Cleveland Museum of Art

Two-Handed Sword

Date

1550–1600

Medium

steel; leather and wood grip, cloth-covered middle

Culture

Germany, second half of 16th Century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The two-handed sword, originally a weapon of war for specialist infantry, is so named because two hands were required to wield it. By the late 1600s, these enormous swords assumed a largely ceremonial or bodyguard function.

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