The greatsword is a type of two-handed sword that's rather large and heavy compared to it's counterparts, but delivers a more powerful swing. The greatsword doesn't seem to have significant advantages to compensate for its downsides. For one, it's heavy, designed to be wielded with two hands unless the wielder is extremely strong, which eliminates the possibility of an offhand shield. Its swing time is slow, telegraphing moves and giving the opponent time to dodge or block the swing. Meanwhile, the only apparent advantage of the greatsword seems to be that it has greater range and power than a one-handed sword.
What were the reasons for the greatswords widespread use in the middle ages?
swordencyclopedia.com gives a few examples but doesn't answer my question, though, because their example of how it was used is rather shaky given my said drawbacks.
