A great man has walked the line

[Marcus den toom]

It is my sad duty to inform all of you of the passing away of our dear and good friend Michael "the Matchlock man" Trömner.

His good friend Armin König informed me of these sad tidings and told me he died yesterday peacefully in his sleep.

I don't know what to say other than that we have not only lost the foremost firearms expert of our era but also a great great friend and i am glad that i had the privilege to have known him for these past two years, not only as a teacher but also as my inspiration.

My condolences to all of you in these dark times.

JOHNNY CASH LYRICS
"The Preacher Said Jesus Said"

Well with everybody tryin' to tell us what to do
You wonder how are you to know whose word is true
But the preacher just keep on a bringing us a very same word
And from St Paul to Billy Graham the same is heard
And the preacher said of truth Jesus said
(And Jesus said I'm the way the truth and the life)
Well we can see that the world is full of greed
There's so much hate yet there is so much need
What should we do when no one seems to care
What can we do when there is no love there
And then the preacher said of love Jesus said
(Jesus said love Thy neighbor as Thyself)
Well please tell us the road we oughta go in such confusion how are we to know
And if there is a heaven show us to its gates
Oh you'd better tell us preacher before it's too late
And then the preacher said of heaven Jesus said
(Jesus said seek the first the kingdom of God and his righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you)
Well please tell us we can find a way to climb every mountain that we face every day
And time of troubles what to depend upon to be the truth and help us carry on
And the preacher said of trouble Jesus said
(Jesus said let not your heart be troubled if you believe in God believe also in me
In my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you
I go to prepare a place for you
And if I prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself
That where I am there you may be also)

[David]

So sorry to hear this. Thanks for posting the sad news.

[Rick]

I toasted Michael with Jaegermeister tonight .
If Saint Peter has an armory I'm sure he is there setting things straight .

[M ELEY]

A terrible loss to the antique arms community! He will be missed and we are lucky to have much of his knowledge preserved here-

[cornelistromp]

shocked by this terrible news, a very special man is no longer with us.
rest in peace Michael.


honorable contribution in the spirit of Michael Trömner;
Der Tod reitet auf einem kohlschwarzen Rappen;
er hat ein undurchsichtige Kappen.
Wenn Landsknecht in das Feld marschieren,
lässt er sein Ross daneben galoppieren

Death rides a coal-black black horse;
He has an opaque cap.
when Landsknecht march into the field,
he lets his horse gallop next to them.

[kronckew]

sad, he shall be missed. i too shall toast him with a shot of Jägermeister.

auf wiedersehen matchlock. Schlaf gut.

[Nathan Robinson]

This is very sad news. Damn. Another one lost. Thank you for notifying the community. The Johnny Cash lyrics are well chosen.

May he rest in peace.

[AHorsa]

Very sad to hear that. A great loss. Ruhe in Frieden Michael.

[batjka]

This is extremely sad news indeed. This forum will never be the same without Matchlock's expertise. He was a unique man and with his passing so much knowledge is now lost. But his spirit is still with us and his posts will remain as a source of learning and as a memory of a great man that once was with us. Rest in peace, Michael. You will be dearly missed.

[fernando]

Amen

[Hotspur]

This World is not Conclusion.
A Species stands beyond -
Invisible, as Music -
But positive, as Sound -
~Emily Dickinson~

Esperance en dieu

I did not know him aside from his contributions here. A toast to all collectors and this community of sharing like information.

Huzzah!

GC

[fernando]

Tchin tchin

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by batjka

This is extremely sad news indeed. This forum will never be the same without Matchlock's expertise. He was a unique man and with his passing so much knowledge is now lost. But his spirit is still with us and his posts will remain as a source of learning and as a memory of a great man that once was with us. Rest in peace, Michael. You will be dearly missed.

Well said! as are all these wonderful tributes to this man who truly loved this forum and openly shared his knowledge and lifetime of collecting and study. Actually much of the knowledge he shared is still here in these pages, and I can only imagine in the many personal contacts he had with others. I know I still have many notes and communications we had over the years, and truly treasure them as I look back to those days.
His spirit stands as an inspiration to keep searching and compiling data to continue learning and understanding the arms we collect and cherish.

Thank you Fernando for placing this tribute thread in permanent heading status, as it is well deserved.

[fernando]

Let's stick it for a while longer.

[stekemest]

So sad to hear that. He once asked me to show my "Klotzgeschoss" (clot shot), but I couldn't find it at the time. Strangely, a few days ago, I remembered his request and intended to finally make a few pictures, only to stumble upon this thread.

My condolences to his family and friends.

[Ed]

I just popped by after a very long absence and I saw "Deceased" under Michael's name. I have not communicated with Michael for a couple of years so I had no idea. I am shocked.

I met Michael thru some mutual internet acquaintances in the early 2000's. We characterized ourselves (being collectors in one of the more arcane areas of collecting) as Whales lost in a sea that make odd noises to find each other. He'd sign himself "Your fellow whale".

He was a great help to me and actually went to Nuremberg on my behalf to bid at an auction at Hermann Historica. He got me a Dopplehacken that is the second oldest dated firearm in existence. He was a giving guy with his time and his expertise.

In the mid 2000's we collaborated on writing a book on early gunpowder weapons. We got to a point where we had a manuscript and were passing it around to various publishers. We had interest from a couple but there was another one out there and that put things on the back burner. Unfortunately life happened and we did not pursue it. It might be worth dusting it off.

I introduced him to this forum back in 2008 I guess. I thought that "he had to get out more" and that his knowledge needed an outlet. Based on the quantity and quality of his postings, I think I was correct.

I recall asking him what sort of gun he would like to own/shoot that he didn't have. His answer was a Peacemaker! Surprised me. I told him that if he could get over here I would happily arrange for him to shoot one for as long as he liked.

Anyway, I am saddened. Even though he and I fell out of touch, I considered him a friend and I will miss him.

Rest well Michael.