Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA)

HEMA stands for Historical European Martial Arts and is the modern reconstruction of martial arts in Europe from around 1300 to 1800. The HEMA community studies surviving martial arts manuals and then tests their interpretations with each other at clubs and tournaments across the country.

Wiktenaur. A community driven research project "seeking to collect all of the primary and secondary source literature that makes up the text of historical European martial arts research and to organize and present it in a scholarly but accessible format." Fully translated original manuals, illustrations, techniques, and more. An amazing site!

Inside the World of Longsword Fighting. A short 5 minute video from the New York Times.

Back To The Source Documentary. A great documentary funded by the HEMA Alliance, which goes into depth about HEMA as a scholarly pursuit, as a new and fast growing sport with an active tournament scene, and as an international community practitioners.

The HEMA Alliance. A wealth of information on the diverse elements of HEMA including a HEMA club finder.

The first illustration from Joachim Meyers Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens ("A Thorough Description of the Art of Fencing"), our primary source. — The first illustration from Joachim Meyers ***Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens*** ("A Thorough Description of the Art of Fencing"), our primary source.