Sprechen sie Deustch? Meine deutsch ist zemlich mist aber. "Zweihander" literally means "Two Hander". "Zwei" being the German word for two. 

Anyway. "two-handed sword". See the issue with that label is exactly what is the criteria? The "normal" Longswords that would be about a metre or so long can be wielded with two hands and they are used that way. Now comes the greatswords/montante/two-handed swords which may disappoint you to learn about their real life counterparts; the greatswords like the Zweihander are Renaissance weapons, not Medieval weapons. Greatswords were introduced as a countermeasure to the prevalent pike wall that is so very much used in this era and unlike longswords, Greatswords are strict battlefield weapons and not for self-defence. 

Enough ranting and back to my post. Oh if you guys are interested in learning more about swords.

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