Page of a Fechtbuch dating from the 1540s
A Fechtbuch (German, pl Fechtbücher) is a medieval German combat manual. Several extant Fechtbücher dating from the 14th-16th centuries depict dueling combatants in various stances and performing a number of techniques described in the manuals' text. These manuals were written by some of the leading swordsmen of the time (such as Johannes Liechtenauer, Hans Talhoffer, Paulus Kal and Joachim Meyer), and they serve as the basis for much of today's knowledge of medieval fighting techniques.