I wanted to share a few photos of a claymore that I had a chance to photograph while visiting Dunvegan Castle in Scotland. I referred to the sword as "rare" in the title of this thread because apparently it is one of three known surviving Scottish claymores; all others are antique German copies. As such, it represents a relatively rare and special example of a Scottish sword.

You'll notice from the photos that the blade of the sword has a thickened ricasso. Surprisingly, it does not have a fuller of any type. Note also the ball pommel, which is not necessarily the sort of pommel seen on other period examples and in artwork. The last portion of the blade is missing, but otherwise it is a rather remarkable piece. It is thought to have belonged to William Longsword who was alive during the latter half of the 15th century and who fought in a battle around 1480.

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That style of two-hand claymore guard, & pommel, are typical 16th century .... I've not seen any dated to the 15th century ?

Do you have any clearer shots of that hilt, Craig ?

Thanks, Mac

Thomas...

There are definitely more than three Scottish claymores in existence. I am sitting here with a couple of reference books that picture nine different swords - none of them this one - dating from the early 16th century, which I think is the same time frame as the Dunvegan sword, by its appearance.

How long has that sword been there? I visited Dunvegan some time ago and did not see it. I do remember seeing a lot of two handed swords while visiting other locales in Scotland. Most of these were "parade swords" or "swords of state", or whatever Oakeshott called them. They were certainly too big to be used as weapons.

Hasn't Dunvegan Castle undergone a major renovation recently? Just wondering if the display (reference Lin Robinson's comment) is new of a piece that's been in storage.

I really appreciate you sharing the photos of this piece... it's a bit of a surprise in that it doesn't conform to my mental picture of a claymore.

Dunvegan is undergoing extensive repairs and some renovation as well. The MacLeod chief was forced to consider selling the Cuillins to pay for it but I think some group may have stepped in to help in that regard. It is unfortunate that the economic and tax structure in Scotland forces so many owners of historic structures to turn them over to the National Trust whenever a situation like that arises. Fortunately the Trust does a good job of maintaining and preserving what they find in their care.

Thoughout the course of this thread: Arms & Armor Claymore I posted up quite a few images of original Scottish two-hand claymores, along with some bits of information about them !

Long thread, but worth a read thru if you like Scottish claymores !

Mac

Peter...

I was at Dunvegan last nearly 16 years ago. I was 44 then and could remember stuff! However, I do remember going down the hallway you mention but do not recall a room or alcove with artifacts. But then I think I visited ten museums on that one trip and after awhile they all ran together.

That is an interesting sword, but the placard does seem to have some erroneous information. German, Flemish and French made sword blades were being used in Scotland from very early times. So the idea of “German copies of claymores” if that is what the author of the information really meant, is a misstatement. There was never a big sword blade manufacturing industry in Scotland, consequently there were few Scottish blades “to copy”. In addition, continental swords made it to Scotland on occasion.