Each nation associates all its great victories with a certain type of weapon, close to it in spirit and famous in battles. He is sung by the heroic epic, numerous legends and traditions. For Scotland, this weapon was a claymore - a sword that was widely used by the highlanders at one time, and later found its place in cinema.
Since ancient times, the sword was considered an indispensable element in the equipment of any warrior. It takes pride of place among other legendary weapons. In the old days, not a single battle was complete without its use. The weapon has seen many bloody battles.
History of the sword
On the territory of Scotland in the fifteenth - sixteenth centuries, fierce local battles were fought. Conflicts took place between the warring clans of the highlanders. Often there were clashes between the native inhabitants of Scotland and their oppressors from England. During these years, a claymore was invented - a sword that was massively used by the tribes of the highlanders, and since 1689, after the Battle of Kallikranki, it became a national weapon forScots.
Claymore gun dimensions
The sword got its name from chaildheamh mor, which means “great sword” in Scottish. The weapon is of considerable size.
Scottish two-handed claymore sword has a blade 1 m long. The weapon reaches a person from the floor to the chest or to the neck.
Design
When creating weapons, many nuances are taken into account, each little thing is given a kind of uniqueness, which allows the product to be original and original.
One of the obligatory elements in the design of swords is the guard. The standard guard received minor changes during the creation of the Claymore gun. The sword of the highlanders differs from its counterparts in the crossguard of the guard, directed forward at a slight angle to the blade. A peculiar form made it possible for the highlanders to capture the enemy's blades and turn them out of their hands.
There are several technical arcs along the blade at the crosshairs. In the region of the crosshairs, closer to the end of the arches, their slight narrowing is observed. The decoration of the sword is also original. A casting procedure is used to create a pattern. Skillfully executed on the guard, the image of a four-leaf clover is a traditional decoration that distinguishes the claymore (sword). The photo below shows the design features of this Scottish weapon.
Half Sword Technique
A characteristic feature for a two-handed Scottish claymore sword is its large size. At the same time atwhile maintaining the standard blade length for these swords, in the process of manufacturing some products by Scottish craftsmen, changes were made to their parameters. As a result of improvements, the swords were equipped with a new element - "ricasso" - an unsharpened area near the crosshairs of the guard.
The presence of "ricasso" made it possible for the highlanders to effectively use the halbschwent technique during battles, which means "half-sword" in Scottish. Its essence lies in the fact that the warrior could safely take the unsharpened section of the blade with his hand, direct it for an accurate strike, without fear of injury. This technique has shown its effectiveness in cases where in battle it was necessary to make piercing blows into the joints of the enemy's armor. In such situations, the legendary Scottish claymore sword was used as an ordinary spear.
Differences between Scottish claymores and European swords
In terms of its dimensions, the sword of the highlanders is somewhat inferior to its European counterparts. The claymore sword, which is also lighter than similar two-handed European swords of the time, allows the warrior to wield it much faster and more efficiently. This is due to the fact that the weapon is light, not bulky, has increased speed and maneuverability. All claymores are well balanced.
Museum claymores
- The Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow houses an old sword of the Scottish Highlanders dating back to 1410. The handle of this product is designed for a one and a half hand grip. Despite the fact that the weight of the sword is only 1.48 kg, itbelongs to the class of heavy weapons. The blade is 89.5 cm long and has a rounded point. The width of the blade closer to the crosshairs of the guard is 5.2 cm and gradually decreases further towards the tip - 3.7 cm. This shape allows us to judge that this claymore was intended more for cutting in order to break through the enemy’s defense than for delivering pinpoint piercing blows.
- A similar one-handed Claymore sword can be seen at the Philadelphia Museum. This weapon is significantly smaller than the product stored in the Kelvingruve. The total length of the one-handed sword is 89.5 cm. The weight is 0.63 kg.
- The National Scottish Museum in Edinburgh houses a Claymore sword made in the sixteenth century. This two-handed weapon has a total length of 148.6 cm. Of these, 111.8 cm is the length of the blade. Of all the two-handed weapons of this type, this is the heaviest claymore sword. The product weight is 2.6kg.
- The same museum has a one-handed version of the claymore. The blade of this sword reaches 87 cm, and the weapon weighs 0.82 kg. The plains of Scotland are characterized by claymores equipped with long and heavy blades. Similar products are classified as continental type.
- The Dublin Museum houses a Scottish Claymore sword found in Ireland. The weapon was made by German blacksmiths from Luneburg. The product contains a stamp depicting a lion standing on its hind legs. There has been speculation that this claymore was not made in Scotland. This was confirmed during the chemical and metallurgical examination of the sword. It was found that forgingweapons used ore characteristic of the German area.
- In one of the museums of Great Britain there is a one-handed claymore pulled from the Irish river Bann, which weighs half a kilogram, and the blade has a length of 72 cm. In museums in England, in addition to one-handed claymores, there are also samples of two-handed Scottish swords. They are represented by products of various weights - from one and a half to two and a half kilograms.
Where forged
Researchers involved in the history of Scottish swords and other ancient types of weapons have the opinion that German blacksmiths made a significant contribution to the process of their manufacture. Blades already processed by forging came from Germany, from which one or another Claymore sword was later created. With their own hands, Scottish craftsmen only inlaid the brought products and adapted various hilts, characteristic of the flat or mountainous areas in Scotland, to the finished blades. An example would be the claymore sword kept in the Kelvingrove. A running wolf is depicted on the hallmark of this weapon with a beautiful gold inlay. This confirms that this sword was made in Solingen or Passau.
The claymore sword has become one of the most recognizable weapons thanks to a whole series of the famous film “Highlander”. The beautiful shape of this weapon was also borrowed when creating the video game The Witcher. Although the name of the sword is not mentioned there, its attractive design has found its adherents among the developers of the game.
On the Internet, noinstructions for those who want to create a claymore sword with their own hands. For lovers of the Middle Ages and the culture of chivalry, online stores offer to purchase various models of ready-made weapons. The owner of the claymore sword is not just the owner of a souvenir sample of deadly steel. He is the owner of a part of the soul of a real warrior and knight.
