Localisation de l’atelier de Thibolt Berger

Enquête sur le lieu d’impression du traité de Joachim Meyer

L’imprimeur du livre de Joachim Meyer, Thibolt Berger, a son atelier situé au Marché aux Vins (Weynmarckt), dans la maison dite Zum Treubel.

Est-il possible de le localiser précisément ? Avec cette indication, il semble bien que cela soit possible.

Il faut cependant faire attention à un piège dans lequel je suis moi-même tombé dans le passé : le marché aux vins s’étendait depuis le XVe siècle au moins sur un large espace entre le fossé des tanneurs et la partie nord de la rivière qui entoure actuellement le centre ville (actuellement l’Ill, au XVIe siècle, la Bruche).

Ce marché allait de l’ouest de l’actuelle place Saint-Pierre (où se trouve d’ailleurs l’arrêt de tramway Alt-Winmärik) et s’étirait vers le nord-est dans les rues actuelles appelée du Vieux Marché aux Vins et du Jeu des Enfants. La rue du Jeu des enfants ne s’appelait pas encore ainsi au XVIe siècle, mais portait le nom de vordern Weinmarkt, c’est-à-dire, la partie avancée (si on se place du point de vue du centre historique) du marché aux vins. Le marché s’étalait jusqu’au fossé des tanneurs, c’est-à-dire l’actuelle place de l’homme de fer. Il incluait évidemment l’actuelle place du Vieux Marché aux Vins, qui s’appelait alors simplement Weinmarktplatz au XVIe siècle.

L’élément essentiel pour localiser dans ce vaste espace l’atelier de Thibolt Berger, c’est donc bien le nom du bâtiment, « Zum Treubel« .

Dans le référencement des empiètements sur les communs (Allmend) réalisé par la ville en 1587, il est précisé que cette maison se situe dans le Vordern Weinmarckt, et après le croisement avec la rue des aveugles (Blindgass) et allant vers le fossé des tanneurs.

Ceci situe donc cet hôtel dans l’actuelle rue du Jeu des Enfants !

On notera d’ailleurs quelques précisions architecturales : la maison disposait alors au-dessus de la porte d’entrée une avancée pour se protéger de la pluie de 26 pieds de large, et entre 3 et 4 pieds de profondeur. Elle disposait aussi d’un banc de pierre de 3 pieds de long et 1 pied de large. Ces indications sont notées car tout cela constituait des dépassements sur la rue, et donc donnait lieu à une taxe. Elle avait aussi une cave qui pouvait s’accéder de la rue par une porte dont l’installation  empiétait elle aussi sur la rue, d’au moins 4 pieds . Le tout a valu au propriétaire de l’époque, Hans Adolf Kirchhoffern, une taxation de 13 schilling et 4 pfennigs.

Revenons à la localisation de la maison. Est-il possible d’être plus précis ? La rue des Aveugles a été fermée en partie depuis, vraisemblablement entre 1870 et 1950, et n’arrive plus à cette rue. Mais il est possible d’inférer son tracé. Cependant le relevé des taxation de 1587 ne rend compte que du bâti qui empiète sur la rue, donc il omet de nombreux bâtiments.

Il faut donc exploiter un autre document plus tardif, un acte de vente de 1641, concernant une maison située à l’angle de la rue des Aveugles et du Jeu des Enfants. Cet acte de vente établit qu’à l’autre coin de ce croisement de rue se situait précisément la maison dite Zum Treubel.

J’ai pu ainsi marquer grossièrement la localisation de cet atelier, correspondant au 16 rue du Jeu des Enfants actuellement:

Je remercie vivement M. Wendling, auteur du formidable site http://maisons-de-strasbourg.fr.nf pour avoir fourni la matière principale à cette identification.

// English version //

The printer of Joachim Meyer’s book, Thibolt Berger, has his workshop located at the Wine Market (Weynmarckt), in the so-called Zum Treubel house.

Is it possible to locate it precisely? With this indication, it seems that it is possible.

We must however be careful of the trap into which I myself have fallen in the past: the wine market has extended since the 15th century at least a wide space between the tanners’ ditch and the northern part of the river (currently the Ill, in the 16th century, the Bruche).

This market goes to the west of the current Saint-Pierre square (where nowadays the tram station Alt-Winmärik is located) and spread out towards the northeast in the current streets called Vieux Marché au Vins and du Jeu des Enfants. The street du Jeu des Enfants was called the vordern Weinmarkt in the 16th century. The wine market then stretched to the tanners’ ditch, that is to say the current place de l’Homme de Fer. It obviously included the current place du Vieux Marché aux Vins, which was then simply called Weinmarktplatz in the 16th century.

The essential element for locating Thibolt Berger’s workshop in this vast space is therefore the name « Zum Treubel« .

In the referencing of the encroachments on the commons (Allmend) carried out by the city in 1587, it is specified that this house is located in the Vordern Weinmarckt, and after the intersection with the street of the blinds (Blindgass) and going towards the ditch of the tanners.

This places this house in the current rue du Jeu des Enfants!

Note also some architectural details: the house then had above the front door a small roof to protect from the rain of 26 feet wide, and between 3 and 4 feet deep. It also had a stone bench alongside of 3 feet long and 1 foot deep. These indications are noted because all these constitutes overlaping of the property on the street, and therefore gave rise to a tax. The house also had a cellar which could be accessed from the street by a door whose installation also encroached on the street, at least 4 feet deep. The whole thing obliged the owner, Hans Adolf Kirchhoffern, to pay a tax of 13 schillings and 4 pfennigs.

Back to the location of the house. Is it possible to be more precise? The rue des Aveugles (Blindgass) has been partially closed and no longer cross the rue du Jeu des Enfants, but it is possible to infer its route. But the statement of taxation is not precise at this point and only accounts for buildings that encroach on the street, so it omits many buildings.

It is therefore necessary to exploit another later document, a deed of sale of 1641, concerning a house located at the corner of rue des Aveugles and du Jeu des Enfants. This deed of sale establishes that at the other corner of the intersection, is precisely the house called Zum Treubel.

The house Zum Treubel could then have been destroyed during the 1870 siege, but I’m not sure.

In the picture above, I was able to roughly mark the location of this workshop, corresponding to 16 rue du Jeu des Enfants currently.

I warmly thank Mr. Wendling, author of the wonderful site http://maisons-de-strasbourg.fr.nf for having provided the main material for this identification.

Bibliographie

Foessel Georges et al. Strasbourg, Panorama monumental. Mémoires d’Alsace, 2003.

Seyboth Aldoph. Das alte Strassburg, vom 13. Jahrhundert bis zum Jahre 1870; geschichtliche Topographie nach den Urkunden und Chroniken. Strasbourg: Heitz, 1890.

L’escrime à Strasbourg au XVIIIe siècle

Jean-Michel Wendling est un passionné de l’histoire locale et en particulier à l’histoire des bâtiments de Strasbourg.

Il a composé cet article en préparation à une conférence donnée en 2018, en travaillant essentiellement sur la matière tirée des archives municipales : http://maisons-de-strasbourg.fr.nf/articles/maitres-d-armes-xviii/

Son corpus de matériel a été publié séparément : http://maisons-de-strasbourg.fr.nf/articles/maitres-d-armes-xviii/maitres-d-armes-repertoire/

Summer Messer Seminar 2019

Introduction

On the 29th and 30th of June, ELSAMHE will host the second Summer Messer Seminar 2019 in Strasbourg.

Two days entirely dedicated to this fabulous weapons called ‘Messer’ or ‘lang Messer’, but maybe also a little bit to its descendant, the dussack.

Participants of the seminar will be able to follow classes by either widely renowned European instructors, either who deserved to have this reputation.
This event is also an echo to the Winter Messer Meeting hold three times by AMEK.

Schedule

The schedule will be something like that:

Saturday morning (10h-12h) Hans Heim, disarming your opponent  Mickaël Vieillard, Hips don’t lie
Saturday afternoon (14h-16h) Marek Helman, disarming your opponent  Free activities
Sunday morning (10h-12h) Oskar Ter Mors, Breaking the Siege Emilien Sivry, Breaking the Guards
Sunday afternoon (14h-16h) Fabrice Cognot, disarming your opponent  Free activities

The hall will be accessible from 9am to 7pm on Saturday and from 9am to 5 pm on Sunday.

Instructors and workshops descriptions

 Hans Heim 

Disarming your opponent
With one hand, with the knife, without knife, with the knife and the left hand, with two hands on the knife, and so one…

Marek Tadeusz Helman

Meyer Dussack Stucke
From Bodymechanics and footwork to tactics and mindset. This workshop will be a practical approach on how to train crosscutting, provoker, taker and hitter, in Meyer dussack.

OskAr TeR Mors

Breaking the Siege
In this workshop we will be exploring the imagery of fortification that is often invoked in Lecküchner’s manuscript and use it to string together a whole set of varying techniques that will teach us how to bring the fight to our opponent by using the Langenort. This workshop is aimed at those who would like to practice some of the less well known parts of Lecküchner, but it will also appeal to sparring aficionados, as we will always make sure to explore how these techniques may serve us in a more dynamic situation.

Fabrice Cognot

How to build a messer
This lecture will simplet let you discover how the messers were built.

 

Mike Vieillard

Hips don’t lie
This workshop will base on body mechanics, frame and power generation. How to use your hips, your shoulders and save energy during a fight.

Émilien Sivry

Breaking the Guards
This workshop will be about reacting in front of the four different guards teached by Lecküchner. We will see how to unlock them, and how to make your opponent move. You will then be able to go on with further techniques.

Registration

Please fill the form to validate your registration : https://forms.gle/TcMP1dKGkZkYndui7

Two options are available through the form :

  • Event + saturday night dinner
  • Event alone, without saturday night dinner

Please note that your registration will only be validated after the payment has been done!

If you face any troubles, or want to modify your choice, please contact us directly by e-mail or by facebook!

Getting there

Adress of the Hall : 3 Boulevard du Président-Wilson, 67000 STRASBOURG

Can’t be closer to the central train station (Gare de Strasbourg).

Restaurant

On Saturday evening, for those who registered to the restaurant option.
The meeting point will be given a few weeks before the event.

Contact

If you need to contact us before the event, please chose one of the following:

  • write to canne.strasbg_at_gmail.com
  • use the Facebook event page FB

 

Summer Messer Seminar 2018

Summer Messer Seminar

Introduction

On the 23rd and 24th of June, ELSAMHE will host the Summer Messer Seminar 2018 in Strasbourg.

Two days entirely dedicated to this fabulous weapons called « Messer » or « lang Messer », but maybe also a little bit to its descendant, the dussack.

Participants of the seminar will be able to follow classes by either widely renowned European instructors, either who deserved to have this reputation.
This event is also an echo to the Winter Messer Meeting hold two times by AMEK.
A few students from ELSAMHE participated to these two events and were so excited that they had no other desire than to organize a similar event.

Schedule

The schedule is based on the following principle:

  • Morning is dedicated to class, hold by instructors
    • Saturday 10-12h: 2 workshops by Olivier Dupuis & Remi Deyme
    • sunday 10-12h: 1 workshop by Oriol Salvador and a special workshop (more information will follow)
  • Afternoon is dedicated to free sparrings, exchange, experimentations and some contests, in particular:

The hall will be accessible from 9am to 7pm both on Saturday and Sunday.

Instructors

  • Olivier Dupuis will dedicate his workshop to a lost source from Peter Faulkner. Hopefully some short extracts remain and one of them in particular deals with the description of the main defense to be done from one of the four guards in messer. Starting from this point, the exercises will lead participants to experiment simple mechanisms to manage the beginning of assaults with a single handed weapon.
  • Rémi Deyme, Technical stuff from Lecküchner : understanding how and when it can be applied in combat. This workshop will mainly be focusing on trying to fully understand different techniques from the Lecküchner (for example Wincker, Uberlauffen, etc) and discussing on what can make them efficient (or on the contrary what could prevent them from succeeding) in the context of an assault.
  • Oriol SalvadorThe hidden flow of the Lecküchner Messer. During the process of learning new techniques or drilling, too often we take the pieces as a sequence with a clear defined beginning and end. Fighting and sparring is not like this, because one action must be linked to another. That leads to clumsy situations where what we had learnt seems not to work. In this workshop we will work on some pieces, both from the Lecküchner manual and from my own personal preferences, but trying to add some flow to the sequences.
    Registration

Please fill the form to validate your registration : SMS2018 Registration Form

Two options are available through the form :

  • Event + saturday night dinner
  • Event alone, without saturday night dinner

Please note that your registration will only be validated after the payment has been done!

If you face any troubles, or want to modify your choice, please contact us directly by e-mail or by facebook!

Getting there

Adress of the Hall : 3 Boulevard du Président-Wilson, 67000 STRASBOURG

Can’t be closer to the central train station (Gare de Strasbourg).

Restaurant

On Saturday evening, for those who registered to the restaurant option, the meeting point will be the “Troquet des Kneckes”, Grand’Rue: https://goo.gl/maps/LDSnfQpbwfw

Contact

If you need to contact us before the event, please chose one of the following:

  • write to canne.strasbg_at_gmail.com
  • use the Facebook event page FB