Claymore

Date: Late 15th Century

Culture: Scottish

Classification:Swords

Credit Line:Bequest of Alan Rutherfurd Stuyvesant, 1954

Accession Number: 54.46.10

This is a particularly interesting Scottish two-handed sword. It is immediately noticeable that it has been kept in an exceptional state of preservation, with very little patination present. A second, noteworthy element is its very unusual pommel, which most closely corresponds with the scent stopper family of pommels outlined in Ewart Oakeshott's typology. From the pictures, it looks as though the pommel is affixed to the sword via a nail, although it is difficult to be certain. The third element of note is the engraving along the ricasso of the blade. Judging from its appearance, the blade seems to be of the Type XIX, with the two characteristic narrow grooves that outline the shape of the ricasso. In terms of blade profile and taper, however, the blade seems to be similar to the Type XIIIa war sword blades, although lacking the fuller usually present of swords of this type. Along the strong of the blade are several engraved diamond shaped pips, and what appear to be the letters “I”, “H” and “S”, followed by a ornamented cross pattée. Just below this there is an inlayed maker's mark, which appears to be made of bronze, or perhaps gold.

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Photos and classification information from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Anyone make a replica?.....Cause if they dont, they should. I've seen this sword before, but not in such great detail. Good pics.

Thanks for the pics, Craig, they're excellent. Unfortunately you would have to examine the sword closely, out of its case, to see how the pommel is fixed - it looks odd. Maybe the grip is a replacement which is slightly too big for the tang, or the tang was shortened when the grip and pommel were replaced. By the way, for anyone not familiar with blade inscriptions, the letters IHS are the initials of Iesus Hominum Salvator (Jesus Saviour of Mankind) - a common religious invocation in the Middle Ages. I would be very interested in any other pics of the Met's two-handed swords. Thanks.
Neil

It seems a fairly solid Type XIX to me. The blade is clearly hexagonal in cross-section, one of the defining elements of Type XIX, as opposed to the lenticular XIII.

It looks to me as if there are several inches missing from the grip. I would not be surprised if the entire piece is a composite and the blade is not original to the hilt. While the individual components are all quite nice, the whole looks like a mess to me. The "late 15th century" classification seems early.