("double-mercenaries", "double-pay men", from German ''doppel-'' meaning double, ''Söldner'' meaning mercenary) were ''

Landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were German mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line was ...

e'' in 16th-century Germany who volunteered to fight in the front line, taking on extra risk, in exchange for double payment. The stated ratio was that one in four would be a . The of each company were usually issued with ranged weapons, such as a

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...

or an

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. The term ''arquebus'' was applied to many different forms of firearms ...

, and arranged in the wings of a square, in front of the pikemen. Likewise, schooled in the use of the ''

Zweihänder The ''Zweihänder'' (, literally "two-hander"), also ''Doppelhänder'' ("double-hander"), ''Beidhänder'' ("both-hander"), ''Bihänder'', or ''Bidenhänder'', is a large two-handed sword that was used primarily during the 16th century. ''Zwe ...

'' (two-hander), a two-handed sword, were entitled to double pay and thus qualified as . The fencing guild of the Brotherhood of Saint Mark had the monopoly on the use of the after

Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III (German language, German: ''Friedrich III,'' 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death in 1493. He was the penultimate emperor to be Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor, crowned by the p ...

granted it to them in 1487. The was allegedly used by the to break through formations of pikemen, especially Swiss pikemen, by either being swung to break the ends of the pikes themselves or to knock them aside and attack the pikemen directly. The veracity of this tradition is disputed, but it dates back at least to the 17th century.

See also

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