In the
German school of swordsmanship
The German school of fencing (') is a system of combat taught in the Holy Roman Empire during the Late Medieval, German Renaissance, and early modern periods. It is described in the contemporary Fechtbücher ("fencing books") written at the ti ...
, Mordhau, alternatively Mordstreich or Mordschlag (in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
literally "murder-stroke" or "murder-strike" or "murder-blow"), is a
half-sword
Half-sword, in 14th- to 16th-century fencing with longswords, refers to the technique of gripping the central part of the sword blade with the left hand in order to execute more forceful thrusts against armoured and unarmoured opponents. The ter ...
technique of holding the
sword
A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
inverted, with both hands gripping the
blade
A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...
, and hitting the opponent with the
pommel or
crossguard
A sword's crossguard or cross-guard is a bar between the blade and hilt, essentially perpendicular to them, intended to protect the wielder's hand and fingers from opponents' weapons as well as from his or her own blade. Each of the individual b ...
. This technique allows the swordsman to essentially use the sword as a
mace or
hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...
. The ''Mordhau'' is mainly used in
armoured
Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...
combat, although it can be used to surprise an opponent in close quarters. The sword is usually held (by right-handed people) with the left hand towards the tip of the sword and the right hand towards the crossguard. The opposite hand position was rare.
Cuts or blows with a sword blade were ineffective against plate armor from the 14th to 16th centuries. Cutting through the steel plates was infeasible, and a sword blade itself was too light to achieve a sufficient effect through its impact force alone, as is the case with weapons such as the much larger
poleaxe
The poleaxe (also poleax, pollaxe and other similar spellings) is a European polearm that was used by medieval infantry.
Etymology
Most etymological authorities consider the ''poll''- prefix historically unrelated to "pole", instead meaning " ...
as a specialized armored combat weapon.
See also
*
Buttstroke
A buttstroke or butt-stroking is the act of striking someone with the Stock (firearms), stock of a long gun, and is one of the most common types of the use of Firearm#Use as a blunt weapon, firearms as blunt weapons. Some buttstocks were intent ...
*
Pistol-whipping
Pistol-whipping or buffaloing is the act of using a handgun as a blunt weapon, wielding it as an improvised club. Such a practice dates to the time of muzzle loaders, which were brandished in such fashion in close-quarters combat once the wea ...
References
*
Codex Wallerstein, ed. Zabinski, Paladin Press, (2002), .
Blunt weapons
Swordsmanship
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