Jud Lew

Jud Lew (a Jew named "Löw", i.e. "lion") was a mid 15th century teacher of martial arts, and author of a fechtbuch now kept in Augsburg as Cod.I.6.4°.3, dated to the 1450s. Jud Lew's treatise is probably dependent on Peter von Danzig, and the two masters were likely acquainted personally.

Jews teaching martial arts appear to have been not uncommon in late medieval Germany [http://www.jewishsports.com/jewsin/history/oldhistory.htm] . A 14th century master called "Andres Jud", probably identical with Andres Lignitzer, is mentioned in MS 3227a, and Ott Jud was a master of the early 1400s who specialized in grappling and whose system was taught together with Johannes Liechtenauer's school by most masters of the later 15th century, including von Danzig and Jud Lew. Hans Talhoffer's "Thott" manuscript contains an "abecedarium" of the Hebrew alphabet, as well as a drawing of a Jew glossed as "here the Jew teaches Hebrew" (probably meaning the alphabet, which was used to write Yiddish, not the language).It was only in the later 16th century that a decree of Rudolph II forbade Christian teachers to train Jews, and later also competitions between Christians and Jews.

External links

* [http://www.arma.lh.pl/zrodla/traktaty/lew/judharnischfechten.htm armoured combat section of Jud Lew's treatise]