Claymore

Claymore, from the Scottish Gaelic claidheamh-mor, or great sword, names two distinct Scottish weapons from different periods. The earlier and more historically significant is the Scottish variant of the late medieval two-handed sword, with a cross hilt whose forward sloping quillons end in quatrefoil shapes, an overall length of about 120 to 140 centimeters, a blade of 100 to 120 centimeters and a weight of roughly 2.2 to 2.8 kilograms; Highland Scots used it from about 1400 to 1700, including in clan warfare and border conflicts with England, with its last major battle use at Killiecrankie in 1689. After the 1707 Acts of Union, the name claymore was applied instead to the Scottish basket hilted sword, which Scottish military officers adopted as a mark distinguishing them from English soldiers and which endures as an emblem of Highland military tradition.