5. A Zweihander sword was so big and heavy that not every soldier could wield one – but those who did could take off several heads with a single swing
According to most military historians, the first zweihander (literally ‘two-hander’) swords started to emerge towards the end of the 15th century. They grew out of the more traditional longsword, taking this weapon type’s strengths to new extremes. Some were more than 2 metres long and weighed as much as 6.5 kilos. This gave them a huge reach, and so the men armed with them were usually deployed against pikemen. As well as their formidable reach, this type of sword was also immensely powerful – but only in the hands of a soldier strong enough to use it properly.
According to one legend, the Landsknechte, an elite group of German mercenaries who charged huge sums for their services during the Italian Wars of 1494-1559, could decapitate several enemy soldiers with a single swing. For the most part, however, soldiers armed with Zweihander swords would aim for pikes rather than heads. These specialist warriors – who earned double the rate of ordinary mercenaries – swung their mighty weapons, knocking spiked poles to one side so that others could advance from behind them. Some swords even had parrying hooks fitted towards the hilt, making them even more effective against pikes.