Claymore
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The term claymore (IPA: /ˈkleɪmɔr/ or /kleɪˈmɔr/, from Scottish Gaelic claidheamh mòr, "great sword"[1]) may refer to one of two distinct types of Scottish broadswords. Originally it referred to a two-edged broadsword with a cross hilt, of which the guards were usually turned down, used by the Highlanders of Scotland. The name was then applied to the single-edged basket-hilted sword adopted in the 16th century and still worn as the full-dress sword in the Highland regiments of the British Army.
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[edit] Two-handed (Highland) claymore
The two-handed claymore was a large sword used in the Medieval period. It was used in the constant clan warfare and border fights with the English from circa 1500 to 1700.[citation needed] The last known battle in which it is considered to have been used in a significant number was the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689. It was somewhat smaller than other two-handed swords of the era. The two-handed claymore seems to be an offshoot of Early Scottish medieval swords which had developed a distinctive style of a cross-hilt with downsloping arms that ended in spatulate swellings. The spatulate swellings were frequently made in a quatrefoil design.
The average claymore ran about 140 cm (55") in overall length, with a 33 cm (13") grip, 107 cm (42") blade, and a weight of approximately 2.5 kg (5.5 lb), the blades are most similar to the type XIIIa, using the Oakeshott typology. Fairly uniform in style, the sword was set with a wheel pommel often capped by a crescent-shaped nut and a guard with straight, down-sloping arms ending in quatrefoils and langets running down the center of the blade from the guard. Another common style of two-handed claymore (though lesser known today) was the "clamshell hilted" claymore. It had a crossguard that consisted of two downward-curving arms and two large, round, concave plates that protected the foregrip. It was so named because the round guards resembled an open clam.
[edit] Basket-hilted claymore
There seems to be evidence of both the two handed sword and the basket hilt being referred to as claymores. The research of renowned sword historian, Claude Blair, is paraphrased for this matter. The first instance in which a written usage of this word is after the beginning of the 1715 uprising, coming into much wider use during the uprising in 1745. During this time, two handed swords were not used so this mention is likely to have been referring to the basket-hilted sword. The document naming basket-hilted swords as claymores states that men were armed with rifles, pistols, dirk, targe (shield) and “a sturdy claymore by his side”[citation needed]. There is a later document (July 11th, 1747) describing the Prince’s escape through the Highlands following Culloden[2] that uses the term ‘broadsword’ and ‘claymore’ synonymously.[citation needed] This later sword was a much shorter, one-handed sword popular with Scottish troops and some English officers from the 18th century onwards, even seeing limited combat during World War II; a modern "claymore" was carried in World War II by Lt. Col. Jack Churchill DSO, MC & BAR.
The basket was designed to protect the hand in combat. The Scottish basket-hilt sword is often distinguished from others by the velvet liner inside the basket (often in red), and also sometimes by additional decorative tassels on the hilt or pommel. This latter form of "claymore" (unrelated to the first) can be seen in some forms of what is now considered highland traditional dance (which correspondingly stems from the Victorian era romanticism of the Highlands of Scotland). The basket hilted Claymore is still carried by Officers in the Royal Regiment of Scotland as part of ceremonial dress, in contrast to the rest of the Army's officers, who carry Small swords.
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This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition article "Claymore", a publication now in the public domain.
