Brotherhood of Saint Mark


The Brotherhood of Saint Mark was an organization of German swordsmen active in the early modern period.

History

The brotherhood originated in 15th-century Nuremberg at an uncertain date and may have been co-founded by fencing master Hans Talhoffer. The earliest written record, dating from 1474, calls them "Brotherhood of Our Dear Lady and Pure Virgin Mary and the Holy and Mighty Heavenly Prince Saint Mark". The group later moved to Frankfurt, where it held annual meetings and elected a new Hauptmann every two years.
In 1487, Frederick III granted them the monopoly on the title Meister des langen Schwerts, effectively making them a fencing guild. After their recognition by Frederick, the brotherhood was usually called Marxbrüder.
Woodcuts, some by Albrecht Dürer, as well as other references indicate that the Marxbrüder taught a range of weapons, including the longsword, dussack, rapier, spear, and quarterstaff.

Competing organizations

A second fencing brotherhood, the Federfechter, was established in Prague in 1570, and officially recognized by the city of Frankfurt in 1575, despite protests by the Marxbrüder. From 1607, the two societies held equal privileges, when the Federfechter received a letter of privilege from Emperor Rudolph II.
A possible third group were the Luxbrüder. However, they never received formal recognition, and may have been regarded more as an unruly association of fencers rather than as a structured fencing guild.

Notable members