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Dimicator

I am Roland Warzecha, a professional illustrator – and a swordsman. Hence the name ‘Dimicator’ which is a Latin term meaning sword fighter. I present to you cutting-edge research into historical martial arts, and Viking & high medieval sword & shield fighting in particular. I am co-operating with museums, fellow martial artists and scholars worldwide. Renowned expert for historical arms, Dr Alfred Geibig, says: “The careful reconstruction of historical swordsmanship, impressively demonstrated by Mr. Warzecha, is a valuable supplement to archaeological insights, and clearly proves the efficiency of European swords and the sophistication of the associated historical fighting arts.” To get regular up-dates on the archaeology and history of sword & shield and how they were used, sign up for my newsletter! I would be delighted if you would join my quest.

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Featured Post

Beowulf and the Dragon + 3D bucklers

My pencil drawing of a Vendel period warrior A Mystical Hero and a Dragon Hello Vendel fans and dragon slayers As you may know, I am busy writing my long-awaited book. For one of its paragraphs I re-read the famous dragon slayer tales of Sigurd/Siegfried, and Beowulf armed with their mystical swords Gram/Balmung and Naegling – which prompted the making of a respective illustration. 2024 version of a 1999 illustration of mine If you want to see my Beowulf illustration, and learn more about its...

24 days ago • 1 min read

A Home for a Sword The scabbard Christina made Hello sword enthusiasts. A good sword needs an appropriate scabbard. My friend and fellow buckler fighter Christina had been aware of that for a long time. Last year she approached me and asked if I was willing to supervise her work if she would make scabbards for her training swords. I said I would. So today I will present to you one of the two scabbards she made. I think she did a great job. I have compiled some photos of details for you in a...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

Historical Wrestling or Wielding a Pole Axe … … whatever your choice, good friends of mine can provide you with tuition for either one! Plus, if the late medieval mordaxt is too modern a weapon for you, I have an 11th century Dane axe in stock for you below. I am sure there is something you will enjoy in today's newsletter. Let us first have a look at my old friend Dierk Hagedorn's new book. Dierk Hagedorn's new book is out Armoured Axe Play The masterpiece Le Jeu de la Hache, written at the...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

On Living Swords and Inscribed Blades From my recent presentation on inscribed swords Hello fellow sword enthusiasts. I had been invited to lecture about sword blade inscriptions at an academic workshop which took place at the State Library in Berlin last week. It had kindly been organised by Ulrike Ehmig and her staff of the Berliner Antike-Kolleg. Marius Mutz of the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum on 16th century gun barrels The interdisciplinary conference's subject was inscribed weapons...

about 2 months ago • 2 min read

Talking Swords INGELRI inscription on a 10th/11th-century sword Hello fellow sword enthusiasts. I am in Berlin at the moment. I have been invited to lecture at a workshop on inscribed weapons run by the Berliner Antike-Kolleg. Subsequently, I will continue my studies at the armoury of the Deutsches Historisches Museum and complete some sword records. As always, results will first be shared with my patrons on patreon who support my work – you are the ones who make it happen! Sword LM 16061...

about 2 months ago • 1 min read

A Mighty Weapon Examining the Fedderingen sword Hi sword people. In 2020, my friend Ekkehard and myself had the privilege of examining and documenting a relatively well-preserved Petersen type H/Geibig 5 Var. 1 sword from around 800 with an iron blade inlay which had been found in Fedderingen in northern Germany. The original sword on top of my drawings I revisited my files and ran a geometric analysis of the sword's proportions. I was not even expecting this early sword to conform to any...

2 months ago • 1 min read

An archaeologist's dream come true Screen shot from a video by Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority Hi sword people. Maybe some of you have fantasised about being an archaeologist at one point in their lives. Maybe after having watched an Indiana Jones movie when you were a kid (certainly not when you were older – I always cringe when I see Indy using medieval textiles from a crusader's tomb to make torches!). Maybe you actually are an archaeologist. Photo courtesy of Israel Antiquities...

3 months ago • 2 min read

A Great Gift Unique custom-made I.33 memory game Hello sword & buckler fans. The best gift I got for Christmas came from my fellow fencer Christina, who gave me a unique I.33 sword & buckler memory card game which she had created herself from photos, illustrations and the manuscript miniatures. I was thrilled and felt privileged to receive on of only three existing sets. The game contains 36 pairs of images I have played it repeatedly, and it is actually quite challenging. The various...

3 months ago • 2 min read

Remains of a Magnificent Weapon Corrosion was not kind to this Dane Axe head Hello fans of archaeology and historical arms. The above image shows a so-called Dane axe head which I examined and documented together with my patron Theodor Rosentreter at the Museum for Cultural History in Rostock in December 2023. It is one of the many weapons which were recovered from the River Warnow at Schwaan near Rostock in 1927/28. (You can read about the find history in this post. Read about our research...

3 months ago • 2 min read

More on Cutting and Sword Ergonomics A surviving 10th/11th century sword with a so-called Brazil nut pommel Hello fellow sword geeks. I have resumed work on my book project – finally. The first volume will be about my findings regarding ergonomics of early medieval swords. I am currently composing illustrations to visualise what is so much easier to understand when actually picking up an original sword, namely the preferred way to hold it: Which side is supposed to face up, which side faces...

3 months ago • 1 min read
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