Messer (weapon) of several "Fechtbücher" (fighting manuals) of the 14th and 15th centuries, including that of Johannes Lecküchner (dealing with the "langes messer"), the "Codex Wallerstein", Hans Talhoffer, Paulus Kal and Albrecht Dürer. Messer (weapon) A messer (German for "knife") is a single-edged sword with a knife-like hilt construction. While the various names are often used synonymously, messers are divided into two types: "Lange Messer" ("long knives") are one-handed swords used by Bourgeoisie (middle-class civilians) for personal self-defence. They were about a meter long and may have evolved from the "Bauernwehr" ("peasant's sidearm"). They are also known as "Großes Messer" (Great Knife).
Jonathan Messer in pre-production on the Todd Haynes film "Far from Heaven". Messer also received a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (Australia) and an Ian Potter Foundation Grant to pursue his MFA at the AFI. Messer is a graduate director from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, in Sydney. He has also worked in London at the BBC as an Assistant Director and Floor Assistant in Drama and Light Entertainment on the shows "Absolutely Fabulous", "Top of the Pops", "Blue Peter", and "The Hello Girls". He is currently at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia doing a degree. Messer is also a photographer,