E. I. Club.
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Replies to Minor Queries.
_The Claymore_ (Vol. viii., p. 365.).--I believe there is no doubt that the
true Scottish claymore is the heavy two-handed sword, examples of which are
preserved at Dumbarton Castle, and at {521} Hawthornden, and respectively
attributed to William Wallace, and to Robert the Bruce. The latter is a
very remarkable specimen, the grip being formed either of the tusk of a
walrus or of a small elephant, considerably curved; and the guard is
constructed of two iron bars, terminated by trefoils, and intersecting each
other at right angles. The blade is very ponderous, and shorter than usual
in weapons of this description.
The claymore of modern times is a broadsword, double or single-edged, and
provided with a basket hilt of form peculiar to Scotland, though the idea
was probably derived from Spain. Swords with basket hilts were commonly
used by the English cavalry in the reigns of Charles I. and II., but they
are always of a different type from the Scotch, though affording as
complete a protection to the hand. I possess some half-dozen examples, some
from Gloucestershire, which are of the times of the civil wars. There are
many swords said to have been the property of Oliver Cromwell; one is in
the United Service Museum: all that I have seen are of this form.