Academic fencing

Academic fencing (German: akademisches Fechten) or Mensur is the traditional kind of fencing practised by some student corporations (Studentenverbindungen) in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Latvia, Estonia, and, to a minor extent, in Belgium, Lithuania, and Poland. It is a traditional, strictly regulated sabre fight between two male members of different fraternities with sharp weapons. The German technical term Mensur (from Latin meaning 'measure, a certain quantity') in the 16th century referred to the specified distance between each of the fencers.

Modern academic fencing, the Mensur, is neither a duel nor a sport. It is a traditional way of training and educating character and personality; thus, in a Mensur bout, there is neither winner nor loser.^{[citation needed]} In contrast to sports fencing, the participants stand their ground at a fixed distance. At the beginning of the tradition, duelers wore only their normal clothing (as duels sometimes would arise spontaneously) or light-cloth armor on the arm, torso, and throat. In recent years, fencers are protected by mail or padding for the body, fencing arm, fencing hand (gauntlet) and the throat, completed by steel goggles with a nose guard. In Austria and Switzerland, a nose guard is uncommon. Opponents fence at arm's length and stand more or less in one place, while attempting to hit the unprotected areas of their opponent's face and head. Flinching or dodging is not allowed, the goal being less to avoid injury than to endure it stoically. Two physicians are present (one for each opponent) to attend to injuries and stop the fight if necessary.

The participants, or Paukanten, use specially developed swords. The so-called Mensurschläger (or simply Schläger) exists in two versions. The most common weapon is the Korbschläger with a basket-type guard. Some universities use the so-called Glockenschläger (lit. 'bell hitter'), which is equipped with a bell-shaped guard. These universities are Leipzig, Berlin, Greifswald, Dresden, Tharandt (in the Forestry College, which is now part of Technische Universität Dresden), Halle on the Saale, Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, and Freiberg. In Jena, both Korbschläger and Glockenschläger are used. Studentenverbindungen from some western cities use Glockenschläger because their tradition had its origin in one of the eastern universities but moved to West Germany after World War II.

The scar resulting from a hit is called a "smite" (German: Schmiss), and was seen as a badge of honour, especially in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. Nowadays the presence of scars usually indicates a mistake and therefore are no longer considered especially dignified. Today, it is not easy for an outsider to identify Mensur scars due to better medical treatment. Also, the number of mandatory Mensuren was reduced in the second half of the 20th century. Most Mensur scars are located on the left temple of the forehead. Scars on the cheek and chin are rather uncommon today and sometimes due to accidents.

Starting in Spain at the end of the 15th century, the dueling sword (rapier) became a regular part of the attire of noblemen throughout Europe. In the Holy Roman Empire, this became usual among students, as well. Brawling and fighting were regular occupations of students in the German-speaking areas during the early modern period. In line with developments in the aristocracy and the military, regulated duels were introduced to the academic environment, as well. The basis of this was the conviction that being a student meant being something different from the rest of the population. Students wore special clothes, developed special kinds of festivities, sang student songs, and fought duels, sometimes spontaneously (so-called rencontre, French "meeting" or "combat"), sometimes according to strict regulations called comment (French "how"). The weapons used were the same as those employed in civilian dueling, being at first the rapier and later the smallsword (court sword, dress sword, French: épée de cour, German: Kostümdegen, Galanteriedegen), which was seen as part of the dress and always at hand as a side arm.

Student life was quite unsafe in these years, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries during the Reformation wars and the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), when a major part of the German population was killed. Public life was brutal and students killing each other in the street was not uncommon.

A major step towards civilization was the introduction of the "regulated" duel, of which the first recordings exist from the 17th century. The fight was not decided on the spot, but the time and location were appointed and negotiations were done by officials. A so-called Kartellträger did the arrangements and a "second" represented the interests of the fighter during the duel and could even give physical protection from illegal actions. A kind of referee was present to make decisions, and eventually, the practice of having an attending doctor became normal so as to give medical help in case of an injury.

At the end of the 18th century (after the French Revolution), wearing weapons in everyday life fell out of fashion and was more and more forbidden, even for students. This certainly reduced the number of spontaneous duels dramatically. The regulated duel remained in use, though still forbidden.