[Squirrelloid]

Jarkko, I have a reproduction of a 16th century german dueling manual that describes the use of a 2-handed sword, probably a bastard sword, in a duel. I reject your notion that 2-handed weapons weren't used for duels.

The rodeleros were used when pikemen were already tied up with other pikemen, and thus unable to employ their pikes (eg, Battle of Ravenna 1512). They also seem to have been acceptable weapons against the Aztecs - of course, just about anything would have been. When facing an unengaged pike block they lost horribly, such as the Battle of Seminara (1495). All told, rodeleros lasted all of maybe 40 years, mostly against the Aztecs, before their use was discontinued. They seem to have decided one battle that involved pikes. Hardly the nemesis of pike formations.