Leiden University Student Repository

Dijk, Casper J. van (2020)

'For Pleasure, or Until Death' Late Medieval Fight Books Contextualised (1350-1550)

Master thesis | History (MA)

In this thesis late medieval fight books (1350-1550) are placed in various martial contexts. In chapter 1 a proposal is made for defining the concept of ritual combat and this concept than is applied to the late medieval period. Three types of ritual combat could be recognised: judicial combat, courtly combat and commoners combat. In chapter 2 a methodology is proposed for both for analysing and reconstructing the combat techniques described fight books, including filming the reconstructions, and a methodology for placing these techniques in the discussed ritual combat forms using ‘dimensions of meaning’. In chapter 3 both methodologies are tested on the two manuscripts of Johannes Lecküchner and demonstrate that his work was intended for the contexts of courtly combat and commoners combat.

fight book

formal combat

ritual combat

medieval

johannes lecküchner

video

weapons

Author

Dijk, Casper J. van

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Europe 1000-1800

Supervisors

Mol, J.A.

ECTS Credits

30

Language

en