And as an interesting sidenote. The "klopffechters" seen in a few of the images above, that I thought were unanimously considered to be
unskilled fencers and a a term used as bit derogatory might not have been considered so originally. Quite the opposite, in fact. It might
relate to common "show" and "prize" fighters who fought in public, sometimes also for a living, which wasn't highly regarded although
perhaps still enjoyed by the higher ranks and disregarded by the prestigious schools of the Lion and the Griffon. There are even theories
that some of the masters are connected to this, e.g Talhoffer, although he has also been attributed to the Marx brothers. Who knows,
perhaps there even was an exchange of members between the groups?
With time it appears as if this transferred more and more to stage fighting and became regarded as less valuable by "real" fencing masters".
This makes me wonder if we have some fechtschulen with high regard and some with less. I have even seen mentioning of the klopffechters
originating from the Lukas/Luxbruders, which was a less powerful fencing brotherhood. And of course, less regard doesn't necessarily equal
less skill, as the "truth" is always written by those in power.
And just out of curiosity: checking the etymology dictionary, "klopf" connects to several meanings: The early Renaissance German translated
into "hit", "whip", or "brawler". In Swedish we had "Klåp/klabb" which meant "thick", "crude", "stupid" "fat and non-limber person", but also
to "hit" or "pat" someone. A "klåp" is also the thick end of a stick. Looking to old Swedish dialects we also find "klabbe-dask" which means
"getting beat up", "klabb" (cheating), "klabbare" and "klabb-smed" (cheater/cheat-smith), "vedklabbe" (firelog).
In modern Swedish we still have "klåpare" (hack), "klibbig"(sticky), "kladd"(sticky mess), "klappa" (pat), "vedklabbe" (firelog), "klubba" (cudgel),
"klippa" (cliff/rock).
With the meaning "pat" or "whip" in mind, I come to think of Meyer's common use of the flat of the blade, when striking the opponent. And of
course, the "prellhau".
Finally, here is a list of references to fencing masters and fencing schools:
http://hemaalliance.com/discussion/view ... p?f=7&t=40
http://hemaalliance.com/discussion/view ... p?f=7&t=41
http://www.schwertbund-nurmberg.de/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotherhood_of_St._Mark
http://www.klopffechter.de/historisches.html
http://books.google.se/books?id=qupwNNp ... em&f=false
http://books.google.se/books?id=TyJ8ebn ... q=&f=false
http://www.sallegreen.com/masters.html
http://www.thearma.org/arttalk/at50.htm