Honour and Fighting Social Advancement in the Early Modern Age

Abstract

The article considers the importance of military service in social advancement, here understood as filling the role of “prince” in feudal law and thus participating in the government of an estate, in the transition from the Late Middle Ages to the Renaissance or Early Modern Age. In the context of a city burgher or a petty noble or knight advancing into a government role, did honour require that the individual have experience in fighting – in war, military organisation and leadership? How did mercenaries figure? What role, if any, did Fechtmeister, Fechtbücher, Fechtschulen or Kriegsbücher play?

‘Have the Highest Righteous Fencer in Your Mind’s Eye’: Medieval Martial Ethic as a Conceptual Repository for Just War Theory

“…One could of course argue that knights, and especially the young or impoverished ones, were interested in the northern crusades, because they offered an opportunity to win honour ( or tugend in medieval German), which was a crucial asset in upward social mobility [Jones 1959;Gassmann 2015]. However, this could be objected to on other grounds.…”

Emperor’s Gambit? On the Role of Urban Culture and Fencing Fraternities in the Military Reform of Maximilian I Habsburg

“…Namely, as mentioned earlier, at that time German towns would already have a long history of armed opposition against the feudal lords and thus some sort of military tradition, but it was arguably not as developed as in the cases of Switzerland or Flanders. German burghers gained victories mostly while defending their walls (for instance, during the siege of Rothenburg in 1407 29 ) and less often in the open field. Besides that, burghers' main occupations were craftsmanship and trade, hence their level of personal combat preparation was lower in comparison to the ministeriales, who could dedicate much more time to training.…”