Two Handed Sword Question

[Steve Ashton]

The large, heavy swords that require two hands are of German design where they are called Zweihander. These were used by the German Mercenaries called Landsknechter who fought in battle formations called Pike Walls or Pike Squares between the 1400's and the 1600's.
The lengths ranged between 4'7" and 7 feet with weights between 4.5 pounds and up to 15 pounds. They were used as the front line of a Pike Formation as they could be swung below the level of the pikes at horses legs of an enemy that got past the pikes.

Pike formations would look to someone today similar to the Schiltron formation of William Wallace almost 200 years previous. Pike formations were usually mobile where Schiltrons were usually stationary. Schiltrons and Pike Square were defensive formations against cavalry that looked like hedgehogs or porcupines. The front line armed with Zweihander would sweep the horses legs, un-horsing the armored knights not speared by the pikes. The armored knights then fell and were mired in the mud where they were like upside down turtles.
The age of fully plate armored knights pretty much ended in actual combat formations with the battle of Angincourt in 1415. The armor was pierced by longbow points at range and defeated by mud in melee.
The pike formation evolved into the famous British Musket Square which was also an anti-cavalry defensive formation.

As the Zweihander sword was twice as long or even three times as long as a man's arm they could not be drawn from a scabbard and could not be carried hung from a Baldrick. Like Pikes and Halberds they were carried over the shoulder.

The modern, Hollywood representation of man-on-man single combat with Zweihander probably never happened as a 15 pound sword was just too heavy and unwieldy to swing in combat where a single battle could last from before daybreak to sunset.

Many confuse the Zweihander with the Federscherter which was actually used single or two handed in single combat jousting, sparring and in Judicial duels (trial by combat). The Federscherter was about 2 pounds in weight and up to 4' in length.

I have actually swung real museum piece Zweihander and its replacement the Kreigsmesser. I could swing a Zweihande in combat conditions for just a couple of minutes before being totally worn out and ineffective. A trained combatant could probably swing one for 15-30 min. effectively. The Kreigsmesser on the other hand at only 2.5 pounds for a 30" to 42" long sword, could effectively be used all day.

The Basket Hilted Sword, what is often referred to as the Highland Sword or Claymore, was a later development from the 1600's. It was usually carried hung sheathed from a Baldrick over the shoulder or around the waist on frogs from a Sword Belt. The Basket Hilt Sword would later become the broadsword of the Napoleonic era and remains today among mounted units. Characterized by a straight double edged blade v.s. a single edged Backsword or a curved Sabre.
The Basket Hilted Sword being double edged was almost always carried in a sheath as protection for the person carrying it. You can imagine how dangerous an open, sharp, double edged blade could be hitting against the side of your leg when walking or running. If carried mounted you also needed to use a sheath for the same reason. The sheath did protect the blade to an extent but is primarily to protect the person carrying it.