[Thomas McDonald]

L 1957-11, Claymore, c. 1590 .



Photo: Thirteenth Park Lane Arms Fair, 1996.
* This piece, L 1957-11, is also pictured in John Wallace's book, 'Scottish Swords & Dirks', and on my PictureTrail site in the album 'Claymore's at the Museum of Scotland' .

Mac

[Thomas McDonald]

Claymore, Sir John Lundin's
"The swords of the Scottish heroes who fought at the Battles of Stirling Bridge(1297) and Bannockburn(1314)
- Sir William Wallace, King Robert Bruce, Sir John de Graham, Sir Richard Lundin, and Sir James Douglas.
These were exhibited at the laying of the foundation stone of the Wallace Monument in 1861, and all of them still survive." -- Introducing William Wallace; The Life and Legacy of Scotland's Liberator, by Elspeth King

Mac

[Russ Ellis]

[Ruel A. Macaraeg]

Would anyone care to speculate as to why Scottish claymores seem always to have had grips of circular cross section -- ie., why they lack edge alignment? I've wondered about this for some time now.

[Thomas McDonald]

Hi Ruel

Interesting question .... and I don't have any definitive answer for you, but .... my 2 cents !

Alot of the handles that appear very round in section sometimes do have subtle changes along the length, whether it be thickness, faceted, or slight ovaling in areas !
Personally, I've never had a problem keeping the edge aligned when cutting with a handle that is round in section, especially when gripped with two hands !

Anyone else care to speculate? Mac

[Thomas McDonald]

Mac

[Thomas McDonald]

1. Claymore - residing at The Culloden Visitors Center, near Inverness !



2. A claymore that was sold via Wallis & Wallis auction house !

3. Claymore at Edinburgh Castle !

Mac

[Mark Moore]

Speechless..........sitting...............drooling..........Wow. Fantastic pics, Mac. I would love to get on the comission bandwagon and have a 4-quillon claymore built.......but alas, the only wagon I'm riding at the moment is the one going to the poorhouse. I reckon I'll save my pennies and see what Albion and ATrim come out with in the future. I have a gut feeling that Albion will be showing us some big Scotties in the future. Hint...hint...hint..., Howy. Bring on the claymores! Pics of members swords!!! ............mcm.

[Thomas McDonald]

1. Claymore at the Tower of London, 16th century. IX-912
Photo: European Swords & Daggers in the Tower of London, A.R. Dufty, 1974.

2. Claidheamh dà làimh at the Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow. No: E.1939.65.ht.
Photo copyright: Glasgow Museums/Kelvingrove

Mac

[Thomas McDonald]

Mac

[Thomas McDonald]

1. Wallis & Wallis auction house.

2. Kris Cutlery claymore
Photo: Adian Ko, SFI.

3. Claidheamh dà làimh, James Drummond 'Ancient Scottish Weapons', 1881.

[Jared Smith]

I don't know the actual purpose of the "langets" either. I would believe a historical account if it stated that it was purely ornamental. Some very wild guesses at possible functional purposes are offered below.

With some reproductions the full width of both gaps can open all on one side during blade against blade binding, enough to trap an opponent's edge. This would not be a tactic that I would want to perform deliberately, but if occured I would consider it preferrable to having my hands sliced. I have no idea if this characteristic is is true of any historical swords.

The antique examples I can find pictures of (on the internet) seem to have either a sharp taper or gradual taper where the "langets" end at the blade. This could be beneficial for deflecting (causing it to skip and be less likely to sweep into hands) an opponent's blade after binding and winding. Just a guess.

[Thomas McDonald]

Side-tracking a tad ....

While trying to findout some more information on the Noel Paton claymore (which I posted a pic of earlier in this thread) I came across the Hunterian Museums website and found some interesting things there ! While not exactly the info I was seeking, it did give me a good idea who Sir Joseph Noel Paton was, and some cool stuff on King Robert the Bruce !

The following is taken from their site !
(the painting by Stirling Smith was scanned from "Introducing William Wallace" by Elspeth King .) Slàinte, Mac

Sunday 23rd June 1314, Sir Henry de Bohun recognises the lone horseman marshalling the Scots as none other than the king himself, Robert the Bruce. Acting on impulse, the inexperienced young knight forces his horse into a gallop, lowers his lance and charges. The warriors collide in front of their respective forces and the combat is quickly drawn to a close, Robert the Bruce returns to his men, de Bohun doesn't. The English knight's cause of death was a devastating blow to the head which not only split his helmet and skull, but was carried out with such force, that the haft of the battle-axe used to kill him was broken in the process.


We would like to thank Perth Museum & Art Gallery, Perth & Kinross Council, for the loan of the axe

http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/Archives/robert/bannockburn.shtml


*"Introducing William Wallace" by Elspeth King

http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/Archives/rober...lics.shtml

Provenance of The Relics

On 17th February 1818, whilst constructing a new church adjacent to the old one at Dunfermline Abbey, some workmen accidentally exposed a vault in which a tomb was discovered. The vault was immediately covered up with large stones until an official investigation could be carried out. On the 5th November 1819 at 11.00 am the investigation began, and was recorded by The King's Remembrancer, Sir Henry Jardine. Dr. Gregory, His Majesty's first physician for Scotland, Dr Munro, the Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh, and other gentlemen of science including Joseph Neil Paton were in attendance. The examination of the tomb revealed that this was the final resting place of Robert the Bruce.
A fellow of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries, Joseph Neil Paton managed to acquire a metatarsal bone (from the foot), a small piece of the gold coloured shroud, a coffin handle and a nail fragment from the coffin, seen here. Like many wealthy men of that time, he was an avid antiquarian and assembled a collection of 'articles of curiosity'. His small museum was sold at auction in Edinburgh after his death, but the Bruce relics remained in the family.


Plaster cast taken from skull of Robert the Bruce, artefact cast , Materials: Plaster, Locality: Dunfermline SCOTLAND
Manufacture: MANU Robert I 1306-1329 Dunfermline Abbey Scotland

The relics were passed down to his son, Sir Joseph Noel Paton (1821-1901), who, like his father, was a man of status in Dunfermline, and Scotland. As his father had done before him, the famous painter and poet passed the relics on once more to his son, Diarmid Noel Paton (1859-1928). Diarmid Paton was an Edinburgh graduate who came to Glasgow to be Professor in Physiology from 1907; upon his death in 1928 the relics were bequeathed to the Hunterian Museum.

Skeleton of Robert the Bruce


Further Information On The Paton Family

Joseph Neil Paton's wife Catherine McDiarmid, claimed to be a direct descendent of Robert the Bruce and Malcolm Canmore (King Malcolm III of Scotland 1058-1093) who was also buried at Dunfermline abbey. As well as being an avid antiquarian, Joseph Neil Paton was a damask manufacturer in Dunfermline. At that time Dunfermline was renowned as a handloom weaving town that produced damask linen and later silks.

Joseph Noel Paton (1821-1901) studied at the Royal Academy in London, and became a painter of historical, fairy, allegorical and religious subjects. He was appointed Queen's Limner for Scotland in 1865 and produced two volumes of poetry, 'Poems by a Painter', and 'Spindrift'. He was knighted in 1866 and in 1888 became a Freeman of the Royal Burgh of Dunfermline. He also designed a stained glass window for the nave of Dunfermline Abbey. Queen Victoria commissioned, and purchased several of his paintings.


Second right metatarsal bone from foot of Robert the Bruce, artefact bone, Materials: Bone, Locality: Dunfermline SCOTLAND, Manufacture: MANU Robert I 1306-1329 Dunfermline Abbey Scotland.

At the turn of the century, Diarmid Noel Paton (1859-1928) became the first Superintendent of the Research Laboratories at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. He became Regius Professor of Physiology at Glasgow in 1907, and is considered by many to be the first Scottish Biochemist. He died on 30th of September 1928, the day he retired from his Chair. The Bruce relics passed down from his grandfather were bequeathed to the Hunterian Museum.

This information is © The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow 2005

[Thomas McDonald]

An older reproduction claymore in the collection of Eoin Cummings !

Mac

[Thomas McDonald]

Gary Stewart wrote :
"Here we have a surprisingly light Highland two handed sword (claidheamh da laimh) probably 16th century , O 55" ,B 41.5" , Blade width 1.75". Kelvingrove Museum Weapons Trip

Mac

[Steve Grisetti]

[Patrick Fitzmartin]

Greetings Russ Ellis and Mac, We go again "sidelining" this wonderful thread. It's partially your fault Russ. The Scottish "Claymore" is such an interesting sword type. Then you add an avid type of guy like Mac and here we go. Russ, you now own one of the finest models available on the market today. I know. I used to own one. Mac, you have my profound thanks for all the examples you have posted on this thread showing the great variety that exsists in this one sword "niche". It is really great to see this in this day and age of "pigeon holeing". I am going to build my own due to personal and " economic" reasons but you have given me enough examples to come up with something plausible enough. It would be great to see this in the other sword "niches" because while we have historical examples that does not mean we have "everything" that exsisted. Again Mac, I compliment you and salute your efforts because I have seen you come up with some real "whoppers" in several catagories. Sincerely, Patrick Fitzmartin

[Russ Ellis]

I'm so glad this thread went the way it has! Mac I'm thoroughly enjoying all the fantastic pictures. Is it just my imagination or do you like claymores a little?

[Joe Maccarrone]

Mac, based on his skeleton, did they estimate the size of Robert Bruce? His physical power and fighting ability were, of course, legendary...

[Thomas McDonald]