The modern sport of classical fencing has come a long way from its origins in the 15th century practice of dueling over the past 600 years swords have become blunted protective equipment is increased and rules steadily codified to produce a safe formalized olympic sport in which serious injuries are rare
But at the same time another more brutal form of fencing also survived clinging to existence in university basements and clubhouses across europe it is a form of ritualized swordplay so steeped in the traditions of dueling and martial honor that not only are injuries common they’re actually encouraged
Welcome to the hardcore world of mensur or german academic fencing mensur is a practice unique to student corporations a kind of fraternity common to universities in german-speaking countries like germany austria and switzerland and baltic states like latvia and estonia these societies which date back to the middle ages are built around the notion
Of a lifelong brotherhood among their members and carry out a number of elaborate rituals to reinforce this bond including the wearing of distinctive caps and ribbons bearing the corporation’s colors the kneep as well as ceremonial gathering and of course mansour deriving its name from the latin word for dimension referring to the
Distance between participants mensur is a formal duel between two individuals fought using special sharpened basket-hilted sabers called mensuraga unlike in traditional fencing fighters or parkhuntin stand a fixed arm’s length apart and are forbidden from moving their feet or even dodging their opponent’s blows there is also no scoring nor any
Designated winner or loser this is because the aim of mansour is not swordsmanship but rather to demonstrate one’s courage and character by taking an opponent’s blows without fear or flinching as herman rick former head of the association of old core students explains the object and purpose of student
Corporations was and still is solely the education of students to become a strong free and cosmopolitan personality who is not held back by religious racist national scientific or philosophical limitations of the mind the need to overcome one’s own fear dedicated to the union of his core and the connected strengthening of the
Sense of community aids the personal growth just as does taking a hit without losing one stand and accepting the assessment of the mensur by the own cause brothers these notions of courage honor and the ability to endure hardship unflinchingly were considered central to the german character for hundreds of years and were
Instrumental in preserving and maintaining the practice of mensur up to the present day the role of minsoy in defining a student’s character is perhaps best exemplified by the associated culture of dueling scars though menstrual belts are carried out with sharpened swords as the aim is not to kill or seriously
Wound one’s opponent the combatants wear elaborate protective gear including a long padded or chainmail shirt a throat protector a gauntlet on the sword hand and metal goggles with a nose protector during the bout only hits to the head are permitted without ending when first blood is drawn the resulting scar known
As a smite or schmiss has long been considered a badge of honor with german chancellor otto von bismarck once declaring that a man’s courage and bravery could be judged by the number of scars on their cheeks in the 19th and early 20th centuries dueling scars and the corporation membership they indicated
Were seen as a sign of a man’s ability to hold government office indeed in 1928 20 of senior civil service positions in prussia were held by former members of the kosena student association scars were also thought to enhance man’s eligibility as a potential husband leading many who were unable to attend
University or join student corporations to cut their faces with razors to achieve the same effect those with actual dueling wounds also often picked at their scabs to deepen and enhance the resulting scars as most student corporation members were also members of the aristocracy and many aristocrats became military officers the
Practice of mensura eventually led to the cliche of the scar-german officer indeed many prominent military leaders up to the nazi era including essay leader ernst rahm and ss commando leader otto scazeny bore prominent dueling scars on their faces despite its eventual longevity mansour nearly disappeared numerous times throughout its history
Only to reappear and adapt itself to the changing times while modern mensa emerged around the mid-19th century the tradition of student dueling stretches back to the 15th century when the court sword or costum dergan was an essential part of the everyday aristocratic dress while the common people were forbidden
From carrying swords in many german principalities an exception was made for university students so they could defend themselves if attacked while traveling to and from school this unsurprisingly led to an explosion of dueling with students fighting each other over the slightest perceived insult to their honor these affairs were very often deadly as
The preferred dueling weapon thrusting arapia known as a parisia or parisian sword could easily inflict lethal puncture wounds in the 17th century an attempt was made to curb these so-called street fights through the introduction of a regulated duel instead of fighting each other on the spot the aggrieved parties would
Agree to meet at a prearranged time and place the duel being overseen by a referee the dualists seconds and a doctor to tend to any injuries these duels were fought not to the death but typically to the drawing of first blood the aim being to secure satisfaction for the insulted party
But due to the thrusting nature of the combat many duelists still died and it was not until the 1760s that the university of gottingen introduced a new type of slashing sword known as the gartender hiber this was soon adopted by many german-speaking universities causing a dramatic drop in the death rate
In 1763 following the seven years war frederick the great king of prussia outlawed street duels and the public wearing of swords by civilians resulting in legalized dueling becoming the exclusive preserve of military officers and university students her first duels were reserved for resolving disputes and perceived insults but
As more and more students without actual grievances sought to prove their courage and skill on the dueling ground a formal system of challenges was developed this involved uttering a standard code phrase typically stupid boy which was not an insult but rather an invitation to duel but by the mid-19th century this too was
Abolished in favor of the determining duel wherein rather than challenging each other combatants were instead chosen by the vice chair of their student corporation these duels were no longer about settling disputes but rather proving one’s character and fighting one became a prerequisite of entry into a corporation
This is considered the birth of modern mensur the latter half of the 19th century saw an explosion in the popularity of mensur especially in prussia a phenomenon attributed to two major factors extended peace and government reforms for much of prussian history the officer corps was the exclusive preserve of the
Aristocracy but in 1859 sweeping military reforms led to the creation of a new reserve army whose leadership was open to members of the middle class aristocratic officers seeing this as a challenge their elite status took to fighting duels in order to demonstrate their superior breeding and character between the end of the franco-prussian
War in 1871 and the outbreak of the first world war in 1914 the newly unified germany fought no major conflicts and an officer corps thirsting for combat turned once again to mansoor to preserve their martial spirit during this period german chancellor otto von bismarck also implemented sweeping government reforms including
Lowering taxes and introducing social security one result of which was to allow many middle class students to attend university for the first time like the officer corp the largely aristocratic student corporations saw these new arrivals as a threat to their elite status and mentor as the means of preserving it
By the late 19th century mensur was so popular in germany that mark twain devoted several chapters of his 1880 travelogue abroad to it yet despite its popularity mensture was about to face one of the first major challenges to its existence while by this time mensur had become one
Of the safest sports in europe placing behind even cycling in terms of annual deaths accidents still happened and in 1877 the death of a student fencer at the university of gottengan led the german government to ban mensur outright however the practice still continued with secret duels taking place
In the basements of student corporation clubhouses across germany in 1890 kaiser philharm ii carried out an investigation into the prevalence of mensur in germany and at the conclusion of which he declared dueling provides the best education which a young man can get for his future life this royal endorsement effectively overturned all
Previous prohibitions on mensur and the practice enjoyed yet another surge in popularity it would remain popular until the mid-1930s when it was officially banned by the nazi regime hitler’s quarrel lay not with mensur itself but rather with the student corporations who practiced it whom he saw as representing the old aristocratic
Class whom he despised hitler was also suspicious of the strong bond of brotherhood between corporation members which he believed undermined loyalty to the state but just like in the 1880s mensah did not disappear it simply went underground student corporations forced by the nazis to suspend their activities instead reorganized as comradeships like the
Hermann lawns group in freiburg which continued to host mansur duels in secret indeed over 100 recorded duels were fought in fryeburg alone throughout the second world war after the war the occupying allied forces banned all military sporting organizations in germany while mansour had only been practiced by students for decades its martial nature
And heritage was deemed sufficient for it to be included in the ban this prohibition lasted until 1953 and while mensah quickly reestablished itself at many german universities it would never again come close to the popularity that enjoyed in the late 19th century today mensur is practiced by around 400 student corporations across germany
Austria switzerland belgium poland and the baltic states though in some countries like switzerland the practice is frowned upon as excessively violent with many corporations turning to other sports like extreme hiking as an alternate means of building character and brotherhood but many students still swear by this medieval trial by combat and
The brutal but violent lessons that it teaches as albrecht felix spokesman for the student corps associations explains some people regard honor as an old-fashioned term we see it in close relationship with human dignity core students are obliged to respect the dignity of other persons and not to tolerate a violation of their own
Dignity this has a significant effect on our social life and contributes to the unique atmosphere of a core house so i really hope you found that video interesting if you did please do hit that thumbs up button below don’t forget to subscribe and thank you for watching
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