Doppelsöldner

{{Short description|Type of German mercenary soldier}}

{{Italic title}}

File:Landsknecht 2.JPG]]

{{Lang|de|Doppelsöldner}} ("double-mercenaries", "double-pay men",{{cite book

|first=John

|last=Elting

|title=Swords Around a Throne

|publisher=Da Capo Press

|year=2009

|page=712

|isbn=978-0-7867-4831-0

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xv5v4qDln_UC&q=doppelsoldner&pg=PA712

}} from German doppel- meaning double, Söldner meaning mercenary) were Landsknechte 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 {{Lang|de|Landsknecht}} in four would be a {{Lang|de|Doppelsöldner}}. The {{Lang|de|Doppelsöldner}} of each company were usually issued with ranged weapons, such as a crossbow or an arquebus, and arranged in the wings of a square, in front of the pikemen.{{cite book|last=Rogers|first=Cliff|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology|volume=1|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195334036|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mzwpq6bLHhMC&q=Doppels%C3%B6ldner&pg=RA1-PA487}}

Likewise, {{Lang|de|Landsknechte}} schooled in the use of the Zweihänder (two-hander), a two-handed sword, were entitled to double pay and thus qualified as {{Lang|de|Doppelsöldner}}.{{cite web|last=Clements|first=J|title=The Weighty Issue of Two-Handed Greatswords|url=http://www.thearma.org/essays/2HGS.html|publisher=ARMA|accessdate=11 May 2012}} The fencing guild of the Brotherhood of Saint Mark had the monopoly on the use of the {{Lang|de|Zweihänder}} after Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor granted it to them in 1487.

The {{Lang|de|Zweihänder}} was allegedly used by the {{Lang|de|Doppelsöldner}} 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.