("double-mercenaries", "double-pay men",[1] from German doppel- meaning double, Söldner meaning mercenary) were Landsknechte in 16th-century Germany who volunteered to fight in the front line, taking on extra risk, in exchange for double payment. The stated ratio was that one in four would be a . The of each company were usually issued with ranged weapons, such as a crossbow or an arquebus, and arranged in the wings of a square, in front of the pikemen.[2]
Likewise, schooled in the use of the Zweihänder (two-hander), a two-handed sword, were entitled to double pay and thus qualified as .[3] The fencing guild of the Brotherhood of Saint Mark had the monopoly on the use of the after Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor granted it to them in 1487.
The was allegedly used by the to break through formations of pikemen, especially Swiss pikemen, by either being swung to break the ends of the pikes themselves or to knock them aside and attack the pikemen directly. The veracity of this tradition is disputed, but it dates back at least to the 17th century.