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This extremely rare type of sword was a special weapon used by the Landsknecht army in the early 16th century. Landsknecht mercenaries were especially known for their colorful attire: wide flat hats decorated with ostrich feathers, puffed-and-slashed jackets, and bulbous decorated hose. In addition to a two-handed sword, they carried a pair of short arming swords (Katzbalger swords). The Landsknecht sword was a purely military weapon. The sword has a massive double-edged blade with a slightly dulled tip. The upper part of the blade was not sharpened so that the sword could be grabbed during battle. The coiled iron ingot handguard was shaped into an "S" and finished with iron bells. An orb and cross is damascened on the blade. The sword can be seen in period prints - see Urs Graf, Landsknecht, 1517. The rarity of this sword can be seen in the fact that it seldom features in international museum and private collections. The last time a Landsknecht two-handed sword was auctioned was in Munich in the 1990s, when it fetched (converted to euros) €18,000. Length 136 cm.