Greatsword

Details of a lightweight controller.

The Madoble is an ambiguous term to describe a sword of considerable weight (from 2 to 4 kilograms / 4.4 to 8.8 pounds) and large dimensions (from 1.4 to 2.1 meters / 4.6 to 7 feet).), which must be handled with both hands to do it with speed. It was used in combat in the 15th and 16th centuries, used in combat on foot, designed to effectively attack plate armor and chain mail, sometimes causing fractures or serious bruises without the need to pierce the armor. However, their main objective was to break the ranks of armored pikemen to allow for a larger offensive, such as cavalry charges.

The hilt of the greats measured approximately one fifth or fourth of the total length of the weapon, they were endowed with long cross-shaped hawks and were usually finished off by a spherical or round pommel, with which the left wrist could rotate on top, which allowed rapid blows and thrusts to be dealt at a more than respectable distance. These swords could also be wielded with one hand on the hilt and the other on the first third that was blunt, so that it allowed correct handling at close range. In order to promote this possible use, or minimize its counterparts, they used to also provide spikes at the beginning of the edge, as a false guard, to improve grip, prevent the hand from slipping up to the edge and to prevent it from slipping. the adversary's sword the one that slipped down the edge until it reached his hand.

Some had a serpentine blade, apparently to enhance the cutting-slash capacity, due to its weight and by preventing it from sliding freely, slowed down by the S-shape of the blade, although it is probably a question of a simple concession to art. ^{[citation required]}

Although many hand-and-a-half swords have been called greatswords, as well as other generic names (longsword, upright, bastard sword, greatsword), it seems that there was a type of sword of this type, of large dimensions, emerged in Europe in the fifteenth century that was known by the name of mandoble.

Origins

The greatsword is derived from the longsword of the late medieval period; Its creation comes from a European tendency to increase the size and weight of swords in order to easily manipulate and even cut the enemy's pikes. Its use was popularized mainly in the Holy Roman Empire (today Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, and Switzerland), being commonly carried by Swiss mercenaries and German lansquenets during the Renaissance, particularly in the late 15th century and through the 16th century.

The twilight of the greatsword

With the proliferation of the first firearms, the way of waging war changed drastically: rifles with bayonet supplanted pikes and greater mobility became preferable to more armor, since it was no longer efficient protection against weapons of fire, with which the role of the greatsword became unnecessary. The practical disappearance of this type of weapon from the battlefields probably coincided with the spread of the term broadsword as a generic name for two-handed swords. ^{[citation required]}