If you are a greatswords passionate you ended up in the right place. The Spadone Project takes to heart historical research about Renaissance, baroque and late medieval two-handed swords, being them Italian spadone, Iberian montante, German Schlachtschwert, or any kind of other huge blade. Personally I do not use the Zweihänder neologism, but that’s it, if you like.
The Spadone Project is an Italian non-profit private research initiative focusing on historical sources and notions about Renaissance big two-handed swords.
Bidenhänder, Beidenhänder, Beidenfeuster, espadon, espada de dos manos, spada a due mani, spadoncino… Choose your own favorite historical name, there is literally a world of anecdotes and mystery behind each one of them.
The Spadone Project collects and store methodically every historical written or iconographic source about these fascinating weapons. If you are looking for a specific woodcut print, a painting, a drawing or an actual original sword photo, it is highly probable that it is stored in TSP digital archive.
Learn more about two-handed greatswords
The Spadone Project has a blog as well, where you can find interesting contents: HEMA tips, interviews and other greatsword related material. In particular, Mamma mia, spadone! is TSP special column dedicated to historical investigation.
Montantero Bonn: an interview with Jan Gosewinkel
Today my web guest is Jan Gosewinkel, hemaist and instructor in Bonn, Germany. He has a long experience in jiu... read more →
March 14, 2020
Iberian montante: an interview with Ton Puey
Hi Ton, it is a pleasure to have a conversation with you again, although for a matter of time and... read more →
March 14, 2020
Alfieri’s spadone: what is it about actually?
In this article I will try to give a general overview on Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri’s treatise (1653), in order to... read more →
March 14, 2020
What do we know about spadone in sea battles?
In this new article for Mamma mia, spadone! I’m going to discuss what we know so far about the use... read more →
March 14, 2020
Greatswords against pikes formations: legend or truth?
One of the most enduring legends about greatswords in general (but mostly about Landsknecht Doppelsöldner’s Schlachschwert) is that of this... read more →
March 14, 2020
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