[Wolfgang Armbruster]

I just found this thread over at swordforums
http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?threadid=66187

I've seen some pages of the original Fechtbuch at an exhibition in Neuburg an der Donau. I'm pretty surprised that it is online now. I'm going to search for hints for the alleged rivalry between Talhoffer and Kal right now *g*

First page: http://mdz1.bib-bvb.de/~db/bsb00001840/images/index.html?seite=9


Edit: I've looked at the manual and it's pretty similar to the Talhoffer editions. Almost no text but very insightful drawings for the advanced fencer. Some of the "Tafels" are exactly the same as in Talhoffer. The part on armoured half-swording is pretty extensive and quite good since it shows techniques I haven't seen in Talhoffer.
The first page starts with the usual dedication to the lord the book is written for (in this case Count Ludwig) and of course Liechtenauer and his society are mentioned.

P.S.: It might be of interest for some of you, that a lot of half-sword techniques performed in Talhoffer by unarmoured fencers are done in full-plate in Kal

Edit 2: Jeeez, it's getting more and more interesting. Sometimesit really looks like a copy of Talhoffer. The guys in the "Stechschild" part even wear the same diving-suits
Another interesting detail is that the fencers in the sword & buckler part use full-sized bastard-swords in combination with bucklers.

[Christian Henry Tobler]

Hi Wolfgang!

At first blush Kal may appear to be similar to Talhoffer...but look *very* carefully. Kal is much more in line with the mainstream of the tradition and uses copious quotes from both Liechtenauer's verse and other commentaries on it.

The stechschild section is strikingly similar, but who knows, they may both have copied from a common source there, particularly as Kal has more commentary.

Kal's wrestling is a superset of the most similar Talhoffer piece. And...Kal treats the longsword with lots of verse, including a complete Zornhau section!

The thesis of my book is to establish the uniqueness of the work and its importance in the canon of material we have.

We have a lot of biographical info on Kal, who was a very successful warrior/diplomat/toll master/courier/gem buyer for the Duke for 29 years! He commanded troops in at least two seiges and we have the record of his payment for those services, as well as his having escorted the King of Aragon's retinue during a visit to the duchy.

The book "In Service of the Duke: Paulus Kal's Book of Swordsmanship and Martial Arts" is scheduled to go to the printers shortly, and will include a full-size facsimile of the manuscript, a full transcription and English translation, plus many, many pages of analysis. I've been working with this manuscript now for more than two years, and it's been a treasure!

EDIT: The notion of rivalry chiefly comes from Hans-Peter Hils. But, one of the reasons he concludes this is Talhoffer's exclusion from the list of masters in the prologue. This is likely better explained however by the fact that Talhoffer is still alive at this point, whereas everyone on the list is dead; it's a memorial list.

All the best,

Christian

[Wolfgang Armbruster]

Thx a lot for this info!
I'm eagerly waiting for your book

What impresses me about Kal is that he shows a lot of cross-sparring techniques, like dagger against longsword or how to unhorse someone. The drawings, especially in the armoured combat section, are top-notch for their period.

[Christian Henry Tobler]