Dear Friends, Students of the Sword and Lovers of History!

Four New Titles!

As many of you know, the latter part of 2013 was a difficult time for the press, as we dealt with deaths in the family, illness and personnel changes. We hit the deck running this spring, however, and are very happy to announce not one, not two, not three, but four new titles available for shipping, covering the breadth of what we do!

Medieval Wrestling: Modern Practice of a 15th-Century Arthttp://www.freelanceacademypress.com/medievalwrestling.aspx

In the Middle Ages, wrestling was practiced as both pastime and self-defense by every level of society - nobles, townsman, and peasants alike - and was regarded as the foundation of all other martial arts. And no medieval wrestler's name looms as large as that of the Jewish master Ott, "wrestler to the noble Princes of Austria", whose treatise is included in over a dozen fencing manuscripts.

In this first of its kind book, Jessica Finley of the renowned medieval martial arts association, the Selohaar Fechtschule, guides the reader on a journey that begins with the historical background of Ott's wrestling and culminates in step-by-step instruction for practicing the techniques of this ancient fighting art. Both the lover of history and the wrestler on the mat will find this work an invaluable resource.


Charny's Men at Arms: Questions Concerning the Joust, Tournaments and War
http://www.freelanceacademypress.com/charnyquestions.aspx
The Questions Concerning the Joust, Tournaments, and War is a lost classic work of European chivalry; the only record we have of a dramatic occasion when crucial questions on the nature of war and the proper conduct of the warrior's life were posed to an audience of experts, professional men-at-arms of rank, and influence. Written in the mid-14th century by the famed knight, Geoffrey de Charny, most modern scholars, perhaps sensibly, have shied away from even offering much in the way of analysis of the Questions as a whole, leading to a situation where the Questions are hardly known, even to scholars.

But if Charny does not provide definitive answers about the practice of chivalry and the content of the law of arms, the Questions nevertheless do provide us something else of value - a picture of how knights, squires and other professional warriors of standing, conceived of their way of life. Completing the work he began in 2003's Jousts and Tournaments, Steven Muhlberger turns his pen to the final section of Charny's work to reveal what it tells us about how medieval "men-at-arms" conceived of themselves as a class, at precisely the moment that their world was undergoing a series of sweeping changes that would forever change the profession of arms.

Can These Bones Come to Life: Insights from Reconstruction, Reenactment, and Re-creation, Volumes One and Two

Understanding the past takes more forms than historiography. Since 2005, professional and amateur scholars have come together at the annual International Medieval Congress in Western Michigan University to discuss the role re-construction, re-enactment, and re-creation can play in "breathing life into these dry bones" to deepen our knowledge of the past. Under the sponsorship of the Higgins Armory Museum and the Oakeshott Institute, presenters have looked at subjects ranging from ore smelting to equitation to the use of recreation and reenactment in the classroom.

Volume One: Historical European Martial Artshttp://www.freelanceacademypress.com/kzoovol1.aspx brings together eight papers examining the study and reconstruction of medieval and early modern fight-books and related subjects. The subjects covered range from manuscript studies to philology, from Aristotelian physics to martial musicality, from medieval textuality to women and warfare. It will be of interest not only to professional historians, musicologists, literary scholars, and art historians, but also to the vast army of impassioned and enthusiastic practitioners who endeavor, as a labor of love, to make the past come to life.

Volume Two: High in Protean Contenthttp://www.freelanceacademypress.com/kzoovol2.aspx brings together seven papers examining the depth and breadth in which experimental archaeology and textual analysis can come together to reveal the past. From glass beads to iron smelting, the profession of arms to the chivalric virtues of franchise and "doing what one said they would do", this collection provides a unique insight into both the daily and intellectual life of medieval man. It will be of interest not only to professional historians, musicologists, literary scholars, and art historians, but also to the vast army of impassioned and enthusiastic practitioners who endeavor, as a labor of love, to make the past come to life.

That's four new titles to whet your palette! But there is more to come, starting with another new title in a few weeks \that should be of interest to reenactors and costumers, followed shortly thereafter by our first foray into the realm of traditional Japanese martial arts to end the summer. We return full-force to the world of Western Martial Arts this fall with In the Service of Mars, Volume II, a look at late 16th-century Dutch fencing and Franco-Italian poleaxe. All of this plus two huge projects that you won't want to miss!

I hate to be cheesy and say "watch this space", but really, you should! Until then.....

Freelance Academy Press: Interact with History

My condolences about the deaths in the family and other difficult issues in 2013.

Yes I did check out the site recently to see if there was anything new, and I'm glad to see 4 new titles being announced here: I'll very probably buy one or all of these after I check them out in more detail on your site and make a buying decision during August.

( As usual I often wait past mid month to make purchases so that the credit card billing gets pushed an extra month depending on how much I spent or over-spent in the current billing period ).

3/4 of those are already on their way! Looking forward to diving in Greg!

Thanks for the kind words, Jean -- it was a rough year, but we've pulled through it and our hope is to end 2014 have published 10 new titles. so lots to come!