests are because…
“...he has been forced and it has been caused in an extraordinary manner by his negligible livelihood. He has been made to do this for a long time, also due to his long-lasting illness, in his weakened state he has not been able to get by. He asks afterwards to give him the service as ratsbote, for a different [livelihood]. He would like to render it to my master's satisfaction, he is able to do it better for he was occupied in his youth by the language and writing of the laity.”10
Brack’s sickness impacted his livelihood as a tailor to such a degree that he relied on copious amounts of fencing to support his family. The council accepted him as a rhatsbott, and after this date his later fechtschule requests no longer noted him as tailor but rather with this new profession. However, after getting the job Wygand asked for time off of his messenger duties frequently to travel for healing baths (a common practice at this time, to hot spring towns such as Baden-Baden) to alleviate his affliction, including a request referencing lameness in his hand, which would make sense as a cause for his tailoring becoming a difficult way to make a living.
"Weigand Brack erschien vnd beg[ehrt] ihm zu erlauben ein badenfahrt für die hand zu nemmen, seiner Krannkheit vnd läme derdurch Abzekommen.
Erkhant. Ist ihm wilfahrt ihm auch dabey anzeig[en] mitt seine gesellen zu handlen dassie ihn ine mittels ver=sehen.
Wigand Brack came and requests to allow him to go on a bathing trip for his hand, by which to cure his illness and lameness. Recognized. He is allowed to do so, he should also be informed that he [needs] to bargain with his colleagues so they will fill in for him."11
His chronic requests for time off for his health did not go unnoticed, with multiple notes in 1582 and ‘83 complaining about Brack not fulfilling his duty as Rhattsbott. For example, in May of 1582 Brack requested a leave of absence for another bathing trip, but in November of the same year his colleague Herr Stoffel lodged a complaint with the Council of XV about him and mentioned some possible…extracurriculars added on to his spa days.
May: “Weigand Brack requests to allow him a bath, because of his body's infirmity.
Recognized. It is allowed to him, and this should be reported to the others, they should be commanded to do his work - on his request - diligently in his stead.”12
November: “...complains about his colleague Weigand Brack. That the same has not been doing his work for a long time. Has been out for a while on a bathing trip, this summer on the marksmen's festival in Frankfurt. When he is available, he is easily ill or will be[?]. So he stays at home when he is burdened with what is bothering him...it concerns my superiors [that] he is negligent in his service, doesn't understand it, is a burden to his colleagues, if it isn't abandoned, he will be sent away or he shall himself request leave.”13
Wygand's illness thus impacted two of his careers, building ill will with the city administration, and finally in the note regarding Brack’s dying in May of 1583 there seems some urgency to move on from him.
“Mister Alms reports that the Almighty took the late Weigand Brack from here. Necessity requires that someone else gets ordered to replace him. Especially since this service has been done in an awful manner, due to his infirmity. Alms and the council members shall inform the guilds, that one should apply for it.”14
Almost immediately after his passing the council started hearing applications for the job, including one the same day as the entry regarding his death. Interestingly, the replacement chosen for Wygand’s position just 19 days later had also applied for and competed with Wygand for the same job 8 years earlier when he was originally hired.1516 Such a long time to wait for a position must have meant it was a cush gig to have, and the amount of leeway Wygand had for sick leave does put some of my jobs in the 21st century to shame. However, the true nature or diagnosis of his illness is still purely guesswork. With his hands and lameness mentioned, did he have gout, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, or injuries due to fencing? This question is likely to remain unanswered.
FAMILY (updated 2/22/2024)
Wygand Brack was married twice, first in 1561 to Anna Schimmer in the St Thomas parish where he still has “von Dresden” attached to his name, and second in 1565 to Barbara Becker, widow of Hans Becker (they married in 1560). Finding these records took over a year of research, as the St Thomas indexes are difficult to use, and Wygand was mis-recorded as “Pock — Wigand” for both of his marriages. Even with this new information on how he may be indexed I was unable to locate any baptismal records for either of his partnerships, nor any from Barbara’s first marriage to Hans. Perhaps the one son I know of, Wygand Jr, was born in different city state between 1568 and 1570 during his Strasbourg and citizenship record gap.
We do have marriage and baptismal records for his son, Wygand Brack the younger. He was married in 1591 at the Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux parish to Barbara Kraucher17 with whom he had a son named Wigandus, baptized in 1593.18 Wygand the younger also applied to a job as a bailiff to the Council of XXI in 1592 with the job title of “Scribe” associated with him at that time, but there are no notes following these entries explicitly noting his hire.19 With Wygand the elder neglecting his rhatsbott duties before his death, one wonders if the council may have been biased against the younger’s job application. In 1595 his wife Barbara is noted as a godparent for a Daniel Schnieder in the same parish. Finally, Wygand Brack Jr seems to have died some time soon after, as Barbara remarries in 1598 in the St-Pierre-le-Jeune parish to a Jorg Zigler. With no further finds of Wigandus in the records, the line of Wygand Brack the Bathed, student of Meyer and fencing master, seems to go out with a whimper.
Wolff Brand
The Slow-and-Steady Fencing Master of Strasbourg
Wolff Brand (d. appx 1585) was a carpenter and Marxbruder fencing master first appearing in the XXI records in 1554, far ahead of Meyer’s arrival in the city, noted as “von Friedberg” -- not yet a citizen.20 After a five year gap he reappears in 1559 as “citizen and carpenter” requesting a fechtschule, and is noted in the marginalia as “fechtmeister” for the first time. I was unable to locate a citizenship record for Wolff in the Bourgeois books, even with this before-and-after date the XXI records give us. We have no definitive death date for Wolff, but records including his name cite his recent passing in 1585.21 You can read more about the details below in this article specifically focusing on Wolff’s life, published February 2024!
FENCING LIFE
Wolff appears in the Hans Medel Fechtbuch (a document containing names of Marxbruder-approved fencing masters) as “Wolff Brand von Freidberg,” and contains the title “Master of the Longsword” after his name in a few of his fechtschul requests. As a fechtmeister, Wolff was unique in that his life in Strasbourg was not heavily occupied by his fencing career, with fencing seeming to be secondary to his day-to-day life or carpentry in the city. Although he lived in the city for twenty-six years, he was only active as a fencer for six of them, with large gaps of time between fechtschule requests in stark contrast to the near annual requests from his local peers. His longest gap between requests topped out at six years, and he had a long “retirement” period of thirteen years after his final request in 1572 until his death. Wolff requested only seven total fechtschule and only once did he request more than a single fechtschule in a year.
Although his requests were few in number, they do not lack in quality or interest. His first fechtschule predates Meyer’s, he overlapped with Joachim’s entire tenure in the city, he co-requested fechtschule at the council with Wygand Brack, and likely interacted with Gorg Kelerle as Wolff’s last application occurs just months before Gorg’s first. He does not seem to have authored any known fencing works, but his lack of writing is more understandable due to his involvement in the local scene being decidedly smaller than his peers.
Additionally, he was not immune to beef with other fencers even with such a small presence in the scene. In 1571 Wolff complained to the council that another fencer named Centurion had been talking trash about him publicly in the form of a posted placard, and requested that his upcoming fechtschule be canceled due to him trying to start a feud with Wolff. He asked that they make Centurion show his Master’s diploma (given by the Marxbruder) to the council, and asked to hold his own fechtschule in order to defend his honor, which would most likely be a less than orderly affair given the shit talking going on. This was a bit of a problem for the council, who typically insisted on these schules being peaceful events, and so they deny Centurion’s schule and punt Wolff’s request.
“Wolff Brand the carpenter asks through Dr. Veyer[?] in advance. My gentlemen have allowed a fechtschul to Centurius Letsch, who reportedly set up a placard against him. To hold him responsible for this and out of indispensible necessity he (Wolff) is required to hold a fechtschul against it to save his honor. And because he wishes to do this, he presents his master's diploma, also Letsch's placard which he tore off. In it he complains with these rhymes:
„So-and-so is catnip, watch out, he'll try to bite your skin, but I will do the same to the idiot, to me and himself he is a raven.“
Requests following this to allow him a fechtschul.
Recognized. One should notify Centurius Letsch and report to him my gentlemen's sorrow in the knowledge that he wishes to defame (someone) in a partisan manner, therefore my gentlemen's order to abandon the fechtschul. Wolff Brand shall be told that my gentlemen will think on this and when there is nothing else to do, one shall think about whether more fechtschuls will be allowed.”22
Wolff also has multiple notes later in his life referring specifically to his work as a carpenter, with one mentioning the hiring of apprentices23 and another after his death possibly referring to a dispute over pieces of land claimed for wood outside of the city.24 Neither Meyer, Brack, nor Kellerle have notes relating specifically to their professions, so these references to Brand’s carpentry provide additional insight into the working man’s fechtmeister which we before have lacked.
FAMILY
Wolff Brand had a large and growing family. His wife was named Catharina and they had a son named Wolfgang and 5 daughters named Ursula, Catharina, Margareth, Susanna, and Magdelena. I was unable to find a marriage record in the Strasbourg parish records for Wolff and his wife, but Catharina’s name is found in the baptism records of the Temple Neuf of his children Wolfgang in 1561, Ursula in 1563, Margareth in 1565, Susanna in 1567, and Magdalena in 1571. His daughter Catharina was married in 1589 to Jacob Dien in this same church, with the record noting that Wolff had died by this happy day, which is echoed in Susanna’s marriage record a year later.
“Jacob Dien von Fünga vß dem Würtenberg[er] landt hatt das Burckerrecht empfang[en] von Chatarina weylandt Wolff Brand[en] deß schreiners selig[en] nachgelassner Docht[er] vnd will zu den Schneidem dienen. Act[um] 22 Augustj 89.
Jacob Dien of Fünga from the country of Wurttemberg has received the right of citizenship from Catherine, the left-behind daughter of the late Wolff Brand, the carpenter. He intends to work as a tailor. Filed August 22nd, 1589.”
He would also miss the marriage of his younger daughter Magdelena, who in 1596 married Heinnrich Kraich.25 Catharina and Jacob would go on to have 3 children between 1592 and 1600: Jacob, Zacharias, and Johannis Dien.262728 Tracking down Magdelena’s children has been more of a challenge, with many alternate spellings and close calls to “Kraich'' setting off false alarms and muddying up the records, and I have found no further records of Magareth thus far. If only he had lived longer Wolff would have lived alongside the most extensively documented extended family of any fechtmeister. Perhaps he would have taught his grandsons to fence, making them fencing masters of their own, and starting a legacy of the Brand fencing family.
HOUSING
Wolff Brand also appears in the Commons Register, or Allmendbücher, a register of rents due to the City for any enjoyment of public space, which notes both where he lived and features of his home. This survey of properties was conducted around 1585, so it sadly missed the lives and details of both Brack and Meyer. Wolff Brand lived at 5 Rue des Pucelles (Jungfrawen Gassen die Eine Seitten), and page 101 of the Allmendbücher notes some features of his home and a fine he received for cluttering the alleyway near the house.29
“Wolff Brandt der Schreiner hatt vor seinem hauß ein Kellersteg 4 schu, vnd 2 schu 2 Zoll herausser, Soll & Bessert für das Nießen j ß vi d
Vnder Nota, Wolff Brand der schreiner hatt zu beeden seitten vnder dem Schlupff ein hauffen dielen ligen, soll deß wegen gerech fertiget Werden, Bessert darfür iiii ß d
Wolff Brandt the carpenter has a cellar step in front of his house that is 4 feet long and 2 feet and 2 inches wide, [it] shall [remain public property] and [shall be] made right for use for [the price of] one shilling and six pence.
It is noted, Wolff Brand the carpenter has a pile of planks lying on both sides under the entrance, [he] shall be fined, to be made right for four shillings.
If you have ever experienced the HOA breathing down your neck or received a parking ticket from an overzealous meter maid, you may have something to commiserate over with Wolff. This link will steer you towards the modern location of 5 Rue des Pucelles on Google Maps, although I am unsure if this building is one of the few original buildings from that era still standing, or if it was demolished or otherwise totally renovated since then.
A different source, “Das alte Strassburg”, puts a “Wolfgang Brandt, carpenter” living at 5 Rue des Ciel, which is mere feet away from Wolff’s address in the Allmendbücher, with a date of 1587 and a note of “Zum grünen Frosch” (possibly a tavern name) along with his address.30 According to the archivist of the Maisons de Strasbourg site, the Rue des Pucelles address is the most accurate and there are doubts about the accuracy of “Das alte Strassburg” data.31 Additionally, this date is well past the Council of XV notes in 1585 cited in the introduction which notes Wolff being dead. These notes on habitation are admittedly scattered, and point more towards a general living area rather than a definite building. However, having even an approximate address for a fencing master who most likely worked with Joachim Meyer is new, and interestingly puts Wolff Brand as a close neighbor to our next fechtmeister.
Gorg Kelerle
The Rise and Grind Fechtmeister
Gorg Kelerle (d. 1612), also spelled Golderle, Kellerlie, Kellerlin, Gallerlin, Kolerlin, Gollerle, and many more variations, was a cobbler and fencing master. He first appears in the Council of XXI notes requesting a fechtschule in 1572, noting him as a cobbler “von Amberg”32 (not yet a citizen), and is later found in the Bourgeois books in 1573 with the same “von Amberg'' origin.33 I found no definitive death date for Gorg, but there is an entry in the XXI notes dated 12/14/1612 which refers to “Gorg Kellerle’s Erben,” or heirs, and includes references to relatives such as two brothers and niece.34 Although Kelerle did not overlap with Joachim Meyer through council records, after his first fechtschule record Gorg undertook one of the most prolific fencing careers in Strasbourg history.
FENCING LIFE
After gaining citizenship, Gorg immediately got to work, requesting his first fechtschule as an official Strasbourg fencer in 1574. From this date forward Gorg ended up requesting over 81 schule, more than any other fechtmeister in Strasbourg history.35 He requested schools alongside Wygand Brack in 1579 and even had his brother Andres Golderle vom Amberg (also a cobbler and freifechter) visit and request fechtschule of his own in the 1580s.36 Due to the vast number of requests, I have transcribed fewer of his entries than Wolff or Wygand, but have luckily picked some interesting ones to dig into. For example, one entry mirrors Brack’s first fechtschule entry back in 1563, with a student of Gorg’s requesting a fechtschule in order to be made a Freifechter.37
“Wilchelm Jacob von Schleisingen ein Schwertfüg[er] V [unreadable] das erbey Geörg Köl=derlin in allen Wehren fechten gelehrnt ßomit in erfehrung braucht das ersterhofft für ein freifecht[er] zu bestehn, Is[?] hab ihm auch sein lehrmeist[er] vff meiner chern bewilligung die vesteschul zu erlauben[en] vnd ihn für ein freifecht[er] zu erklären. Er=kant. Ist ihm zu erlassen. darf er nit mehr denn 1 d nem.
Wilchelm Jacob von Schleisingen, a swordmaker, humbly [reports] that he has learned from Georg Kölderlin to fence in all manners of fighting, thus he needs to experience the first anticipated [thing] for a freifechter, on my masters' permission he has to allow him a celebratory schule and declare him a freifechter.
Recognized. [It] is to be allowed to him. He shall not take more than 1 penny.”
This puts Gorg in the same company as Meyer, teaching and making his peers free-fencers. Additionally, there are a few notes of Gorg petitioning the council to outline the regulations of fencing in Strasbourg for him, including one in 1599 asking to relay what he knows of fencing regulations in other cities in order to draft regulations for fechtschules locally. He sounded concerned with the number of out-of-towners coming and holding fechtschules, and with record numbers of requests in the council minutes around this time, I wonder if Gorg had a financial interest in keeping a larger slice of the fencing pie…
“Görg Kellerlin the fencer submits a supplication, within it he recounts how in other Free Imperial Cities various ordinances concerning the knightly art of fencing have been enacted, which issue instructions on how local and foreign fencers receive permission to prepare and open [fechtschule], also how [they are] held and what gets charged [for] fencing; so that the ancient knightly art doesn't decline through quantity and spurious tomfoolery. Here this art is practiced daily and many fechtschule are held but there has never been an ordinance. He declares that he wants to draft such [rules]. [He] requests to also enact an ordinance. Which provides that idlers and vagabonds prove themselves and hold [fechtschule] according to the ordinance. Recognized. One should receive the articles from him and then discuss if they are to be followed or not.”38
The articles noted in this entry elude me, however, and do not appear in the council records that same year nor the next. He broaches the subject again in 1608, but without a corresponding regulation document.39
To say he was prolific is an understatement. In peak years—such as 1595—Gorg is noted 6 times in the council records regarding fechtschule, and from 1589 to 1608 it was not uncommon to see him request 3 to 4 fechtschule during a calendar year. From 1591 to 1597 he approached the council 23 times for fechtschule alone, with additional non-fechtschule entries during this time as well. His role as the fencing master of Strasbourg is highlighted by the fact that his profession begins to be noted solely as Fechtmeister, not cobbler, in council records, parish records, and housing notes. Even Meyer was still a messerschmidt to the city officials. Kelerle’s lack of writings or treatises on fencing is more puzzling, as he fenced for longer than Meyer, fenced more often than Meyer, and was obviously respected as a fencing master during his life.
FAMILY
Gorg Kellerle was married twice at the Temple Neuf parish, first in 1573 to Anna Huber,40 and then in 1600 to Barbara Schwab.41 Interestingly his profession is noted as Fechtmeister in this second marriage register, which is unique among the Strasbourg fencers for any note outside of the Council records.
Gorg Kellerle remained childless across his life, with no baptismal records for any offspring from 1573 onwards at Temple Neuf or other parishes across both of his marriages. This may explain the note cited in the introduction around his death and the council having to handle his inheritance in a more involved manner, where extended family members are included by name. Who has time for a family when you are studying the blade?
HOUSING
Gorg’s home is also mentioned in both the Books of the Commons (Allmendbücher) and “Das alte Strassburg,” luckily with more alignment between the two sources. In both he is recorded as living on the Rue des Vieux (Kalbßgaß), with the Allmendbücher entry being less specific at “Anderseit Kalbßgaß Oben Von der Haasen Hoff ahn, Untz hinab nach dem Closter zu Sanct Steffan zue”,42 meaning the north side of the Kalbßgaß close to the Saint Steffan cloyster, and “Das alte Strassburg'' providing a more specific address of 15 Rue des Vieux43 which aligns with the approximation in the Books of the Commons. Additionally, in both sources he is noted not as a cobbler, but as a fencing master, and is the only individual with this title in both sources.
“Georg Kellerlin der Fechtmeister hatt vor seinem Hauß 12 ½ schu lang, Oben ein Vsstoß 2 schu. 11 Zoll herauß, Einen Steinen Tritt 3 schu lang, j schu breÿt, Item zwo Keller Stafflen 4 ½ schu breÿt, 15 Zoll herausser, Soll Allmendt sein und bleiben, Bessert für das Nießen iii ß iiii d
Georg Kellerlin the fencing master has in front of his house 12 ½ feet, above [this] a jetty projecting 2 feet and 11 inches; a stone footstep 3 feet long and 1 foot wide; also two cellar steps 4 ½ feet wide projecting 15 inches. [It] shall remain public property, to be made right for use [for] 3 shillings and 4 pence.”
“Georg Kellerlin, Fechtmeister, 1587.” - Das alte Strassburg
This building can easily be found in Google Maps, but it is again difficult to know if this is the original building of the era, or has been demolished and rebuilt over the centuries. As far as I know, this is the most accurate address for a historical fencing master of this era yet dug up, and adds another check box to your walking tour of historical fencing in Strasbourg!
Conclusion, Resources, and Continuations of Research
Fencing masters were not fantastical characters, but men with chronic illnesses, living on streets we can walk today, having workaday jobs, and families small and large. From fencing being a massive chunk of their lives to just a side gig, the fechtmeisters we explored were complex people navigating the difficult day-to-day just as we do today. By reflecting on the lives of these three fencers, and expanding our thoughts to others, hopefully we can start to picture how Talhoffer may have had to deal with local administration to hold training sessions, or von Danzig being fined for the awnings on his house not matching the city ordinances. Through this type of research we can ground Historical European Martial Arts more in the reality of life rather than the fantasy of fechtmeisters.
I came to this project as a complete amateur, with a link to the Strasbourg archives and a reference to look up in the back of a Forgeng book, locating, documenting, and poring through sources all on my own. I initially wanted to investigate only Wygand Brack, the mysterious fencing master who requested a fechtschule along with Meyer, but it morphed into so much more.
I had help in the form of an Austrian friend, Platy, willing to help transcribe and translate sections of interesting looking notes which was infinitely helpful. I would also like to thank Olivier Dupuis who has done extensive work on the same sources and who has kindly provided multiple insights, Chris VanSlambrouck for collaborating and showing me cool sources, and all my peers who helped proofread this article. Additionally, I leveraged AI to help transcribe passages, using Transkribus to investigate sections of notes, revise them by hand looking for words I could recognize, and submit them to ChatGPT for a preliminary translation. Although this process produces errors, these tools are a boon for a first-time amateur researcher and provided me with a means to probe entries for their content. I note the translations I have created via AI in my research compilation document, and welcome anyone to give these entries a once over. For this article, I used two transcriptions provided by Olivier Dupuis, as well as transcriptions and translations done by my friend Platy (a trained historian).
One thing I discovered over the course of this project I likely retreaded dozens of hours worth of research previously completed by the community, from stumbling upon the bourgeois books by accident and finding Wygand Brack in the index, to getting just the right search term to pull up the parish records archive. Historical research in HEMA is somewhat behind a veil, and it is difficult to know what has and has not yet been examined. When coming across a document, I could never tell what was “new” or if it was in the references of some obscure article harder to find than the archives themselves. However, the small sparks of joy from finding just one more record pushed me to keep going and compile all of my work in a publicly accessible series of documents. Every fechtschule I found, every note about Brack, every transcription I pieced together is available for you to explore. Hopefully documents like mine, although imperfect, can lower the barrier of entry towards would-be researchers who want to scratch that itch of historical interest without having to reinvent the wheel.
But what research remains?
There are gaps in the records for events that may exist, but have been difficult to track down or were possibly subject to document loss over time. These include Wygand Brack’s marriage record and his son’s baptismal record, along with Wolff Brand’s citizenship record, marriage record, and baptismal record of his first daughter. Additionally, there are some unresolved threads in the record that would require larger dives into data and sources likely outside of Strasbourg. Wygand’s life in Dresden before appearing in the 1560s, the reason for his second citizenship record, if he worked with the Pfalzgraffs, and smaller threads to follow such as Gorg Kelerle visiting Cologne in 1578,44 all bear looking into.
Finally, even having 3 fechtmeisters documented spanning decades and over a hundred fechtschule requests, any writing about fencing itself attributed to them has yet to be found. Part of me feels that with so much of their lives dedicated to fencing they had to have written something on the subject, especially having been so close to Meyer and his practice of creating so many treatises, but still any such document eludes me. Any self-published work or definite contribution to fencing literature remains the holy grail of my research, and I hope to not turn into dust before this last cup of a carpenter is found. Perhaps a relative of Wolff Brand, some Dien great great great great great great great grandchild has in an old box with some scribbles from the workaday fechtmeister, just waiting to be opened.
Maisons de Strasbourg, Livre des communaux (1587), transcription I (search Wolff B)
Email with Jean-Michel Wendling, curator of Maisons de Strasbourg, 3/23/2023-4/12/2023
Maisons de Strasbourg, Livre des communaux (1587), transcription I (search fechtmeister)