Renaissance two-handed sword
| Renaissance two-handed sword | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Weapon type: | sword |
| Designations: | Bid-handers, two-handers, battle sword, flamberge, street tusk |
| Use: | weapon |
| Creation time: | 15th century |
| Working time: | 16th century to late 17th century |
| Region of origin / author: |
Holy Roman Empire |
| Distribution: | Europe |
| Overall length: | approx. 170 cm, variable |
| Blade length: | approx. 120 cm, variable |
| Blade width: | approx. 5 cm, variable |
| Weight: | mostly 2–4 kg, variable |
| Handle: | Wood, metal, wool fringes |
| Particularities: | Blade with a long ricasso and often cross-guard, sometimes “flamed” blade, broad guard, ends often curled or sharp. |
| Lists on the subject | |
As zweihänder even Zweihander , Bidhänder , two-handed , two-handed sword , Flamberge or popular song , referred to swords of the late Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance with long hilt of about 40-50 cm and more that were designed for two-handed use. Examples from the early 16th century usually weighed less than three kilograms.
Typology
The two-handed sword is a two-handed sword , but typologically different from the long sword . As with all edged weapons of pre-industrial production, the two-handed weapons also have different variants, which sometimes differ greatly from one another. Well-known and often associated with the term two-handed sword variants were, among other things, the Scottish claymore of the early modern period or the guiding sword . The swords that appeared from the 14th century onwards, with a long handle , but a shorter blade, some of which could be wielded with one or two hands, are now called hand and a half swords .
The classic two-handed sword had a so-called ricasso (an unpolished, blunt area) at the lower end of the blade, which could also be wrapped in leather. This enabled the right hand to reach in front of the cross- guard (thumb towards the cross-guard) and thus improve the grip lever, which was mainly used in the fight against polearms. The Bolognese fencing master Achille Marozzo from the 16th century shows this handle especially in his hat against polearms . Before the ricasso, the blade was provided with so-called “parrying hooks” (also known as “parrying thorns”) in order to catch the opposing weapon earlier on the blade when a weapon was attached. This ensures better protection of the front hand and at the same time brings advantages in the control of the opposing weapon.
In contrast to shorter swords such as the Katzbalger or the Swiss sword, the two-handed sword was not carried in a scabbard, but rather bare over the shoulder , like a halberd .
In the Frisian Museum of Leeuwarden , a 2.13 m long and 6 kg heavier two-handed sword is built up of the warrior Pier Gerlofs Donia said to have heard.
use
Two-handed swords emerged in the 14th century as a reaction to the improved body armor and experienced a true heyday in the late Middle Ages and increased in length until the two-handed sword, generally known as such, came into use in the Renaissance . They were mainly of mercenaries under Maximilian I used. Presumably against pikemen , halberdiers , lancers and mounted opponents, the long range of a two-handed weapon was advantageous.
Landsknechte, who were trained to fight with the two-hander, received the master's certificate for the long sword from the Marxbrüdern (Marxbruderschaft) in late medieval Germany , received double wages and were therefore often referred to as double mercenaries . According to the current state of research, they were usually set up behind the pikemen and only intervened in combat when the philistines had already met (see: Lost Pile ). In this sense, they had a similar task to the Swiss halberdiers or the Spanish bullsmen , namely to lead the fight after the opposing formation had broken up (see Hans Delbrück : History of the Art of War ). At the same time, a division of double mercenaries with both hands formed the protection team for the flags.
The two-handed sword survived in this guard function when it gradually disappeared from hand-to-hand combat at the end of the 16th century. The two-handed swords developed into ornamental and parade weapons for bodyguards , which were less and less intended for actual use in battle.
But even during the Thirty Years War and throughout the 17th century, two-handed swords were used in combat. Even if they were used less and less and more and more limited to special applications. As late as 1711, the Venetian Giuseppe Colombani described fencing with the large two-handed sword, which at that time is certainly to be regarded as an anachronism .
Even today, two two-handed swords are used in the Swiss Guard to swear in new recruits.
Local expressions
The two-handed swords, which were widespread in the German-speaking area and were mainly used by mercenaries, were also referred to as battle swords. The handle here usually measures 4 hand's widths or more and is often divided into two areas by a thickening in the middle. The pommel is relatively small and usually pear-shaped. The quillons are curved towards the location and, in addition to oval parrying rings, have typical scroll-shaped ornaments. Their cross-section is usually round. The blades are wide central ridge blades with parallel cutting edges and parrying thorns curved towards the spot.
The Italian expression is the Spadone a due mani or Spadone for short . The simpler handle and straight cross-guard with a diamond-shaped cross-section are typical here. The blade, which becomes narrower towards the spot, often has one or more fullers and the parrying thorns are designed as straight triangles. At first, the Spadone was very similar to the normal two-handed sword from which it was made around the turn of the 16th century. emerged. The Bolognese Achille Marozzo traditionally teaches the duel between Spadone and Spadone in his Opera Nova 1536, but also shows techniques against polearms to a lesser extent. The weapons are already shoulder to chin high, but do not yet have parrying rings. From the middle of the 16th century. the spadone already extends to the crown of the head. In the following fencing teachings by Italian masters such as Giaccomo DiGrassi (1570) and Francesco Alfieri (1653) it becomes clear that the purpose has already shifted, and that the two-handed sword / spadone is a weapon for specialized tasks from the late 16th century onwards especially intended for use against multiple opponents in battle or with a bodyguard.
The Montante is a local variant on the Iberian Peninsula . It is more similar to the Italian two-handed sword, but tends to be a bit shorter and lighter. The quillons usually have a round cross-section, the quillons are (if any) rather small. The use of the Montante is also very specialized. In addition to its use as a weapon of war, use by bodyguards / bodyguards should be mentioned here, who often had to defend themselves against a majority of opponents. For this purpose, the Montante, in contrast to other, lighter blade weapons, was increasingly guided in continuous circular movements. One of the most important works on dealing with the Montante has been preserved by Diogo Gomes de Figueyredo from 1651.
In Scotland the so-called claymore was common as a two-handed sword variant.
The Japanese Ōdachi and the Chinese two-handed shuangshou jian can be understood as Asian equivalents to the two-handed sword .
Landsknecht with two-handed sword
Large two-handed swords in the White Tower of the Tower of London
Four two-handed swords, Basel historical museum
Landsknecht with his wife. The man carries the two-handed sword over his shoulder and a smaller Katzbalger on his belt.
See also
literature
- Georg Ortenburg: Weapons of the Landsknechte. 1500-1600. License issue. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 2002, ISBN 3-8289-0521-8 . ( Armies of modern times )
- Wendelin Boeheim : Handbook of the armory. The weapon system in its historical development from the beginning of the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century. Seemann, Leipzig 1890. ( Seemanns Kunstgewerbliche Hand Bücher 7), (Reprint: Fourier Verlag, Wiesbaden 1985, ISBN 3-201-00257-7 ).
- Ken Mondschein: The Art of the Two-Handed Sword. SKA SwordPlay Books, Staten Island, NY 2012, ISBN 978-0-9789022-8-5 .
Web links
- The Iberian two-handed sword: http://hf-westfalen.de/fechten/fechtstile/20-montante-und-mangual-iberischer-bidenhaender-und-kettenflegel
Individual evidence
- ↑ See the (English) article by TheArma: [1]
- ↑ As seen in G. Ortenburg: Waffen der Landsknechte. P. 33 and 84.
- ↑ Greate Pier fan Wûnseradiel (archival version) ( West Frisian ) Retrieved May 10, 2019.
- ^ Colombani, Giuseppe: L'arte maestra di Giuseppe Colombatti detto l'Alfier lombardo. Nella quale si impara facilmente ad'ogni persona ad'imparare a maneggiare da se stesso la spada, e pugnale tabaro, targa, alabarda, bandiera, spadone a due mani, con le regole che deve usar ogni persona trovandosi con la spada nuda per ben guardarsi e difendersi. Venice: Il Miloco, 1711.
- ^ Image of the swearing in of new recruits of the Swiss Guard