Perhaps one of the most famous swords of all time was the Scottish Claymore, a sword forever now ever associated with the indomitable and incorrigible spirit of the Highland warriors.

It was in the style of a hand-and-a-half  sword and first appeared at the end of the 15th Century and lasted until the 17 Century.  It is thought to be most definitely a development of the Scots-Irish single hand style of sword as all origins seam to stem from there.  Most people often confuse a Claymore with the basket hilted broadsword as seen below, but the images depicted on this page are actually of the real true blue Claymore.

The Claymore was a bit shorter and lighter than the contemporary European version, that was also crafted for two handed use.  The Claymore had an overall length of just over 4½ feet with a 13 inch long handle and an impressive and intimidating 3½  foot long double edged blade, the weight was a massive 5.5 lbs.

The  Claymore  was a very versatile weapon  and could deliver  great  sweeping slashes or powerful thrusts that would be almost instantly fatal to the recipient.  With this thing coming down at you, your standard size sword would not be able
to stop the momentum and the Claymore would either break your sword or smack it aside as it continued on and into your flesh.  This is what sword fighting was all about, the bigger and stronger you were, the more chance you had of a successful outcome.

Claymore swordsmen were usually the biggest men in the squad, huge muscle barons with the power to repeatedly and constantly wield a sword in fast and ferocious life threatening combat, that most people would have difficulty in making one decent swing with.  Remember, these swords were designed for one thing, and one thing only and that was to kill and to do it as decisively as possible with the least effort.

Aesthetically speaking, the Claymore had a nice symmetrical appearance with a wheel shaped pommel often capped by a crescent shaped nut with a unique hand guard that had slanting quillions that ended ornately with distinctive quatrefoil's.

The hand guard alone often sets this sword apart from other contemporary swords of this size, as  it also had long languets running down the center of the blade from the edge of the hilt.

The simple but exquisitely clean lines of this sword has maintained is popularity even 600 years later as replicas of this sword are sought after by collectors more than ever.  In the several past centuries, every able bodied man in Scotland carried arms 24 hours a day, they were never without a trusty sword and the Claymore was no exception, big and cumbersome as it was.

In fact a poem by John Hulme can attest to this when he wrote just after the Battle of Falkirk in 1746 " Thy Highlanders always appeared like warriors; as if their weapons had been limbs and members of their bodies they were never seen without them; they travelled, they attended fairs and markets, nay they went to church with their broadswords and dirks "

Below is probably the best Youtube video I could find to show the Claymore in a better perspective...on TV !