Quote Originally Posted by CBR
Well I was referring more to the fact that two handed swords werent used for long in the Renaissance as pikes became the dominant weapon. The earlier use of such weapons cant have been against pikes as pikes were either not used or only in few numbers.


CBR
Halberds were used before pikes...the greatswords theoretically also had the job to cut the heads off those. In any time though, they were mostly standart protectors and elite shock troops; They were the biggest, bravest and often the most flamboyant troops in those armies and generally enjoyed double pay.

In India, Portuguese nobles liked to use this sword to hack through decks full of Indian, Malaysian and Turk troops.