Get ready (for battle) with me: Landsknecht Doppelsolder edition

As I'm currently enjoying my Holidays, I decided on a slightly different video format to keep things interesting. As it happens, I did shoot some fun bits when I was recording some bigger project at a local castle. So enjoy this short clip of me putting on my Landsknecht clothing and armour, as well as talk a bit about why things look the way they do.
Music courtesy of epidemicsound.com
Made with the gracious support of Castle Teylingen
#Messer #Sword #HEMA #Historical #European #Martial #Arts #Historical #Fencing #Historical #Fencing #Westernmartialarts #Middleages #medieval #Martial #Arts #Martialartist #Instructor #Athlete #Fitness #Fightingfit #Fighter #warriors #knights #Swordplay #machete #technique #Training #lecküchner, #history #historical #research #swordfighting #sparring #context #greatsword #montante #zweihander #knife #dagger #moustache

[@mansman2167]

Almost makes me want to see a Landsknecht in full gothic or milanese armour and swinging a giant sword

[@CommissarMoody1]

Now that should be the style goal of everyone.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Well, if I ever get filthy rich, viewers off the channel will probably be the first people to become aware of that. I'd love to have a full 1510 pre-maximilian field harness one day. :D

[@mansman2167]

@@VirtualFechtschule Then I gotta ask, what would be your weapon of choice for each party? A man in full gothic or milanese and wielding a zweihander would be a sight to see ☺

[@VirtualFechtschule]

@@mansman2167 Well, a greatsword would still work really well, and we have plenty of images from the time showing that configuration. A halberd or Mordaxt would pretty great too! :)

[@fremenchips]

@@VirtualFechtschule If you want to get rich why not hire yourself out as a mercenary?

[@tonarsilverwolf6485]

this imperial soldier is ready to do battle in the name of holy Sigmar and the empire!

[@jasonjames9836]

The ostentatious hat and plumes and the 'Uge codpiece are what just makes that kit perfect. Great video!

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Thanks!

[@MaefigHistory]

When you mentioned the "buddy system" for preparing for battle, that puts me in mind of the Rotte, in the actual military your squad buddies are always assisting one another to ensure they're ready, and at peak performance capability.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Yeah, this idea was in no small part inspired by how modern militaries and Roman reenactors just naturally gravitate towards it.

[@Germankaviar]

1:36 > Landsknechts, like every army of that time had their Wifes, Whores and Children with them, helping them to get into armour. You dont need a "buddy system" every army of that time was followed by a massive tross of non combatants - that is depicted in countless carvings and woodcuts and recorded in the lamenting of the officers and generals of such armies, as they had to feed not only their troops but also the additional drag-alongs (btw during the 30 or if dutch 90 year war, the ratio was roughly 1/3 Soldiers, 2/3 Drag-Along Furage/Tross)

[@VirtualFechtschule]

This is a somewhat valid point, but given that they often had separate encampments (one of the concessions commanders could often still force on the issue of drag-alongs) it still leaves open the question on how these guys would get their armour on before a battle. Of course, I've seen people do it by themselves, and I'm sure I could tweak mine a bit to make it easier. Not having to fiddle with anything to go over armour also helps a lot as well. I find it quite telling that all the guys from Dolnstein's sketchbook have fancy clothing and hats to go over just a breastplate in the portraits, but the battle scenes are a bunch of guys in just armour. So maybe this might be less of an issue to begin with.

[@maxlegio5884]

"buddy system" when getting equiped is pretty much implied in every military unit. We do it all the time, especially for parade uniform or bulletproof vests

[@SmolFly]

Landskecht's with their armor open at their backs makes sense since they fight in formation, but it is a bit funny to think about for the wrong reasons. Is the term, "Cake and Cod" alright to use?

[@rand0mlyth3re35]

I just hate the lack of leg protection

[@ignathiel]

When you mentioned a buddy system, I recalled from some random article I've read on landsknecht (it's sources seemed legit), that along in their band, travelling with them, they had craftsmen, women and children that were called a 'Tross'. So the women that traveled with them were doing pretty much the same any woman of the time usually would. Tending to wounds, repairing clothes, cooking, helping with setting up camp and so on. Someone from more modern times coined the term Trossfrau, so, I would guess that the Trossfrau or, maybe, some aspiringfuture soldier boys (possibly serving the same role as a squire would) would help them with suiting up.

[@LivingManuscript]

Beautiful kit!

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Thanks! :D

[@arepupu]

Oh my, that looks great! Excellent work.

[@jasonuerkvitz3756]

Excellent outfit. That greatsword is fantastic.

[@Hannezia]

That's a wonderful kit, where did you get that stunning proto-katzbalger? Is it the same one that you were holding in your previous video about landsknechts?

[@VirtualFechtschule]

It's the same indeed, and it's a custom one by Landsknecht Emporium. It'll get a video of its own soon. :D

[@Hannezia]

@@VirtualFechtschule Niiice, thank you!

[@midshipman8654]

great stuff!

[@attila535]

You'd pass off as a Stirlander in a Warhammer event, but for everyones sake please don't bring boiled beer.

[@roballister5269]

idk about the timing man... i train Landsknechts in 45 seconds in Age of Empires. gotta pick up the phase my friend haha! loved the video

[@diedonau9843]

Where did you get this beautiful armor. I always wanted to do Landsknecht reenactment being ethnically German and my family coming from west Germany and the Low Countries. Thank you

[@VirtualFechtschule]

I built the arms myself, but the breastplate was made by Radoslaus the Armourer. :)

[@Mrdeadlin]

I have read somewhere, that you have sewn your own landsknecht clothes. Is there any chance to have a closer look at them or to get a template, to recreate them. The kit looks awesome!

[@salvadormurlaallue8341]

Great, informative video. Can I ask where did you get that zweihander? It looks like those trainers made by Regenyei Armory...

[@KingTrouser]

Did.......did I see a ghost monk of the castle disappear into the wall at 2:20?

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Yep. People kept going through the background at inopportune moments that I couldn't cut out. So there's some ghosts here and there. XD

[@Crossbow-xy4xg]

You seem very knowledgeable about landsknechts. Im planning my own Landsknecht gear, but im unsure what kind of armour should I look for. I want to portray a Landsknecht from their golden age so early XVI century. So far im leaning towards Maximilian armour but im not sure about it. Any advice?

[@EnkaMexi]

very cool! 😀

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Thank you!

[@Csatadi]

You look cool with that beard and mustache, they fit perfectly to the landsknechts. The only thing, the color of your clothing is too modern with pastel shades, brown and grey. I suppose they're chosen because of the the audience.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Yeah, and also because when I started the kit I just took what fabric was available to me. In fairness though, earlier Knechte were a bit less outlandish than they became around 1520 and further, so it's acceptable as far as I'm concerned. I am however making a jacket to go over the breastplate (with octopus sleeves) in a nice and bright colour, so that should make a bit more knechty!

[@maxhoffman3646]

Great stuff)

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Thank you!

[@billberg1264]

I’m surprised by the absence of a backplate. I was kind of expecting the lack of spaulders and tassets, since their absence can be seen in plenty of pictures. But I always assumed there were backplates I just couldn’t see because the subjects were facing forward. I’m also surprised by the presence of vambraces. I thought landsknecht eschewed those in favor of puffed and slashed sleeves.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Backplates were there often, it's just that I don't have one. Arm protection was definitely there, and you'll find it on period images. They really don't interfere all that much with my puffy sleeves.

[@TyLarson]

Nice loadout!

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Thank you!

[@TondurYT]

Absolutely fantastic video, but I'm almost certain I saw some people appear out of nowhere and disappear and now I can't concentrate 😆

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Hahaha, yeah lol. Wasn't going to do an entire other take just because some random visitors walked into view, so magic of editing it was. :P

[@Robert040867]

Mooie achtergrond, Slot Teijlingen waar de laatste Gravin van Holland haar laatste adem uitblies: Jacoba vanBeieren. Gave video!

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Het is een prachtlocatie! :)

[@axonator9026]

Where can we get pluderhosen and hosen similar to what you have? Perhaps a better question is, where did you get your hosen?

[@VirtualFechtschule]

I made them myself.

[@axonator9026]

@@VirtualFechtschule Man, I enjoy sewing, and everything I've done has been by hand. That's very impressive of you. That takes a lot of skill, well done.

[@josephsampson29]

I have a custom Dopelsoldner kit, but I'm struggling with the type of shoes they would wear. I currently use something similar to a Calvary boot from another kit. I know they historically wore duckbill shoes like yours here, but whenever I go to events or duel with them, they fill up with dirt, and I much prefer a taller shoe. My question is if they used some type of boot that's taller.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

We have unfortunately not a lot of images of people wearing high boots from that time frame, and these seem to overwhelmingly be cavalry.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

There are of course also some ankle height shoes that were popular for earlier Knechte. Specifically you could check earlier images by Dürer or van Oostsanen.

[@josephsampson29]

@@VirtualFechtschule thank you for the help!

[@Sceadusawol]

How do you find leather soled shoes for traction on grass? Does it impact your form much?

[@VirtualFechtschule]

It's way better than on a gym floor, because that's just atrocious. On grass it's okay, but it does encourage conservative footwork. All the turns on the ball of foot are way easier though.

[@ThugLife9184]

Hey, sehr informativer und interessanter content :). Hast du die Kleidung anfertigen lassen und kannst du mir jemanden empfehlen ? Ich bin schon eine Weile auf der Suche nach einem guten Schneider. LG

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Hey, I made all of this outfit myself, so just the breastplate and weaponry was made by someone else. So I have no hands on experience with a good tailor for Landsknecht outfits, unfortunately.

[@ThugLife9184]

@@VirtualFechtschule ah ok wow even more impressiv ..thanks :)

[@filipzietek5146]

Before someone asks, yes they had alot of gay sex, common in german military and well documented especially in 18th century.

[@YTPrule]

Lucky guy gets twice the pay.

[@secutorprimus]

Those arm pieces are interesting in that they don't seem to cover very much of the arm itself. Why is that?

[@MadassAlex]

They're meant to interfere with the geometry of strikes to the arm rather than offer full protection. Although the arm seems vulnerable, you can only suffer superficial cuts this way. Notably, landsknechte are private soldiers of a usually common background, so cost effectiveness is paramount. Their armour is technically a downgrade from the full harness associated with late mediaeval knights, but is a massive upgrade for the common fighter -- even if dopplesoldner represent, at best, 25‰ of a company. It's also worth noting that increased efficacy of drilling enabled more effective combined arms tactics, which combines with the defensive attributes of weapons. If you're a dopplesoldner with a greatsword in this partial armour, supported by pike ranks and gunners, you're better defended than the armour would directly suggest.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Really good reply. The only thing I have to add is cost effectiveness from the viewpoint of manufacturing as well. Usually when Maximilian needed a lot of Landsknechte quickly, he would place mass orders of half armour such as this at armourers in Nürnberg and Brussels, to allow Knechte to buy armour cheaply and in quantity. Making armour like this makes it possible for armourers to equip a lot of Knechte in a matter of weeks.

[@largemouthbass355]

Im surprised they didn’t wear leg protection?

[@kamargo0056]

1:55 put a warming or something man sheeeeeesh 😤😳

[@aleksanderuzelac3319]

MY brother, at 1:57 why you got so much cake?!

[@Heresjonnyagain]

Who is your tailor for the clothing? :-) Where is the castle?

[@knutzzl]

That's the castle of Teylingen

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Castle is indeed Teylingen, and I'm my own tailor. :D The shirt was made by Pijl medieval accessoires though.

[@Heresjonnyagain]

@@VirtualFechtschule you’re a man of many talents!

[@Improperman]

No armor on the lower body parts?

[@VirtualFechtschule]

There should perhaps be some tassets, but I'm still tweaking them. No leg plates, because marching in those is absolute hell (especially if they're not meticulously tailored)

[@conn0rized292]

@@VirtualFechtschule I sometimes forget these are infantrymen who have to march everywhere. I'd imagine lugging around 8 pound weights on each leg sounds like it would take a lot out of you before you even make contact with the enemy.

[@CMAzeriah]

Me and my rifled arquebuss....

[@aaronjacobamadorsalazar1934]

no pauldrons?

[@NoName-lo9ym]

DRIP! What was the actual qualification for being rated a Doppelsoldner? I thought it was by being a veteran and having a certain level of kit? What was that?

[@VirtualFechtschule]

It was pretty much just related to bringing the right kit. Heavy armour, a greatsword and a gun all made Knechte eligible for double pay. Veterancy didn't so much play a role, as did having some special skills. Musicians, bodyguards, medics, chaplains and officers would all recieve doppelsold or a multiplication of it.

[@brestopetr]

2:17 WITCHCRAFT!!!

[@momentomori5263]

being landsknecht is the best job (if you can have the skill of course ) literally everyone wanted mercenaries if you can keep yourself alive you can have a lot of wealth by your 30's and you can see wonders of the world the one thing is the risk of dying

[@glaums5832]

I don't get, why there i nothing to protect the legs.

[@atom8248]

Marching with armor on the legs suck. If you look at old art of battles you'll notice that foot-soldiers often wear no leg-protection at all, and often no arm protection either. Armoring the head and chest is the most important, the rest of the body is secondary to those.

[@1926PlovdivCity]

2:19 the people at the back come out of nothing a vanish in to nothing what sort ot witch craft is this ?!?!

[@Chris-ow2zt]

lets see u do that against some pikes to show the effect

[@VirtualFechtschule]

What? Putting on armour? ;P

[@Chris-ow2zt]

duhh no end of the vid when u are swinging the sword against thin air rather than solid pikes@@VirtualFechtschule

[@VirtualFechtschule]

No reason to knock solo training. But if you want some actual sparring with greatsword against pike, I do have a video for you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nGmYdYB4qbOprrMsi=qbjHGzU7FjwHcVNj

[@AmazingJMS]

why the shorts? Put some grown man pants! 😆

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Because fashion

[@prussianblue7040]

Your cod piece is far too humble sir! How do you expect to muster properly if your little soldier is not as well??