Two-Handed Swords in RPGs
Two-handed swords, Greatswords, Zweihanders, Claymores – the massive, cumbersome, fearsome implements of pure power and destruction, sometimes weighing up to 20 lbs… did they exist? Yes, of course, but not as a lot of modern hobbyists and even some scholars have asserted.
From the website “The Two Handed Greatsword”:
Nothing answers the question of genuine weight better than sample evidence of actual historical specimens. Sword collector and author Dr. Lee Jones possesses a very fine specimen of a 16th century German two-handed great sword, that this author had the privilege of exercising outdoors with, had length in excess of five feet and a weight of 7.9 pounds (3490g), but handled easily with superb balance. Curator of arms for the Hungarian Military History Museum in Budapest, László Töl, describes a very fine specimen of another 16th century German two-handed great sword of 53.4 inches length, which this author also had the privilege of examining, as weighing only a little over 8 pounds. Again, the piece’s size and weight betrayed a functional and well-balanced weapon. László Töl adds: “The full length of the sword is 1808 mm, the full length of the blade is 1355 mm, the edge of the blade is 936 mm long, the length of the hilt is 306 mm, and the diameter of the cross-guard is 502 mm. The width of the blade is 46 mm, and its thickness is 7.5 mm. The ‘neck’ of the blade is 8.6 mm thick and 32 mm wide. The centre of gravity is 616 mm from the pommel. The sword weighs 3650g. The blade’s cross-section is rhomboid in shape.”
Although bearing various names in various cultures and throughout various ages, swords truly requiring both hands for use, though commonly exceeding even 48 in. (4 feet) in length, actually weighed about 5-7 lbs. on average, with the heavier specimens on the 9 lb. end. These were not slow, molasses-like chunks of bludgeoning lead – they were moderately heavier than typical one-handers, used primarily to cut through pikes and halberds, but fast enough for use in slashing and stabbing in melee, perhaps even suitable for fencing by skilled warriors.
The need for two hands to wield this implement is generally due to weighting and configuration of crossguards and spacing, allowing you to easily hold the sword with only one hand, but making it impossible to wield it in anything approaching a competent manner, even for skilled swordsmen, without both.
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