Step 1 of 4Liechtenauer tradition, 15th c.
Talhoffer's diagonal wrath cut, the long edge falling from the right shoulder toward the opponent's left.
Talhoffer, Fechtbuch, 1467 — Cod.icon. 394a, plate 17. Wikimedia Commons ↗
Folio 1rGerman (Liechtenauer)

Zornhau-Ort

— the wrath cut and its point

The first named Stück of the Zettel. A wrath cut binds the blade; the point follows into the face along the same line.

The Pseudo-Peter von Danzig gloss opens its commentary on the five Master Cuts with this play. From Vom Tag the Zornhau falls into the opponent's own descending cut; from the bind the point is shot forward — the Zornhau-Ort — and if they parry, the sword is taken off above and dropped down on the other side. The whole sequence is the verse 'Wer dir oberhaut, Zornhau ort dem drauwt' made literal.

The play, step by step

1 / 4

Ⅰ

Zornhau

— wrath cut into the bind

From Vom Tag, drive a strong diagonal cut down into the opponent's incoming Oberhau. Long edge meets long edge; you do not parry, you cut through their cut and arrive in the bind.

Next → Feel whether they are hard or soft at the cross · step 2: Fühlen

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From the manuals

  1. ⅠPseudo-Peter von Danzig— Cod. 44.A.8, fol. 13r–13v

    “Wer dir oberhaut, Zornhau ort dem drauwt”

    The Rome gloss treats Zornhau-Ort as the first and chief Stück of the verse. Cut wrathfully into their over-cut; from the bind, if they are soft, the point is already gone — if they are hard, take the sword off above and cut down on the other side.

    Read on Wiktenauer ↗
  2. ⅡSigmund Ringeck— MS Dresd. C 487, fol. 12v–13r

    Ringeck preserves the same four-beat shape and adds the counter to the counter: if the opponent attempts to take their sword off above against your wound thrust, bind hard against their blade from above and press the point into the head.

    Read on Wiktenauer ↗

Notes are paraphrased summaries of how each source treats this play, not translations. Follow the Wiktenauer links for the original verses, gloss texts and high-resolution scans.