Jean Chandler is a retired fencer and fencing instructor, historical researcher, and game designer from New Orleans.
Fencing
Jean has taught historical fencing at SDA NOLA since 2004, taught fencing techniques from the Liechtenauer system at several HEMA events from 2011-2014, and has competed in multiple fencing tournaments, winning a Bronze medal at the 2012 Longsword open (“Fechtschule America”) in Houston. He competed in multiple events in the US and Europe, only rarely being injured. His last fencing tournament was in 2022. Due to failing knees he is currently ‘retired’ from active competition or teaching in fencing.
Talks
He has given talks on medieval history at the Higgins Armoury in Worcester, Ma, at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and at the HEMAC-Dijon gathering at the Université de Bourgogne in Dijon France, at the Raymond J. Lord Symposium on Historical European Martial Arts at U-Mass Amherst, as well as at several other HEMA events. In October 2024 Jean is giving a talk at the “Octoberfecht” event in North Carolina.
Research Publications
In 2014, Jean Published the Codex Guide to the Medieval Baltic, a ‘housebook’ or almanac of history in the Southern Baltic region in the mid 15th Century. Jean has an article in the book Martial Culture in Medieval Towns published by the University of Bern in October of 2023, he has written four articles for the journal Acta Periodica Duelletorum, five articles for the martial Culture academic blog, and seven articles for the Historical Fencing blog HROARR out of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Game Design
Jean designed Codex Martialis, a historical combat system for the OGL in 2002. He wrote parts of two books for The Riddle of Steel in 2004 and 2006, and wrote a book called The Primer of Practical Magic, plus several smaller articles for various books of the Dying Earth RPG of Pelgrane Press from 2004-2007. Since 2008 he has released 11 historical gaming sourcebooks as part of the Codex Integrum series. In 2022 Jean released the “Old School” style RPG, Stara Szkola.
Podcasting
Jean has a Youtube Channel called Codex Integrum which explores various subjects of late medieval history, as well as interviews with researchers and instructors associated with historical fencing, from around the world.