- Hey, gang.
Dave Baker.
Today, I want to take a look at the weapons wielded
by the strongest warriors that ever
lived in honor of History's new show,
"The Strongest Man in History,"
I'm pretty sure these guys could handle these weapons, probably
with one in either hand.
[rock music]
This monster of a blade is the Scottish Claymore.
Now the Scottish Claymore may be the most
iconic long sword in history.
The name Claymore comes from the Gaelic Claidheamh
Mor, which means "great sword."
And great sword it is.
At about 5 feet in length, 4 feet of which is the blade,
it was such a large weapon that the average soldier
had to use two hands to wield it,
making it a fearsome, intimidating weapon
on the battlefield.
The weapon was first introduced in the 1500s
and used extensively by Scottish Highland warriors
all the way through the 1700s.
But the Highland warriors were such
a fearsome and deadly group that even the Vikings
were intimidated by them.
This was a powerful weapon wielded by powerful warriors.
This massive and intimidating sword is the Zweihander.
Now, the design of this blade, with its parrying
lugs and large guard and the wave of the blade,
was used extensively in pike battles.
The guard could be used to push pikes up out of the way.
And the waves of the blades could be used
when smashing down on pikes.
It wouldn't slide off.
It would actually catch and break the pikes.
Up to 6 feet long, weighing up to 8 pounds, this
was the weapon of choice for the elite guards
of the Landsknechte mercenaries, German mercenaries who fought
throughout Europe and were some of the finest foot
soldiers of their time, notably enlisted by the future
Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I.
They helped him with his rise to power in the late 15th century.
Now, the Landsknechte used these swords
extensively in the Italian wars from the 1490s to the 1550s.
Now these weapons were not used by small guys.
These were used by large warriors
with the power to fight all day long with a weapon this size.
[rock music]
How come?
Now this iconic weapon is the Nagamaki.
The word "nagamaki" roughly translates
to long wrap, which is one of the features of this weapon.
It's long-handled.
The blades could be roughly 3 feet long with an equal length
of handle wrapped in leather or silk cord,
giving it a lot of leverage and action for the blade.
Nice.
Now, it's hard to pinpoint the exact origins of the Nagamaki.
Some references mention it in 794 to 1185,
where it would have been used by Japan's deadliest warriors--
the Samurai.
You can see that it's a versatile, light, fast cutting
weapon.
Truly one of my favorites.
[rock music]
Now, this deadly piece of business
is the knightly poleaxe, favorite of armored knights
from the 15th century.
Now with its three deadly features--
an axe head; the chop; a thrusting point
for taking a man off a horse or a man in front of you
on ground; and for armor, a hammerhead.
You can see that the shaft is steel-reinforced
and actually has a guard.
That way it can be used to parry weapons without damaging
the shaft of the weapon.
Now you can see these weapons in pictures and wood cuttings
from the 15th century being used not only on the battlefield,
but in judicial duels--
trial by combat, if you will.
Now this was a weapon that respects no armor.
It was used by knights who had both strength and skill.
That's pretty cool.
Yes.
Now, this intimidating piece of equipment
is the glaive guisarme.
Now, glaives were a popular weapon from the 13th
and 14th centuries.
Originating in France, they were usually
a single-edged blade mounted on a pole, sometimes
a knife blade or a sword blade.
But the glaive guisarme added this sort of crescent hook
onto the back.
Now, that allowed a warrior to either hook someone and pull
them towards them, or to push someone
away, or push a ladder off a castle wall
or lift pikes out of the way.
And you can see the size of the blade
was enlarged to make a very large cutting surface.
That was brutal, dude.
Now, these blades also had a long socket
and metal langet that ran down the shaft of the weapon.
Now, that kept that shaft from being
cut or broken by swords, axes, other weapons being
swung at it.
You can see in the hands of a professional,
that is an incredibly intimidating weapon.
That was brutal.
So there you go.
Some of the deadliest weapons on "Forged in Fire"
used by the strongest warriors in history.
And don't forget to check out History's newest show,
"The Strongest Man in History" Wednesday 10:00/9:00
Central here on History.