Meyer’s Strasbourg was a place of complex social dynamics. Out of town journeyman laborers bumped elbows with burgrecht-possessing citizen craftsmen, commoners shouldered up to nobility, councilmembers dictated rules and regulations to both alike, and different craft guilds vied for influence within the city walls.
The guild system in place during the 16th century was complicated to say the least, and all of the fechtmeisters I have investigated were part of a local trade guild. Meyer was a member of the Smiths as a cutler (and even elected their treasurer), Brack a part of the Tailor’s guild, Kellerle a cobbler, and Brand a carpenter. Guilds and guild houses (zunfthaus) were highly important institutions in Strasbourg and across Europe at the time. They acted as hubs for not only professional life, but also as social groups and buildings where events would be held, and members were held accountable to the guild for their behavior both as craftsmen and as citizens. You can read more about the guildhouses the fechtmeisters would have hung out at in my Tour of Meyer’s Strasbourg article here.
The guilds in cities did not always get along. Members could be fiercely loyal to their guild and identity as a specific craftsmen, and conflicts between different guilds was not uncommon. Meyer’s 1570 treatise has some of the woodcuts adorned with the coat of arms of the Cutlers, not a symbol of any fencing guild, for example.
In February of 1580, such a conflict occurred with our own fechtmeister Wygand Brack caught up in the middle of it. A mob of Furriers (Kürschner) attacked members of the Tailor’s guild after a fechtschul held by Brack, outside of the Tailor’s guildhouse.
How it Started
This quarrel began in an obscure way -- with a simple request for a fechtschul. On February 6th, Friedrich Meyer of Freiburg requested a fechtschul to be held, with nothing particularly interesting written in this run-of-the-mill request. However, on the day the fechtschul was meant to be held (February 15th), Wygand Brack submits a request to take over running the fechtschul from Friedrich…
Wygand Brack, through Dr. Gneisen, (reports) that Friedrich Meyer of Freiburg has been allowed a fechtschule today. (But) the same one's parents are very displeased. So to honor them he wants to refrain from the same and give it to him (= Brack). Requests to allow him the same in the aforementioned Meyer's place.
Recognized. He is permitted to do so.
Freddie’s parents don’t want him fencing, so Brack has to take the reins? Whatever the reason, it is on this day that the Furriers and Tailors clash. On February 24th a few members of the Tailor’s guild submitted a petition to the Council of 21 giving their testimony to the fight that occurred outside of their guildhouse 8 days before, airing their grievances and asking for legal action to be levied against the Kürschners involved.
The Fight
Below I present the translation of the note completed by my friend Platy, but the whole transcription is available in my Wygand Brack research document.
Sebastian Sopher and Hans Sax, both masters, and then Mathis Schmidt, Georg Burckhardt, Hans Hofman and Lorenz Glatter – appointed leaders of the journeymen tailors – submit a supplication in which they complain how, despite a serious peace dating to the year 68 which followed a past incident, words and actions have been allowed obliviously and in an unrebuffed manner.
I found instructions dated June 9th, 1568 on how to hold members of both guilds accountable, “...so that both trades may be content and the common citizenry may be spared all kinds of unrest which have happened so far…” I assume that this is the “peace” that the 1580 note is referencing, with the council stepping in to tamp down an ongoing conflict between the two guilds. The Tailors may have had further conflicts in the past as well, as even this treaty written 12 years before the 1580 fight references an even older conflict between them and the Cobblers.
They lived according to it (the peace) for their own part obediently, but they met mockery and derision on the Monday eight days ago because Heinrich Seipel - the former councilor and current guildmaster - allowed a furrier (to hold) his dance in the tailor's workshop, since Wygand Brack had already received (permission for a) fechtschul.
This is the fechtschul mentioned above, with Brack taking over for Friedrich.
And many tailors wandered about with the drums and the weapons and they were afterwards in the Münstergasse.
The Münstergasse is now called Rue du Dome, which is the street directly out front of the Tailor’s guild house which was located at what is now 1 Rue du Dome.
Just then the furriers started to form a mob at the workshop and let the weapon come down most fiercely, they pounced on those who were in the back. They pulled the piper's pipe through his mouth, they drew from their scabbards and struck the others, one – before he himself could draw from his scabbard - was wounded on both arms by strikes, so that he had to see a doctor.
A fight breaks out! Pipes and drums were common at fechtschul and are often mentioned in accounts of fencing events in various cities during this era. It seems that the Furriers came to throw down, apparently not fans of pipe music, drawing something from scabbards to strike at the tailors. The note is not specific about what they drew, with no specific mention of swords.
They beat another, who had fallen over – and had others come to his rescue – that he might have stayed where he was. They also let many improper threats be heard by those who attacked them fairly over this devilment, so that they took – by force - the fencing and the private weapons from the tailors.
Not only did the furriers assault the tailors, beating someone near to death, but they stole both the fencing weapons (likely dussacks, rapiers, etc) as well as the actual sidearms from the people they attacked.
They ask thereupon to be treated according to the [???] peace and to have security created for them, and that (legal) action be taken against those who caused it. With this one could rest and recover from the pain.
The governing Herr Ammeister will (see to it) that the matter is settled[??] before the council and appropriate action is taken.
Recognized. It is again referred to the council.
The tailors thus asked the council to intervene and come down upon the furriers who were involved in the assault. It seems that they reference the 1568 “peace” document again (or perhaps the even older note) for the council to consult in making their decision for punishments.
Legal Ramifications
I was unable to find extensive legal reference to this event in the months that followed, but there is one note titled “Furriers mischief against tailors” where the father of one assailant who was involved and apparently had fled justice asked the council to have mercy on his son, and extend the deadline for his appearance at court.
Caspar Zapf, citizen and furrier at Nürnberg, writes that he found out that his son Hans Zapf worked here for a while, (but) got into a quarrel. Over this he was arrested but escaped, thereupon they put a deadline to appear (in court) on him.
Hans caught a case! He ain’t beat the case, so he did the race!
Now he doesn't know if he (= the son) turned himself in or not, but because he hasn't turned himself in, he asks to spare him for God the Father's sake, also for his young honor, youth and artisanry. He wants to spare no cost and effort to turn him in again. He requests to appeal against the deadline and to go along with him in this.
Mayor and council at Nürnberg write and intervene according to the father's perseverance for the mentioned Hans Zapf. And (they) request as was listened to previously.
Recognized. Write again that he hasn't yet appeared according to the deadline. If he turns himself in then, one will conduct oneself most properly. If he does not appear, they will have to endure the risk, but the deadline will be appealed against according to the intercession.
This was the only note I could easily locate in the 1580 XXI records, and unfortunately this is a gap year for other council notes, such as for the Council of XV which regulated economic and guild activity inside the city and may have contained more information about the incident. Although he was involved in the guild-battle, Brack continued on with his life this year, requesting another fechtschul later in the year (along with some time off for a spa trip) and even asked for a pay raise for his job as a council messenger.
Thoughts and Conclusions
This note was the first of its kind I had encountered during my research into Meyer’s Strasbourg.
I’ve never seen something so explicitly violent involving any of the fechtmeisters I’ve studied, with a stern talking-to from a councilman being the harshest occurrence I’ve bumped into within the records. It paints a picture of guilds as gangs, needing the government to help create peace between them, and makes me wonder how much these relations bled through into the fencing happening in Strasbourg. With this particular conflict extending back into Meyer’s time living in Strasbourg, would he have been at odds with any of the local fencers simply because of their guild membership? Perhaps with more digging a more complete picture of the inter-guild dynamics and fencing can be painted.
Infinite thanks to Platy for your help in transcribing and translating this note, and digging through the complex grammar this long passage contained. We had originally delayed translating as the initial machine transcription+translation seemed to contain a lot of hallucinations, mentioning fights and conflicts, which previously was a hallmark of the AI making shit up when trying to translate unclear notes. If it couldn’t get it right, it would make it spicy, but this selection actually WAS about a big fight! How fun!