Claymore Sword

The claymore is the Scottish variant of the late medieval two-handed sword, its name derived from the Scottish Gaelic claidheamh-mor, meaning great sword, and the two-handed form was in military use from roughly 1400 to 1700. The weapon's long, double-edged blade and cross-shaped hilt with characteristically forward-angled quillons let a Highland warrior deliver powerful two-handed cutting blows capable of breaking through an opponent's guard or armor. It was carried extensively by Highland clan warriors in internal clan warfare and in repeated border conflicts between Scotland and England throughout its centuries of use. The Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689, a Jacobite victory in the Scottish Highlands, marked the last major engagement in which claymores were deployed in significant numbers, after which the weapon gave way to lighter basket-hilted swords and firearms even as its name persisted in later, distinct sword designs.