Question about treatises regarding the true two-hand sword

[Neil Bockus]

Good afternoon all,

In two semesters I am starting an independant study my senior year on the true two-hand sword; my objective is to cover where it came from (how it evolved into what it was), what it was designed to fight, how it was used individually and on the pitched field, and other tactics or impacts the sword had.

Right now I'm gathering sources that I can study to get a bit of a head start. I've been studying the sword for a while (I've got a Cold Steel model, though it's probably at least a pound over weight and it's crossguard started to get some play after relatively minor stress) and have been able to find various sources on individual employment of the sword, including right here in the research section and also in my copy of "A Complete Bibliography of Fencing and Dueling," however I've had difficulty in finding sources related to wider subjects such as, say group tactics with the weapon. For example, I recall reading somewhere that the two-hander was, after a time, disallowed in pike formations with Swiss mercenaries because it was incompatible; that data had to come from somewhere.

So I figured, perhaps here would be a prudent place to ask if anyone knows of any treatises or other documents that may cover the wider subject of the two-hand sword as I continue to search myself. Any help would be greatly appreciated and I thank you in advance for any replies.

[Allen Johnson]

John Clements book on Medieval Swordsmanship has a good section on the evolution of swords.

These articles would also be of good use to you on the swords themselves:
http://www.thearma.org/Youth/Whysomanyswords.htm
http://www.thearma.org/essays/2HGS.html

On the use of the two hander, there is little to no original source material. It seems to have been a specialty weapon and not a super common one. Longswords were much more common. With a few adjustments I would think that the two hander would be used very similarly to a longsword. I also have heard an idea that we might look to some quaterstuff stuff for possible clues as well.

[David_Knight]

I also have heard an idea that we might look to some quarterstuff stuff for possible clues as well.

I would second that. I've found that the zweihander is particularly well-suited for half-swording, and many half-swording techniques are akin to those of Paulus Hector Mair's shortstaff/spear. Moreover, the length of a true two-hander is identical to that of Mair's shortstaff. Being able to wield the weapon like a polearm would make sense, given that it was supposedly employed against pike formations.

This is the part where I insert a shameless plug about the Mair polearms book that Brian Hunt and I authored, to be released in several months by Paladin Press

[Allen Johnson]

Plug away! We are looking forward to it!

[LafayetteCCurtis]

What's the title going to be?

[Neil Bockus]

Thanks for the info thus far. I do have JC's book and have checked out the essays before; good data, but I'm still scanning around. Perhaps not surprisingly the Two Hand sword makes an appearance in Benvenuto Cillini's autobiography, albeit the reference is a short one and not very useful. Still, it gives me evidence that by the mid 1500's in Italy the weapon was still in use, in this case carried amongst halbreds and pikes by police forces.

Thanks again.

[Jeffrey Hull]

What's the title going to be?

I assume as per the website:
http://www.paulushectormair.com

...That the title shall be:

The Polearms of Paulus Hector Mair

forthcoming in 2007 from Paladin Press

[Brian Hunt]

Hi Jeffrey,

in a nut shell, yep.

Brian Hunt
GFS

http://www.paulushectormair.com/