The Augsburg University Library Manuscript Cod. Ⅰ.6.4º 2

The Bauman Fight Book

The Universitätsbibliothek Augsburg Cod. Ⅰ.6.4º 2 is a German fencing manual of unknown authorship. It is compiled from two earlier manuscripts, one produced in the 1420s and the other in ca. 1470. The original currently rests in the holdings of Universitätsbibliothek Augsburg in Augsburg, Germany. It is sometimes known as the Bauman Fight Book (after a name recorded in its covers) or Codex Wallerstein (after its 19th century home at Wallerstein Castle).

This facsimile is printed on cotton rag paper to simulate the texture and handling of Medieval paper, and bound according to the current quire structure. It is bound in brown kidskin with 8mm boards and blind tooling based on the original cover design.

The 265-page hardcover Companion Volume can be purchased at a discount when bundled with the facsimile.

Edition size: 225 copies

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Funded 9 April 2022.

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Description

It consists of two distinct treatises, based on the art style and the handwriting; the first section likely dates to the 1470s, while the second is much older, from perhaps the 1420s. The label "Vom Baumans" and the date 1549 appear inside the cover, leading Hils to speculate that an Augsburg mercenary named Michael Baumann owned the treatise. The first section seems to have been used by Albrecht Dürer as a reference for his own fencing treatise.

The Bauman Fechtbuch is interesting in that its teachings do not seem to fall clearly into the tradition of the grand master Johannes Liechtenauer. Part A, which treats long sword, messer, and dagger, and Part B, which treats grappling, are the first entries in a series of manuscripts known as the Augsburg group, which originate from that area and seem to document a local martial tradition. Part C, on the other hand, is the first entry in a complex of treatises known as pseudo-Gladiatoria due to its uncertain relationship to the Gladiatoria group (a tradition not dependent on Liechtenauer). Ps-Gladiatoria covers the same sorts of dueling as the Gladiatoria group and has some 16 plays in common, but the differences are too extensive to classify them as versions of the same treatise.

The Augsburg University Library Manuscript Cod. Ⅰ.6.4º 2

The Bauman Fight Book

facsimilecompanion volume

$250+$50

Gallery

facsimile
companion volume

$250
+$50