Claymore

{{about|Scottish swords known as "claymore"|the 17th century basket-hilted claymore|Scottish broadsword|other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox weapon | name = Claymore | image = File:Two-handed Highland sword.JPG | caption = 16th-century claymore in the National Museum of Scotland. | origin = {{flag|Scotland}} | type = Two-handed sword  | is_bladed = yes | is_UK = yes  | service = {{circa|1400–1700}} | used_by = Highland Scots | wars =  | designer = | design_date = | manufacturer = | unit_cost = | production_date = | number = | variants =  | weight = ≈{{convert|2.2|–|2.8|kg|lb|abbr=on}}{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} | length = ≈{{convert|120|–|140|cm|in|abbr=on}}{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} | part_length = ≈{{convert|100|–|120|cm|in|abbr=on}}{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} | width = | height = | diameter =  | blade_type = Double-edged | hilt_type = Two-handed cruciform, with pommel | sheath_type = }} [[File:Claymore and armour from Dunvegan Castle (engraving, sometime before 1890).jpg|thumb|Engraving of a claymore and armour at Dunvegan Castle (from ''Footsteps of Dr. Johnson'', 1890).]]

A '''claymore''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|l|eɪ|m|ɔər}}; from {{langx|gd|claidheamh-mòr}}, "great sword")<ref>"claymore". ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd ed., 1989. [http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50041118?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=claymore&first=1&max_to_show=10] (subscription required)</ref> is either the Scottish variant of the late medieval two-handed sword or the Scottish variant of the basket-hilted sword. The former is characterised as having a cross hilt of forward-sloping quillons with quatrefoil terminations and was in use from the 15th to 17th centuries.

The word ''claymore'' was first used in reference to basket-hilted swords during the 18th century in Scotland and parts of England.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Word Claymore |last=Blair |first=Claude |author-link=Claude Blair |publisher=John Donald Publishers |year=1981 |location=Edinburgh |pages=378 }}</ref> This description was maybe not used during the 17th century, when basket-hilted swords were the primary military swords across Europe, but these basket-hilted, broad-bladed swords remained in service with officers of Scottish regiments into the 21st century. After the Acts of Union in 1707 (when Scottish and English regiments were integrated together), the swords were seen as a mark of distinction by Scottish officers over the more slender sabres used by their English contemporaries: a symbol of physical strength and prowess, and a link to the historic Highland way of life.

==Terminology== The term ''claymore'' is an anglicisation of the Gaelic {{lang|gd|claidheamh-mòr}} "big/great sword", attested in 1772 (as ''Cly-more'') with the gloss "great two-handed sword".<ref>Thomas Pennant, '' A map of Scotland, the Hebrides, and part of England'', cited after OED. See also {{cite book |author=Alexander Robert Ulysses Lockmore |title=Annual Register Vol. 23 |location=London |year=1778}}{{Clarify|date=July 2011}}</ref> The sense "basket-hilted sword" is contemporaneous, attested in 1773 as "the broad-sword now used ... called the Claymore, (i.e., the great sword)",<ref>James Boswell, ''The journal of a tour to the Hebrides, with Samuel Johnson'', cited after OED.</ref> although OED observes that this usage is "inexact, but very common". The 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' likewise judged that the term is "wrongly" applied to the basket-hilted sword.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Claymore|volume=6|page=474}}</ref>

Countering this view, Paul Wagner and Christopher Thompson argue that the term "claymore" was applied first to the basket-hilted broadsword, and then to all Scottish swords. They provide quotations that are earlier than those given above in support of its use to refer to a basket-hilted broadsword and targe: "a strong handsome target, with a sharp pointed steel, of above half an ell in length, screw'd into the navel of it, on his left arm, a sturdy claymore by his side" (1715 pamphlet). They also note its use as a battle-cry as early as 1678.<ref>Wagner, Paul and Christopher Thompson, "The words claymore and broadsword" in Stephen Hand, ''Spada II: Anthology of Swordsmanship'' (Chivalry Bookshelf, 2005)</ref> Some authors suggest that ''claybeg'' should be used instead, from a purported Gaelic ''claidheamh beag'' "small sword".<ref>Nick Evangelista, ''The Encyclopedia of the Sword'', 1995, {{ISBN|978-0-313-27896-9}}, p. 113. The suggestion appears as early as 1835 in a letter to the editor of ''The United service magazine'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=U_UbAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA109 p. 109]: "the claybeg or Andrew Ferrara, now worn by the officers and sergeants of the Highland corps, and which has usurped the venerable name of the ancient Scottish weapon".</ref> This does not parallel Scottish Gaelic usage. According to the ''Gaelic Dictionary'' by R. A. Armstrong (1825), ''claidheamh mòr'' "big/great sword" translates to "broadsword", and ''claidheamh dà làimh'' to "two-handed sword", while ''claidheamh beag'' "small sword" is given as a translation of "Bilbo".<ref>''A Gaelic Dictionary'', [https://archive.org/details/gaelicdictionary00armsuoft/page/638 p. 120]. see also {{cite journal|last=Wagner|first=Paul|author2=Christopher Thompson|title=The words "claymore" and "broadsword"|journal=SPADA|volume=2|pages=111–117|publisher=The Chivalry Bookshelf|location=Highland Village, Texas|year=2005}}. ''Dwelly's Illustrated Gaelic to English Dictionary'' (Gairm Publications, Glasgow, 1988, p. 202); ''Culloden – The Swords and the Sorrows'' (The National Trust for Scotland, Glasgow, 1996).</ref>

==Two-handed (Highland) claymore== thumb|right|The seal of John Balliol

thumb|right|Over-sized sword, likely a bearing sword, situated next to two normal-sized claymores for scale

[[File:Graveslab of Donald MacGill'easbuig, National Museum of Scotland.jpg|thumb|A mid-sixteenth-century tomb effigy from Finlaggan]] The two-handed claymore was a large sword used in the late Medieval and early modern periods. It was used in the constant clan warfare and border fights with the English from {{Circa|1400}} to 1700.<ref>''Swords and Sabres'', Harvey J S Withers</ref> Although claymores existed as far back as the Wars of Scottish Independence, they were smaller and few had the typical quatrefoil design (as can be seen on the Great Seal of John Balliol King of Scots).<ref>Ewart Oakeshott, ''Records of the Medieval Sword'' pg.117 BOYDELL&BREWER Ltd</ref> The last known battle in which it is considered to have been used in a significant number was the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} It was somewhat longer than other two-handed swords of the era. The English did use swords similar to the Claymore during the renaissance called a greatsword.{{Citation needed|date=January 2014}} The two-handed claymore seems to be an offshoot of early Scottish medieval longswords (similar to the espee de guerre or grete war sword) which had developed a distinctive style of a cross-hilt with forward-angled arms that ended in spatulate swellings. The lobed pommels on earlier swords were inspired by the Viking style. The spatulate swellings were later frequently made in a quatrefoil design.<ref>Highland grave slab national museum of Scotland.</ref>

The average claymore ran about {{convert|140|cm|in|abbr=on}} in overall length, with a {{convert|33|cm|in|abbr=on}} grip, {{convert|107|cm|in|abbr=on}} blade, and a weight of approximately {{convert|5.5|lb|kg}}. For instance, in 1772 Thomas Pennant described a sword seen on his visit to Raasay as: "an unwieldy weapon, two inches broad ({{convert|2|in|abbr=on}}), doubly edged; the length of the blade three feet seven inches ({{convert|3|ft|7|in|abbr=on}}); of the handle, fourteen inches ({{convert|14|in|abbr=on}}); of a plain transverse guard, one foot ({{convert|1|ft|abbr=on}}); the weight six pounds and a half ({{convert|6|lb|8|oz|abbr=on}})."<ref>Wagner, Paul & Thompson, Christopher, "The words claymore and broadsword" in Hand, Stephen, ''Spada II: Anthology of Swordsmanship'' (Chivalry Bookshelf, 2005)</ref>

Fairly uniform in style, the sword was set with a wheel pommel often capped by a crescent-shaped nut and a guard with straight, forward-sloping arms ending in quatrefoils, and langets running down the centre of the blade from the guard.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} 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.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

==Popular culture references== *The song "Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum" by the Scottish band Middle of the Road mentions Scottish warriors going to battle with "claymores in their hands". *Drew McIntyre's finishing move in WWE is known as the ''Claymore Kick''. McIntyre has also entered matches with a Claymore sword named 'Angela', after his late mother.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Joseph |title=Drew McIntyre Reveals It Was Vince McMahon That Named His Sword Angela |url=https://411mania.com/wrestling/drew-mcintyre-reveals-it-was-vince-mcmahon-that-named-his-sword-angela/ |website=411Mania |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=8 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ali |first1=Hamza |title=Why Drew McIntyre Carries A Sword With Him In WWE, Explained |url=https://www.thesportster.com/wwe-why-drew-mcintyre-carries-sword-explained/ |website=The Sportster |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=14 October 2022}}</ref> *The video game ''Team Fortress 2'' features an unlockable, haunted claymore known as the "Eyelander" and a Zweihänder misleadingly named the "Claidheamh Mòr". *In the ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' episode "Day of the Dove", the character Chief Engineer Scott finds and keeps a claymore when the ship's weapons are replaced by antique weaponry. *In the video game ''For Honor'', the character Highlander wields a claymore. *The claymore is a recurring weapon in the ''Dark Souls'' video game series. *In the 2023 remake of ''Super Mario RPG'', one of the weapon-themed bosses is named Claymorton. *In the video game ''Genshin Impact'', the Claymore is one of the five weapon classes which can be used by the game’s characters. *The American Rock band ''Ween'' sings about a Claymore in their song titled "The Blarney Stone" from their 1997 album titled The Mollusk. *In the 1995 film ''Braveheart'', William Wallace carried a Claymore. At the end of the film, the Claymore was tossed onto the fields of Bannockburn and was stuck point down in the ground. Final image of the film showed the Claymore still stuck in the empty grassy field. *In the 2001 dark fantasy shōnen manga ''Claymore'', written and illustrated by Norihiro Yagi, a group of female warriors are called "Claymores" due to use of the weapon.

==See also== * Great sword * Historical fencing in Scotland * ''Zweihänder''

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==References and further reading== * Claude Blair, "Claymore" in David H. Caldwell (ed.), ''Scottish Weapons and Fortifications'' (Edinburgh 1981), 378–387 * David H. Caldwell, ''The Scottish Armoury'' (Edinburgh 1979), 24–26 * Fergus Cannan, ''Scottish Arms and Armour'' (Oxford 2009), 29–31, 79, 82 * Tobias Capwell, ''The Real Fighting Stuff: Arms and Armour at Glasgow Museums'' (Glasgow 2007), 84 * Ross Cowan, ''Halflang and Tua-Handit: Late Medieval Scottish Hand-and-a-Half and Two-Handed Swords''. Updated version of two articles originally published in ''Medieval Warfare'' 1.2 & 1.3 (2011). * Ross Cowan, 'Lairds of Battle', ''Military History Monthly'' 32 (2013), 47–48 * G. A. Hayes-McCoy, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25510642 'Sixteenth Century Swords Found in Ireland'], ''Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland'' 78 (1948), 38–54 * J. G. Mann, 'A Late Medieval Sword from Ireland', ''Antiquaries Journal'' 24 (1944), 94–99 * John Wallace, ''Scottish Swords and Dirks: An Illustrated Reference to Scottish Edged Weapons'' (London 1970), 10–17 * ''Dwelly's Illustrated Gaelic to English Dictionary'' (Gairm Publications, Glasgow, 1988, p. 202)

==External links== * Two-handed Highland swords in the collections of [http://collections.glasgowmuseums.com/starobject.html?oid=243444 Glasgow Museums], the [http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/results.php?QUICKSEARCH=1&search_term=claymore National Museum of Scotland], and the [https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=36130&partId=1 British Museum]. * Scottish two-handed swords with clam shell guards in [http://collections.glasgowmuseums.com/mwebcgi/mweb?request=record;id=207782;type=101 Kelvingrove], the [http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/results.php?QUICKSEARCH=1&search_term=clam+sword National Museum of Scotland] and [http://futuremuseum.co.uk/collections/people/lives-in-key-periods/renaissance,-reivers-the-reformation/border-reivers/two-handed-lowland-sword.aspx Dean Castle] (Kilmarnock).

Category:Early Modern European swords Category:Early modern history of Scotland Category:Edged and bladed weapons Category:Medieval European swords Category:Military history of Scotland Category:Renaissance-era swords Category:Scotland in the late Middle Ages Category:Weapons of Scotland