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Rating: 
Summary: A "must have" historical resource.
Review: Anyone who is about to enter the world of historical European martial arts today are the most fortunate with respect to the increasing availability of English translated historical manuscripts that describe these fighting arts. Practitioners who currently study the historical manuscripts, slogging away at medieval German or medieval Italian or Latin now find relief with publications such as this. The Codex Wallerstein, one of the most comprehensive manuscripts depicting early European martial arts including longsword, dagger, wrestling, armoured combat, messer, hewing shield now has its "secrets" unlocked by the impressive work of Gregorz Zabinskik with Bartlomiej Walczak. A brilliant academic effort by Gregorz who enhances the credability of the work by including not only the English translated text, but the original middle high German text of the period and text of the transcription of middle high German to modern German. The publication also contains all of the original illustrations making this a must have, invaluable resource for any practitioner's reference library interested in the study and practice of historical European martial arts.
Rating: 
Summary: Neat historical document
Review: Cool book on medieval swordsmanship. Nicely translated from an actual historical document. This is an accurate source for enthusiasts of the high Middle Ages. Good illustrations. As the title indicates it covers longsword, falchion, dagger, and wrestling techniques as they were taught in the 14th and 15th centuries. Could have been significantly improved with some more commentary and/or explanation.
Rating:
Summary: what a fine book!, and a great translation!
Review: I have recently gotten into [western medieval renaissance] martial arts after spending many many years in Asian combative disciplines. This book is a treasure trove of wonderful methods that cross the barrier between eastern and western martial arts. This book shows that great body mechanics, and principles of movement, are valid no matter what part of the globe they may have originated from. On a number of pages there are some rather unique doodles, that have been somewhat of a mystery for the past six centuries or so, and I am fortunate enough to have uncovered their meaning, and have had my work validated by one of the translators of this fine work. (...) In closing I highly recommend this fine volume of work to any martial arts enthusiast, or re-enactor, or anyone with a general curiosity in how people really got medieval back in the good old days.
Rating:
Summary: A wonder
Review: Just a bunch of old illustrations with no meaningful text or instructions. I bought it and returned it 5 minutes after it arrived. I used another review to guide my decision and it was a mistake. Making me pay for return shipping seems like stealing when a product is so mis-represented.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy it.
Review: Just a bunch of old illustrations with no meaningful text or instructions. I bought it and returned it 5 minutes after it arrived. I used another review to guide my decision and it was a mistake. Making me pay for return shipping seems like stealing when a product is so mis-represented.
Rating:
Summary: A fine treatment of an important manuscript
Review: Messrs. Zabinski and Walczak have made a great contribution to the study of Historic European Martial Arts with their translation and analysis of the 'Codex Wallerstein'. This fascinating 15th Century German manuscript contains illustrated fighting techniques for the hand and a half knightly sword (the longsword), close quarters combat both unarmed and with a dagger, combat with the messer (a falchion-like short sword), and for fighting in the full armour of the day. The original plates from the manuscript are presented side by side with both modern German and English translations. Definitely a must-have for the sword practitioner or student of the late Middle Ages - it certainly has served *this* researcher well in my own ongoing study of German fighting arts.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: This book offers a fascinating introduction to the worlds of longsword fighting, wrestling etc. As codices go, this is one of the very best, and almost certainly one of the best preserved of its type. I was somewhat surprised to find the originals behind my sofa the other day, though, in with the newspapers for recycling, and I daresay that these are more valuable than any facsimile. Even so, an interesting read.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: This book offers a fascinating introduction to the worlds of longsword fighting, wrestling etc. As codices go, this is one of the very best, and almost certainly one of the best preserved of its type. I was somewhat surprised to find the originals behind my sofa the other day, though, in with the newspapers for recycling, and I daresay that these are more valuable than any facsimile. Even so, an interesting read.
Rating:
Summary: A wonder
Review: This is a fantastic resource. The format is like other manuals of German combat. It is a large compendium of pictures with explainatory captions. It takes work to understand what exactly is happening, but once you get it you can see that the Codex represents a complete and sophisticated system of combat. Straight from the battlefields of 15th century Germany, any martial arts practicioner can learn something useful from this book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, but not for the casual swordsman
Review: This is an excellent book. Grzegorz and Bart are to be commended for their fine work translating this important medieval fechtbuch. The book contains some of the most important material on medieval unarmed combat and is an absolute must for anyone working in that area. It also contains many plates on longsword, messer and a range of other weapons. What this book is: An excellent translation of a significant and well illustrated medieval fechtbuch. What this book isn't: It isn't a guide to medieval fencing. Wallerstein is primarily illustrations. With minimal text and no interpretation, it's up to you to work out what's being done in the plates. If you're like me, this is great. If you're beginner, expecting a book teaching you medieval swordsmanship, this is not that book.
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