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S-shaped guard. A Katzbalger (German: [ˈkat͡sbalɡɐ] ⓘ) is a short arming sword, used in early modern Europe notable for its sturdy build and a distinctive s-shaped or figure-8 shaped guard. Measuring 70–80 cm (28–31 in) long and weighing 0.8–1.5 kg (1.8–3.3 lb), it was the signature blade of the Landsknecht.
Experienced and well-equipped soldiers, receiving double a normal Landsknecht 's pay and getting the title Doppelsöldner, [29] made up a quarter of each Fähnlein. 50 of these men were armed with a halberd or with a 66-inch (170 cm) two-handed sword called a Zweihänder while another fifty were arquebusiers or crossbowmen.
The Zweihänder (German pronunciation: [t͡svaɪhɛndɐ] ⓘ, literally "two-hander"), also Doppelhänder ("double-hander"), Beidhänder ("both-hander"), [ 1 ]Bihänder, or Bidenhänder, is a large two-handed sword that was used primarily during the 16th century. Zweihänder swords developed from the longswords of the Late Middle Ages and ...
This is a list of historical pre-modern weapons grouped according to their uses, with rough classes set aside for very similar weapons. Some weapons may fit more than one category (e.g. the spear may be used either as a polearm or as a projectile), and the earliest gunpowder weapons which fit within the period are also included.
Classification of swords. Hand-and-a-half sword, probably German, c. 1400–1430 [1] The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification, or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a single-edged or double ...
[2] Likewise, Landsknechte schooled in the use of the Zweihänder (two-hander), a two-handed sword, were entitled to double pay and thus qualified as Doppelsöldner. [3] The fencing guild of the Brotherhood of Saint Mark had the monopoly on the use of the Zweihänder after Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor granted it to them in 1487.
The term claymore is an anglicisation of the Gaelic claidheamh-mòr "big/great sword", attested in 1772 (as Cly-more) with the gloss "great two-handed sword". [3] The sense "basket-hilted sword" is contemporaneous, attested in 1773 as "the broad-sword now used ... called the Claymore, (i.e., the great sword)", [4] although OED observes that this usage is "inexact, but very common".
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around 15 to 30 cm or 6 to 12 in), a straight double-edged blade of around 80 to 110 cm (31 to 43 in), and weighing approximately 2 to 3 kg (4 lb 7 oz to 6 lb 10 oz).