There are two techniques with similar names which can cause
some confusion for translators, namely the Zornort and the Zornhau Ort, which I
translate as the Point of Wrath and the Point of the Wrath Cut,
respectively. Several authors conflate
the two terms, failing to distinguish them as very different techniques. One example of this can been seen in Christian
Tobler’s In Saint George’s Name (e.g.,
p. 29 et seq.), but I have seen the error in several other sources, too (I
chose the example I did because Tobler is a much better translator than I—which
makes this very surprising to see—not because I am criticizing his translations
in general).
The Zornort is very different from the Zornhau Ort. The principle difference is that while both
are thrusts, and both start from a Bind of the Zornhau, the Zornort is done in
an Upper Hengen (it is Liechtenauer’s First Winden), while the Zornhau Ort is
done into Long Point. One of the reasons
this can be confusing is that any given master usually only uses one or the
other term, not both, and the two terms do seem very similar, after all. When comparing sources, however, the
distinction becomes clear.
Peter Von Danzig explains the Zornhau Ort very clearly, and
the matching picture below from Goliath illustrates it, showing a thrust into
Langenort. It is a bind of the Zornhau
to counter a Zornhau, followed by a thrust into Langenort done am Schwert when
your opponent is soft in the bind.
Wer dir oberhawt / zorñhaw ort dem drawt (Who cuts at you
from above, / The Point of the Wrath Cut threatens him. Codex 44 A 8 fol. 13r.)
Text: “The Zornhau breaks with the point all cuts from above
and yet is nothing other than a strike which a peasant farmer would use. Use it
as follows: if you come into the Zufechten and your opponent strikes from his
right side to your head, then likewise also strike from your right side from
above without displacing and bind strongly against his sword. If he is soft in
the bind, shoot with the point straight in and long to the face or chest.”
(Id.)
Ringeck uses the same term for that play:
Wer dir ober haw°et / Zor[n] haw ort im dröwet (Who cuts
from above / The Point of the Wrath Cut threatens him. Rinegck fol. 19r.)
Conversely, in Talhoffer 1467 we see the Zornort:
Zorn ortt Im dröw. (Threaten him with the Point of Wrath.)
Which he clearly distinguishes from the Long Point of
Wrath. This could well be a Zornhau Ort
in the sense von Danizg and Ringeck use Zornhau Ort, but Talhoffer is not
explicit about that:
Das lang Zorn ortt. (The Long Point of Wrath.)
Jörg Wilhalm shows the technique on two different sides, but
is consistent as to terminology:
Das ist der Zornortt (That is the Point of Wrath. CGM 3711
fol. 4r).
Das ist der ander zornortt (That is the second Point of
Wrath. Id. fol. 4v.)
As this makes plain, the sources are clear as to the difference
between the Zornhau Ort and the Zornort, and they are consistent in their use
of each. This analysis is supported by
considering the Zornort in context as shown in different sources. Talhoffer and Wilhalm may not specifically
name the Zornhau Ort (unless that’s what Talhoffer means by the Lang Zornort),
but we do see the Zornort as pictured in Talhoffer and Wilhalm being described in
Ringeck and von Danzig. It is the First
Winden done from the bind of the Zornhau, as Ringeck describes here:
“When you strike a Zornhau and he displaces it and remains
strong at the sword hold strongly against it. With the strong of your sword,
slide up to the weak of his blade, wind the hilt in front of your head while
remaining am Schwert, and thrust into his face from above.” (Ringeck ff.
20r-v.)
Compare that description of the Winden with this play from
Falkner:
In zornnortt thu° recht winden (Do the right [correct] winding
in the Point of Wrath / If you wish to find the face open) (fol. 3r.)
It is clear that Falkner is describing the same technique as
Ringeck in ff. 20r-v: You cut with a Zornhau;
your opponent binds and is hard in the bind, so you wind up into an Upper
Hengen and thrust. While Ringeck doesn’t
name this play (although later in the book, on the chapter on Winden he calls
it the First Winden, see ff. 124v-125v), Falkner unequivocally calls it the “zornnortt,”
making this impossible to misinterpret.
In conclusion, these techniques are two sides of the same
coin. Both come from a bind of the
Zornhau (i.e., a Zornhau displaced by a Zornhau), and both are thrusts, but if
your opponent is soft in the bind then you thrust into Langenort for a Zornhau
Ort, while if he is hard in the bind you wind up into an Upper Hengen with a
First Winden or Zornort. They are,
however, very different from one another and the two terms should not be
confused or conflated.
Source Cited:
Tobler, Christian. In Saint George’s Name: An Anthology of
Medieval German Martial Arts.
Freelance Academy Press, 2010.
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