Johannes Lecküchner was a 15th century priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 and fencer

Fencing

Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...

 of the area of Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

. He was inscribed at the University of Leipzig

University of Leipzig

The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...

 in 1455 and receives the title of bacalaureus in 1457. He was consecrated as acolyte

Acolyte

In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone who performs ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In other Christian Churches, the term is more specifically used for one who wishes to attain clergyhood.-Etymology:...

 in 1459, and as priest at some point before 1478. He was employed as communal priest in Herzogenaurach

Herzogenaurach

Herzogenaurach is a town in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in Bavaria, Germany. It is probably best known for being the home of the sporting goods companies Adidas and Puma.-Geography:...

 from 1480 until his death on 31 December 1482.

Two Fechtbücher

Fechtbuch

Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, detailing specific techniques of martial arts.Prose descriptions of martial arts techniques appear late within the history of literature, due to the inherent difficulties of describing a technique rather than just demonstrating...

 for the großes Messer by the hand of Lecküchner are preserved, Cod. Pal. Germ. 430 (Heidelberg

Heidelberg

-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

, 1478), and Cgm. 582, Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, 1482. The latter he completed on 19 January 1482. The earlier manuscript is considered a draft for the later, and only Cgm 582 contains illustrations.¹

The Cgm 582 manuscript on 216 folia (432 pages) gives inscructions for the fencing with the großes Messer, illustrated by 415 drawings of fencers. Some 19th century scholars have assumed that the name Lecküchner is in fact a corrupted version of the name of Liechtenauer, and that the two masters are identical. Biographical information from archives as well as the colophon in the manuscript itself makes quite clear, however, that Lecküchner has an independent existence as a historical author. His system is, however, based on the teachings of Liechtenauer dating to about a century earlier, since Lecküchner organizes his system in the same way as Liechtenauer, and also uses the same terminology that is present in his longsword

Longsword

The longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...

teachings.

External links

• Cgm 582 transcription (www.pragmatische-schriftlichkeit.de)
• CPG 430, 1478
• Johannes Lecküchner - the fencing priest (www.schwertkampf-ochs.de)