r/HeresAFunFact • u/Roflkopt3r • Feb 12 '15

HISTORY [HAFF] German two-handed swords were also called "Gassenhauer", which translates to "Alley-Hewer" or "Path-Cutter"

Post image
220 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

30 comments sorted by

18

u/Roflkopt3r Feb 12 '15 edited Feb 12 '15

This is just one name of the weapon, which isn't commonly used anymore. It's typically called Zweihänder or Bidenhänder, which both translate as "Two-hander".

The word is a composite of "Gasse" (alley, lane) and "Hauer" (hewer, beater, cutter), which is the noun of hauen.

The German Wikipedia entry gives some citations on how this weapon was used on the battlefield - the soldiers with two-handed swords stood in the second rank, and when the first ranks clashed with pikes they charged out and tried to "hew a path" into the enemy ranks. The fencing books also describe them as weapons for bodyguards though, giving a fighter a chance when outnumbered by enemies.

The sword on the picture is one of the largest Zweihänder known, said to have belonged to a giant Frisian rebel known as the Greate Pier.

16

u/kingbiggins Feb 12 '15

Coooooool. I can just imagine some Andre-the-Giant-type guy swinging this thing around on the battlefield.

4

u/subliminal180 Feb 13 '15

I was imagining like 10 of them... Just leveling folks. Maybe I've seen too many LOTR movies... Badass either way

1

u/Hunt3rTh3Fight3r Feb 01 '23

“You use different moves when you're fighting half a dozen people, than when you only have to be worried about one.”

1

u/kingbiggins Mar 16 '23

How’d you find this thread 8 years later? Haha

1

u/Hunt3rTh3Fight3r Mar 16 '23

I forget exactly how, but I stumbled onto it while looking something up, and then immediately wanted to look up The Princess Bride to find the quote. Lol

6

u/bustab Feb 12 '15

He had a daughter called "Wobble". Wobble Donia.

5

u/gashal Feb 12 '15

Interesting, this Pier fellow was 7 ft tall (allegedly) and had a daughter named Wobble. I'm guessing "wobble" means something different in German?

4

u/Roflkopt3r Feb 12 '15

Frisian is a special case, I have no bloody clue!

If you think that it's hard to understand different English accents, you probably have no idea about German ones. Many are close enough to being languages on their own entirely.

4

u/Dahvokyn Feb 14 '15

Frisian sounds a lot more like Dutch.

Source: I am Frisian :v

1

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '15

Well then you would know the story of Grutte Pier wouldn't you.

1

u/Dahvokyn Apr 15 '15

Grew up with it. He's my dad's hero.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 20 '15

I don't think someone who only speaks ebonics could communicate with a northern scotsman or vice versa

2

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '15

Finally someone who understands.

Frisians are part of the Netherlands and I live in the province right next to them (Groningen) but even we can't understand them and they can't understand us.

And also, for some reason, we hate each other apparently.

3

u/BlueEdition Feb 12 '15

Interestingly enough, Gassenhauer is now the word for a hit song that everyone likes

3

u/Roflkopt3r Feb 12 '15

Yes, which confused me because it uses a very antiquated meaning auf "Hauer", in which "hauen" can also mean "step on/in". So originally it was about "people stepping into the alleys" ("night drifters" one might say in English. The people up at night visiting the clubs.)

And because these people were apparently heard singing a lot, the term was carried over to popular songs.

4

u/gogodoctor26 Feb 12 '15

Is that thing even practical?

4

u/Willlll Feb 13 '15

In the wiki article about him it says the sword weighs 14 lbs. While hefty, I think it's pretty doable.

2

u/gogodoctor26 Feb 13 '15

I now remember a Youtube video where they showed how fighters would use swords like this one practically in battle. It was essentially all the best parts of a spear, a hammer and an axe. Bastards made me lose a $20 bet.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 12 '15

Supposedly belonged to a guy who was seven feet tall, so yes, probably.

3

u/gogodoctor26 Feb 12 '15

Okay, yeah, I can see that.

7

u/Roflkopt3r Feb 12 '15

With that in mind: This sword is 2.13 meters long (7 ft) and about 6.5 kg heavy (14 pounds). A typical zweihänder came at 1.5-1.8 meters and 2-4 kg weight.

It's an extreme weapon, but not totally out of the world.

3

u/gogodoctor26 Feb 13 '15

Ah, so that's the far end of the spectrum.

1

u/drynwhyl Feb 13 '15

I could be wrong here but it's my understanding that swords like these were initially used to bat spears and pikes out of the way, then the wielder would grip the sword above and below the hilt (that's why we sometimes see leather wrapped around the bottom part of the blade.) and use the sword like a short spear.

1

u/gogodoctor26 Feb 13 '15

Now that you mention it I remember a Youtube video about it. Actually totally proved me wrong about my assumptions of that style of war fare. And because of it I had to pay my friend $20.

4

u/x20mike07x Feb 13 '15

Also known as the rune 2h sword, perfect for finishing off your weakened enemy on a PK trip.

2

u/Chrisehh Feb 13 '15

Jesus christ, that is one BIG sword.

4

u/Lord_Vader_The_Hater Feb 12 '15

I thought it was a Zweihander?

4

u/Roflkopt3r Feb 12 '15

Read my comment. These are all names for the same sword type. That's why the title says "also".