"After the accession of Maximilian I. [Emperor, A. D.
1493-1519], the troops so celebrated in history under the name
of 'Landsquenets' began to be known in Europe. They were
native Germans, and soon rose to a high degree of military
estimation. That Emperor, who had studied the art of war, and
who conducted it on principles of Tactics, armed them with
long lances; divided them into regiments, composed of ensigns
and squads; compelled them to submit to a rigorous discipline,
and retained them under their standards after the conclusion
of the wars in which he was engaged. … Pikes were
substituted in the place of their long lances, under Charles
V."
_Sir N. W. Wraxall,
History of France, 1574-1610,
volume 2, page 183._