Landsknecht 'Katzbalger' Sword - How was It Used? With Windlass Example Review 

Hi, maybe I can help as a German a lil bit. "Katz", means cat, and "balgen" is an old-fashioned word for fighting. I once read a history book for children the name comes from the fact that the Landsknechte with the sword will be the battle or in the tavern fought in close quarters and that this should then have the same outcome as cats fighting each other. No elegant fencing but a brawl

I’ve been doing landskneckt re-enactment for almost ten years, and in that time of handling, wearing, and swinging around katzbalgers I mostly agree with what Matt’s said here. From looking at artwork and surviving swords they vary quite a bit from sword to sword. I think it was Oakshott that hinted that most katzbalbers were actually older swords that were rehilted and resold as cheap used swords.

Great Video as always big fan of your channel. I want to mention/add few things regarding Katzbalger. The word Katzbalg does exist already in the 15th century and means something along the lines of "strong argument " or brawl. In Germany we sometimes still use the verb balgen for exactly this context. When cats brawl or fight super close and are entangled in each other we use the verb balgen for this. Older books use that as well for people that brawl and wrestle with each other in an arugment. Also historical sources do mention the word balgen in this context as well for example in german war books for example in the malefiz-recht/laws. There the rules state that its strictly forbidden to use your main arms for "balgen". However sometimes the commander or an seargant could allow them to solve their problem but only with their side arms. The confusion may come from a similar word "balg" which means animal skin. Meyer does have a so called balg-cut which is special form of a cross-cut maybe that explains why the Katzbalger-Guard was like this. There are also a few Pictures of two dutch fencers fencing with katzbalger on wiktenauer in a dutch treatise forgot its name. What interest me is that the pommel does look similar to later Katzbalger and Dussack pommels. I remember that someone theorised that it could have been to ensure that the Dussack/Katzbalger stays in a Hammer Grip or close-to hammer grip. Theres also the problem that according to some experts many of the Katzbalgers are 18-19th century fakes. Some were openly sold as replica but later resold as real ones. Quite a few of them are insanely well done and often it takes a long time for them to be indentified as fakes. Could also explain why some Katzbalger look somewhat weird. I heard that some estimate 80% of the Katzbalger being fake (however not sure if true). Last thing i wanted to add is that while there seem to have been some law about thrusting during a short period in the HRE Meyer clearly says that theres absolutely no problem for thrusting against enemies of the HRE/the city you live in. Anyways interesting video didnt know about the length of the grip quite interesting. Hope my comment had some useful information.

Since in Italian the word for "landsknecht" is "lanzichenecco" (plural: "lanzichenecchi") this sword is also called "lanzichenetta", just thought you might find that interesting

Windlass does themselves a huge favor by sending these swords for you to review. After your reviews I have a much more positive view of their new items, which I didn’t used to.

@scholagladiatoria: At he time, katzbalgen was "to bicker" or "to quarrel" and also "to fight". So a katzbalger was a person who enjoyed this activities. So the katzbalger sword is a sword for people who like to quarrel/fight/bicker" (usually Landsknechte).

22:46 Well, being born, raised and living in Germany, I can fill you in on the meaning Katzbalger officially. I looked it up in the Duden, which is our Myriam Webster I guess: Katzbalger comes from the verb katzbalgen, "sich katzbalgen" means to have a fight with someone. In German the synonyms for katzbalgen are "sich balgen, sich keilen, sich prügeln, raufen", which are all words for fighting. Like having a scrap over something or someone, to have a tussle, to have a thrashing, having a brawl, and such. So Katzbalger would mean something like -Rowdie,- Thrasher, Tussler, or some other noun made of an old word for having a fight, or fighting. 🙂 I just also found out: "Balg" is also an old word for a whole animal hide. So Katzbalger could also mean Catskinner. 😱 (Nowadays "Balg" means "brat" by the way.😅)

I visited a museum in France, I forget where but It was towards the southern border with Spain. The museum staff there talked about this being a weapon of last resort, to be used in a close scrum where order had broken down among your pike unit and the enemy was at very close range (closer than pike-point) so a backup sword was required.

"Brawling sword" seems like a really good description of the weapon, given what you can tell from how it's constructed, and from where these kinds fo fighters are most likely to be using them.

I was doing a bit of research on messers a while ago regarding the postulation that messers were short to fit within an ell, that being used as the maximum length a messer could be within a given cities limits. What I didn’t realise initially was the massive amount of variance in how long an Ell was in each city/town in Germany, varying from 1200mm at the top end to 403mm at the bottom (majority between 550-700mm). If you were regularly travelling between towns it would probably benefit you to reduce your sword length to the shortest ell you regularly dealt with, which would very depending on which bit of Germany you were in.

Katzbalger always reminds me of a Roman gladius (The scabbard end point decoration too). Might be a renaissance remodeling for looking extra fancy and enlightened, since in that time period everything ancient Roman or Greek was so popular.

I love you mentioned legal reasons for a sword or knife not having a blade not having a point. This is often not considered at all and it was awesome to hear you bring it up!

The Katzbalger always really made me think of a much later period viking sword. With the pommel that catches your hand, very little cross-guard, and the general blade design that is short-ish and focuses on powerful cuts.

Been waiting for this one since you showed it in one of the last videos

I really like the aesthetics of the double ring guard. Looks elegant and functional, yet also a bit fancy. Very nice.

Great review. I'd been looking forward to your thoughts on this distinctive German weapon. Thank you! Can't wait to see your museum accurate series soon.

Thanks for this review Matt! First sword purchase I have made in the better part of a decade. Very happy with this one.

Nice video. The rounded scabbard tip makes sense in a tight battle formation. You would not want to poke the rear ranks with a sharp tipped scabbard.

Your point about the rounded tip not getting stuck is something I never considered and it makes perfectly sense in a brawl. Thanks for teaching me something new.

The blade itself seems to be proportioned similar to an earlier sword, even type X or “Viking Age” sword.

Can't wait to get my hands on the new windlass swords

Great discussion and review on a sword I didn't know about! Thanks!

Great Review! As you know, ordering a new sword is a torturous but highly enjoyable process. Proper reviews are essential

Excellent rundown on my favorite weapon to use as my side arm is blade and sorcery! Such an intriguing design 😮

Great Video about the Katzbalger, vielen Dank, thank you very much! 🙂

Really love this type of sword, its something a can imagine being 6 for a pound and being used as the last resort when the pike blocks collapse and it comes down to the wire.

Amazing timing! I noticed this in Kult of Athena's New Arrivals section a day or two ago, flipped through the images, and remarked to myself that it looked a lot better than Windlass blades of yesteryear. Then - Lo! And behold! - here's a review of it! Especially appreciated since while I like Katzbalgers in general, I've never really been attracted to the short, shovel-pointed version that is most often reproduced. I may have to acquire one. So, thank you very much! Or, in proper south German style: Servus, Meister Easton!

Looks great for medieval EDC! 🥰

The whole idea of a quick draw reminds me of Japanese Iado. Perhaps the draw and the counter attack/defence, were integrated movements like Viggiani's "reverso almost tondo" from his 1st guard. If some huge angry peasant suddenly broke through my line I'd want my 1st counter cut to be a good one.

When you demonstrated how the pommel help index the draw. It occured to me that the shape of the guard (less material towards the edges) might also be a design feature. As your hand was able to flow quickly and smoothly to the grip. The lack of projecting quillions removes an obstacle to quickly indexing and drawing. This might be especially useful during the press of a pike formation.

Matt, bro... the dust is renaissance wax- microcrystaline museum wax. Windlass has always used it on its swords.

Good review ⚔️

Not gonna lie, I tuned in primarily to see (or rather hear) how you'd pronounce "Landsknecht" and "Katzbalger". Honestly, you pretty much nailed it. And I'm not blaming you for substituting the "ch" in "Knecht" with a "k", that sound probably being about as outlandish to a native English speaker as they come. Anyway, greatly interesting vid as always 👍🍻 Edit: as for the name's etymology, I wasn't aware of the "female genitalia" connotation, but then it's not a surprise, either, seeing as "Katze" simply means "cat". Anyway, "Balg" is an animal's hide, removed in one intact piece so as to retain a certain bag-like quality. Going from there, I'd simply translate "Katzbalger" as "cat skinner", assuming there's some amount of humour or irony to that name. Edit #2: the idea provided by T S seems even more plausible.

I just ordered mine from Museum Replicas, I was waiting the Kingston Arms one to come back into stock but this review convinced me this one was pretty solid

Nice under armour shirt Matt! Fun little side note there's an UA facility about ten minutes away from my house. I grew up in Maryland where the company was founded.

That thing is gorgeous! Really nice proportions (to my modern eyes). It seems to me that the grip is somewhat round in section. And given the fact that there aren't great big quillons coming out of both edges, to show where the edges are, do you find that edge alignment is somewhat compromised??? Do you sometimes pick it up thinking that you're gripping it so the edges are straight up and down, when actually the blade is somewhat canted over and mis-aligned? If so, that could be another piece of circumstantial evidence which would help strengthen the case for projecting the thumb through the guard, as you say. As this would help greatly with edge alignment. It could also help explain why the guards were wrapped around in a circle. Because if the thumb is projected down the blade THROUGH the guard, the outside of the thumb and the top of the hand would be protected from cuts by the bent round guard. A straight guard cannot do this.

Could the shape of the chape, which you said was quite a common one for this type of sword, influence people to think most had a rounded tip? Making them assume that the tip was shaped like the end of the scabbard?

Awesome content

Notably, it has a ring guard, not a disc guard. Might just be for weight considerations, but it allows a thumb grip, which would make the back edge way more relevant.

Matt another great video! A quick question would the class of people that would have made up the Landsknecht ranks , would have come from possibly commoners who would have been familiar with messers and that's probably why they might have been used that way?

That's a really nice sword. I'm really thinking about getting one.

Could that powdery residue be some kind of corrosion protection? i think i heard somewhere, that talcum (baby-) powder can be used as such

As far as rounded points... They don't get caught in fabric as easily with a slash at the tip, in my experience. (Obviously not combat experience, just cutting things at work.) Would make sense for an unarmored context as much as a curved blade.

my gosh what a beautifull sword... greetings from Venezuela lov yar chanel btw c:

Hello Mathew. Just a question here, which I asked on Skalagrim's channel, which I will repeat here. Could have it been intended as (for want of a better word) an 'Anti-Pike weapon'? What I mean by this is the flat of the blade pushing against the pike shaft, the S guard locking against the underside of the pike haft and then bringing it down in a slicing motion, running the blade down towards the pike-man's hands/fingers? ...Obviously this would when both sides were up close and personal in the melee.

8:44 there are some examples of katzbalger where the circle the guard effectively forms is bigger then this or skallagrims example sometimes just a little bigger and sometimes and especially on the two handed once a lot bigger but maybe those are technically not katzbalger anymore. So depending on the individual sword it can be more or less of a problem and in some cases the guard is so big that there is plenty protection everywhere. Although sometimes in art the size of the guard looks like it’s a little exaggerated.

My Windlass Munich sword has the same powder issue but the matching dagger does not. I'm wondering if it's some kind of desiccant used for storage and someone at the factory goes a little more overboard with it than others.

I'm very curious about the arming sword on the wall to the viewer's left, about third from the left, the one with some sort of medal or prize on a ribbon hanging on it. What period does it represent exactly? My first guess was late- eleventh century.

You have a good point.

Dear Sir, its been a long time since the last military saber video. May I ask if Swiss military sabers will be a topic some day? They are quite cheap and available, compared to others. Great choice for beginners imo. I own two. A patterm 1867 and a pattern 1896. Both simple, functional troopers versions and I would love to know more about them.

I think it's also worth noting that the landsknecht were part of a shifting battlefield where armor became rarer and rarer. When you need a sidearm for brawling in the press, and you can expect your opponents to have open-faced helmets and maybe breastplates, why would you go for a point-centric sword? Cuts will disable foes plenty well in that environment, and the short length makes it easier to wear in formation. I very much think it's a sword made for the soldiers who wore them and their role on the early modern battlefield.

That blunt vs pointy tip discussion sounds interesting.

Windless make good swords in a certain Price bracket. I'd love that sword just for its original look .

with regards to the rounded point; talking to, following and dabbling in test cutting, I have formed the impression that rounded tips do particularly well with a "tip slash" opening up layered fabric defences. I think it was ... crap, forgotten their name, but viking reenactors who had a channel of backyard cutting and reviews... anyway, had one test with a Viking age sword vs a 20 + layer gambi over a braced ballistic gel torso. Hacks and cuts got through maybe 7 layers tops. tip slash in about half the tries able to slice through all layers and deliver a shallow cut to the torso. I am not aware *why* that would be specifically be an advantage for a landsknecht, but there you go.

When are the royal armouries colabs being released?

I love how your pronunciation of the word "Landsknecht" has improved from some years ago :D

The powdery leather inside the scabbard is a good moisture indicator and absorber. 😋

Could the big ring guard be useful in pushing pike and halberd shafts aside when you're trapped deep in the press of 16th century pike-on-pike battles? That would seem to be when you'd most likely need a smaller weapon after the enemy has gotten past the point of your pike.

Please do that whole video on rounded points.

Where can I get a decent spear?? Like the one on your back wall. Thanks.

Could the edgeguard be shaped like that so it also wouldn't get tangled in any clothing or leather straps worn by the wielder? I mean, it's a backup weapon so the last thing you'd want is having to untangle it when you need to unsheathe it asap

Any updates about Windlass collaboration? 😁

I think the context of a backup weapon for a predominant pike unit may shed some light to the katzbelger design and use. The landsknecht fought in close ranks with pikes. (Adapted from the Swiss who were the first to stay there ground against mounted charges.) If the landsknecht formation got compromised the pike becomes a useless weapon as it's dependent on the units ability to work coherently. So imagine yourself attacked by an enemy that's already past the pike points. You have nowhere to go couse your comrades are all around you, pike shafts everywhere. What you need is a short sturdy blade with good hand protection so you can push those pikes away and defend yourself. The point of no point may be so that you don't stab your comrades by mistake. This kind of fight is not what the landsknecht seek. It's a failure of the strong point of pikes and may as such been referred to as a "catfight". (Katz)

One question that come's to mind is how often did sword preference dictate techniques preference vs technique preference dictating sword preference? Especially when it comes to rather notably distinct swords such as for example this one.

Given the width of the blade it seems to almost fill the roll of a falchion against semi armoured foes. It would be interesting to see if it can go through a pike shaft. I agree that the rounded tip being a civil law thing is probably a good shout 👍🏻

If scholagladiatora ever was sent back in time - he would likely easily become a very well known arsenal master or master of weapons...

Can you show us a baselard sword Uncle Mat?

How does the Katzbalger compare to the Viking era one-handed sword? They seem to be of fairly similar proportions and designed with a similar battle field role in mind (e.g. back up weapon used when the fighting is most desperate).

Matt, talking about Windlass, what's new about the Easton- Royal Armouries collection?

Have you seen the scandinavian pretzel guards

I would say, that longer handle of this model is a way to get a better balance with a blade a bit longer than in average. And, of course, it makes the finding grip with your hand much more easier

pre watch comment: is this sword type similar to the early medieval "viking" swords in thatthe pommel is meant to facilitate holding the blade in either a hammer grip or a perpendicular(?) grip? ive always got that impression ever since i heard you bring it up as a possible function of early medieval pommels love how all the sword channels build off eachothers knowledge

I find it too be a highly attractive sword. such an interesting style that seems both ornate and simple. seems fitting for Windlass being known for little distal taper on their swords

That's an interesting one , The guard design doesn't seem all that good until you consider that it can be wielded with the flat of the blade along the forearm like a thin shield a bit like a tonfa, also helps with concealing in case you were not allowed to wear it along your waist. Or even have a rope loop pass through the guard , which might be useful if you do a lot climbing: Think Thief: The Dark Project where you need to descend from a rooftop into a window and need an anchor that would hold fairly well between large bricks or in wooden beams . the split pommel design would further ensure any rope tied to the hilt won't slide off , makes easy to hammer in the blade if need be. So in opinion it might be more of a utility side-weapon. Otherwise it makes more sense to have a rapier or a langmesser which provides more protection and maneuverability..

Interesting point about the quick draw. Incidentally, the S guard shape is equally usable from both ends of the sword. So if you needed protection very fast, even while still holding your pike in your right hand, you could draw your katzbalger in your left hand, holding it in reverse grip (sorry...) but by the base of the blade, not by the grip. Then you could use either the S guard or the flat of the blade on your upper arm for defense, against a coming blow/cut, or even with a more skill against a stab. After that, you could easily grip the sword with your right hand by its grip, and continue in a more conventional way. Such a technique would also explain why they liked rounded tips (less of a chance to stab yourself when the sword is reversed). Also why there are no manuals (this technique might have been a trade secret).

Many people have already discussed that Katzbalger basically means cat brawler. Here is a little fun fact about the pronounciation of the word Landsknecht: the letter combination ch should sound somewhat like a cat hissing.

Joachim Meyers 1570 treatise talks about dusacks and how the material shown are to be used with them and other similar sized swords. From this we can assune, since the katzbalger was contemporary with the dusack that this atleast on Meyers part included the katzbalger. Similarly he says the same thing on daggers, that the material demonstrated can be used with daggers and other similar weapons

The first thought i had about the blade was "broadsword," is this somehow an earlier stage of the evolution to what later becomes the basket hilted swords?

Hi, Mat. You put out a video not too long ago talking about how the one handed, short-ish, cut and thrust sword was the most common type across most of the globe and throughout most of history. To me it seems this is sort of the ultimate representation of that. Other than the lack of quillons there isn't really anything very special that would influence how it's used. Sort of just a typical side arm that you could hand to any trained soldier and they would know how to use.

In the picture Engraving by Hans Holbein the Younger the fighters seem to carry their swords lashed to their waist. I wonder did some carry rounded end swords to simply avoid causing injury to their own fellows in the scrimage?

The circular guard being a response to flamboyant clothing is an interesting idea. I’d imagine pointier guards get hung up in a clinch.

A pommel like that also lends itself to be drawn into a hand or face for a crushing blow; like a katana. Also most German and Swiss mercenaries in a pike block were unarmored beyond the front rank, as they needed to move quickly in formation. A close quarters cutter would be handy against pikemen and their allies, the plethora of light cavalry like stradiota.

Were they used in armoured gauntlets ?

what if its because they had to make a long sword shorter? nip the tip, round the hilt and bob the grip? what do y'all think?

It may be just be the lighting but ot appears that the blade has a few, what I would call "blemishes" on it. Am I correct? Or are all of the things I'm seeing simply the "powder" you mentioned?

The hand protection being opposite the edge is more ideal when pressing into pike formations by using the flat of the blade to push aside the shafts of the swiss pikes. Landsknecht were formation fighters on the battlefield. I love this channel and Skall's both, but the dueling focus that most people in Historical Martial Arts often have leaves out the actual wartime function of many weapons.

If I could just make an observation; I would love to see you do independent overviews and lectures on weapons irrespective of what other channels have already done. I enjoy your channel and appreciate your professionalism. On the other hand, I do not particularly like Skallagrim's channel. Not bashing it, it's just not for me. I don't watch his videos so it would be great to see a more comprehensive take from this channel that's not artificially limited by what other creators have previously covered. Just my 2 cents.

when is your Windlass line coming?

I'm guessing that the landsknechts would generally have had gauntlets? So the sword would lack a knuckle bow a) to make room for the gauntlet and b) they have less need of it?

Hey Matt, is Easton Antique Arms no longer in operation? I'm an interested buyer that has sent multiple emails over several months, and have never gotten a response to any of them. Are you still in business?

I used to watch my older brother who was an English civil war reenactor a pikeman I could see where a sword like that would be very handy for a pikeman . In a pike push a front row or second row gets his pike broken that size blade with its guard stile would be very usefull to parry a second and third row enemy pike away from you untill the enemy's pike block broke or both side got within hand distance , particularly as you pointed out its a secondary weapon as you said there main weapon mite be a Swiehander halberd or pike . Thinking of how it could be used , your in a pike push your pike bracks you draw your Kat useing the flat and the ring you trap the pike in front of you using your left hand as well trap it between you kat your right side of your neck and left hand then move forward along the pike useing the thick end of the sword by the rings to apply force and the left hand and your neck to hold onto the like now here's my thoughts on why you mite use a rounded tip than a pointed one is that because of the restrictions you can not slash the sword around only use a hammer stroke so now your within reach of your opponents hand then useing a sliding cutting motion aim for the fingers and hand if you get closer then strike at the neck shoulders and arms , now of course I am most likely wrong but if I were a pikeman and had a kat then this is what I would most likely use it like

Ah, my favorite bladed weapon...finally!

Katzbalger. More essential than a smartphone. Here's how they were used: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-D3f28S2bKm4.html

I always get flashes of images of Azog the Defiler mixed with those of Yoda when watching schola videos...can't seem to figure out why...

Personaly I think katzbalger have a lot incommon with viking age swords. A short blade with a round tip, a short, but wide guerd, and a wide handstopper pommel. One centences that could describe both swords. I suspect you would hold these at the pommel which would then help you index the blade and your bassicly primairly using it to chop up lightly armored people.

Do you think that gladii also had a big pommels so that the Roman soldiers could easily draw them after throwing their pila? Same with Celtic/Viking "spatha" like swords?

It seems to me that the deployment would be limited to very few situations, or maneuvers, so not necessarily as a substitute weapon, but as a main weapon if, for example, a rapid advance into enemy lines was the case. Push spears, long swords etc. aside and roll over the enemy would have to go with that? I don’t know, but the idea just came to me.

Just a quick thought about blade points. These swords saw a lot of use by the landsknecht and in use the points would be likely to chip or snap because of the edge hardening. The most obvious solution in the field would be to round off the point and re-harden. The swords use would seem to be defensive in nature with the offensive action performed by rondel daggers. thou would account for the surviving examples having rounded tips.

You gonna cut with it? Skallagrim seemed to think his was all nice and dandy until he actually tried cutting with it. Very interested to see if you'd get the same results.

do you consider the Katzbalger the double edged symmetrical version of the kreigsmesser?