Medieval Martial Arts: Lethal Puffy Pants

By Alex in Fashion, Sports, Weapons & War on Feb 10, 2009 at 3:47 am

From De Arte Athletica by Paul Hector Mair (c. 1500) at the Bavarian State Library

Just because they wear colorful, puffy pants, it didn’t mean that these medieval martial artists weren’t deadly. Paul Hector Mair documented the various gruesome weapons used by fighters during medieval times in his manuscript De Arte Athletica.

You can browse the entire manuscript online (it’s 600 pages long), but if you’re short on time, BibilOdyssey has some choice illustrations: Link

Tags: De Arte Athletica, martial arts, medieval, Paul Hector Mair, Weapons

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Gauldar
Feb 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I saw a great documentry last year, I have to dig up the name of it. It was about the history of sword fighting in Europe and displayed many techniques of using a 2-handed sword in was you wouldn’t even think. Things like grasping the blade and using the hilt either to bludgen your opponent in the head or even snare and trip them. It was quite ammazing to watch how fluid the moves were for such a large weapon.
Scooter
Feb 10th, 2009 at 10:21 am
I personally would like some framed prints of these illustrations.
Kalel
Feb 10th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I suggest you play the ‘Star Trek’ fight music as you browse the pictures. It enhances the experience wonderfully.
Allen T Garvin
Feb 10th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Wow, that’s a great site. I found a manuscript illustration (http://tinyurl.com/bb3ldp) of a fairly rare instrument that I am just learning to play: http://flickr.com/photos/allengarvin/3238955191/
renderanything
Feb 11th, 2009 at 10:39 am
The one with the spiked cudgel to the bottom looks especially embarrassing and painful at the same time.
Martial Arts Videos
Sep 14th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
I love martial arts. Thanks for the great info. I have been collecting martial arts videos for ages

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