German school of swordsmanship

German school of historical fencing

page of Mscr. Dresd. C 93 by Paulus Hector Mair (1540s)
Also known as	historical German swordsmanship, Kunst des Fechtens
Focus	longsword, messer, dagger, polearms, grappling
Country of origin	Holy Roman Empire
Famous practitioners	Johannes Liechtenauer, Hans Talhoffer, Paulus Hector Mair, Sigmund Ringeck

The German school of fencing (Deutsche Schule; Kunst des Fechtens) is the historical system of combat taught in the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern periods (14th to 17th centuries), as described in the Fechtbücher ("combat manuals") written at the time. The geographical center of this tradition was in what is now Southern Germany (Augsburg, Frankfurt, Nuremberg). During the period in which it was taught, it was known as the Kunst des Fechtens, or the "Art of Fencing" (commonly mistranslated into "Art of Fighting"). It comprises the techniques of the two-handed longsword, but also describes many other types of combat, notably mounted combat, unarmed grappling, fighting with polearms, with the dagger, the messer with or without buckler, and the staff.

Most of the authors are, or claim to be, in the tradition of the 14th century master Johannes Liechtenauer. The earliest surviving treatise on Liechtenauer's system is contained in a manuscript dated to 1389, known as Ms. 3227a. More manuscript treatises survive from the 15th century, and during the 16th century, the system was also presented in print, notably by Joachim Meyer in 1570. The German tradition is eclipsed by the Italian school of rapier fencing by the early 17th century. However, there were scattered lines of practitioners around at least until the end of the 18th century.