khunkhuz:

Proper names and sizes of medieval swords, edited by me.

Arming sword, or knightly sword, or one-handed sword: speaks for itself, it only fits for one hand, and is not not designed or practical in anyway to use with two hands, so don’t. The pommel is just there to be a counter-weight for easier use of the tip of the blade.

Bastard sword, or hand-and-a-half sword: quite a lot of misconceptions about this sword. While there is no definitive right or wrong answer when it comes to what to call these types of swords, bastard sword is the most fitting. It can be used with one hand, but if need be it can be grabbed by the pommel for extra power (note I said the pommel, the grip is curving in like that at the bottom to encourage you to grab the pommel, as the grip is still too small for two hands).

Longsword: the classic “knight” sword alongside the arming sword. Used only with two-hands (no chance of using a second weapon or shield with this one). It’s incredibly versatile and effective in the right hands.

Greatsword, or zweihänder: the biggest type of sword used in war history. Made especially famous by the german landsknecht of the 16th century, despite their more avid usage of halberds, muskets, crossbows, and pikes. Not much is known on how these swords were used, but people theorize they were used to disrupt and even rout enemy pike formations (the swordsman would twirl the sword around in an 8-shape, gathering momentum until it swinged so fast that it pushed away or cut the pikes in two), and also probably used in duels.

Finally, note the prongs on the bottom of this greatsword

Those prongs weren’t there to just “look cool”, the steel below the prongs is blunt and was grabbed by the wielder in case fighting turned into close-quarters (like when they’ve gotten themselves into a pike formation), using the sword kind of like a short spear.