pastis
10-01-2016, 01:32 PM
hey guys,
what do you think about the long-term german tradion of academic fencing?
A form of noble duel – mensur fencing – was widespread in Germany from the 16th century on among young people, particularly in the student community. (The word originated from German Mensurfechten – fencing in confined space). Duelists wore protective eyepieces with metallic netting. The chest and neck were protected by a leather chest guard and a thick scarf. They wielded prototypes of the saber – "schlagers" with sharply pointed ends. Opponents faced each other and took turns at hits, aiming for the only unprotected body part - the opponent's face. When fatigue set in or one of the opponents let down his guard, his opponent broke through his parries, leaving a cut on his face, which eventually scarred over. As we know, scars are said to give a man's face character. As a result, both duelists left satisfied: the winner with a sense of triumph, and the "loser" (there is no "real" loser in academic fencing) with a sign of courage on his face...
The scar resulting from a hit is called a "smite" (German Schmiss), and was seen as a badge of honour, especially in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th.
The modern statute of mensur fencing states: "...the aim of mensur is to promote courage and self-confidence, and the return of the medieval tradition is no proof of its reactionary tendencies, but merely a tribute to the ancestors". For a German, the badge of courage was the duelling scar mostly on the left side of the face, where blows would fall from a right-handed duellist. This was the up-market tattoo of the day borne by a generation of doctors, jurists, professors and officials, certifying the owner’s claim to manly stature and cultivated rank.
Among german men it was believed that in order to be considered fit for good society, it was necessary to be capable of dispensing satisfaction in a duel. German men acquired both their duelling skill and their class-consciousness while attending university. These institutions had their fencing masters, and the elite sword duelling fraternities that were formed primed students for the social expectations that would await them on their graduation. After graduation, these students would enter the upper echelons of German society and assume positions of power and authority. The mensur functioned as an assertion of manhood and was a phenomenon specific to central Europe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_fencing
Today you just have maybe 3-5 fencing fraternities for each college town with just a handfull of members.
http://65.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxbtixZDKP1qaglb0o1_1280.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jKzgD4pKhNk/S7iof5KBS4I/AAAAAAAABk4/QUrXv_-j_04/s1600/mensur3.jpg
http://www.thuringia-braunschweig.de/images/th/Mensur.jpg
http://www.thilo-fink.de/Hobbys/Verbindung/Mensur1vorher.jpg
http://www.normannia-zu-leipzig.de/files-and-imgs/seiteninhalte/fechten/goettinger_mensur_1888.jpg
what do you think about the long-term german tradion of academic fencing?
A form of noble duel – mensur fencing – was widespread in Germany from the 16th century on among young people, particularly in the student community. (The word originated from German Mensurfechten – fencing in confined space). Duelists wore protective eyepieces with metallic netting. The chest and neck were protected by a leather chest guard and a thick scarf. They wielded prototypes of the saber – "schlagers" with sharply pointed ends. Opponents faced each other and took turns at hits, aiming for the only unprotected body part - the opponent's face. When fatigue set in or one of the opponents let down his guard, his opponent broke through his parries, leaving a cut on his face, which eventually scarred over. As we know, scars are said to give a man's face character. As a result, both duelists left satisfied: the winner with a sense of triumph, and the "loser" (there is no "real" loser in academic fencing) with a sign of courage on his face...
The scar resulting from a hit is called a "smite" (German Schmiss), and was seen as a badge of honour, especially in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th.
The modern statute of mensur fencing states: "...the aim of mensur is to promote courage and self-confidence, and the return of the medieval tradition is no proof of its reactionary tendencies, but merely a tribute to the ancestors". For a German, the badge of courage was the duelling scar mostly on the left side of the face, where blows would fall from a right-handed duellist. This was the up-market tattoo of the day borne by a generation of doctors, jurists, professors and officials, certifying the owner’s claim to manly stature and cultivated rank.
Among german men it was believed that in order to be considered fit for good society, it was necessary to be capable of dispensing satisfaction in a duel. German men acquired both their duelling skill and their class-consciousness while attending university. These institutions had their fencing masters, and the elite sword duelling fraternities that were formed primed students for the social expectations that would await them on their graduation. After graduation, these students would enter the upper echelons of German society and assume positions of power and authority. The mensur functioned as an assertion of manhood and was a phenomenon specific to central Europe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_fencing
Today you just have maybe 3-5 fencing fraternities for each college town with just a handfull of members.
http://65.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxbtixZDKP1qaglb0o1_1280.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jKzgD4pKhNk/S7iof5KBS4I/AAAAAAAABk4/QUrXv_-j_04/s1600/mensur3.jpg
http://www.thuringia-braunschweig.de/images/th/Mensur.jpg
http://www.thilo-fink.de/Hobbys/Verbindung/Mensur1vorher.jpg
http://www.normannia-zu-leipzig.de/files-and-imgs/seiteninhalte/fechten/goettinger_mensur_1888.jpg