A proper longsword, however, is much longer than a bastard sword, and must be wielded with both hands. This is the type of sword that Aragorn fought with in Return of the King. The remaining categories, warsword and greatsword, are simply bigger versions of the longsword. As the blade lengthened, so did the hilt, to allow for more leverage.
Bran practices with a traditional Scottish warsword, known as a Claidheamh da Laimh. Claidheamh da Laimh varied in size and design depending on where in Scotland they were made. Some of them were as large as a German greatsword, but most fit into the smaller warsword category.
Now, you’re probably thinking “I thought that was called a claymore.” Claymore refers to a different sword used by Scottish infantrymen about the same time. It was a short, broad, one-handed sword with a basket hilt to protect the hand. The name literally means “big sword” in Scottish Gaelig, referring to the fact that it was bigger than the blades used by the English at the time.
The Claidheamh da Laimh fell out of use by the 18th century, as muskets became increasingly common. The Scots needed to carry shields to protect them from musket-fire, and large, two-handed swords were replaced by the less cumbersome claymore. Bran is proficient in both types of sword.
In Legend of the Sword Bearer, the sword Caledbur itself is technically a bastard sword, i.e. it can be handled either with two hands or one. I chose that sword primarily because it was visually striking and would make for interesting battle scenes. In terms of historical accuracy, however, the sword of King Arthur was almost certainly an arming sword. Since this is a fantasy, I took a bit of creative license.
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1 Comment
Thomas
12/29/2020 04:36:18 pm
Very good and informative! You did your research well. There is only one minor detail I would like to mention: Because King Arthur lived in the late 5th and early 6th centuries, the arming sword as we typically think of it had not yet been invented. What Arthur used was similar to the arming sword in principal, but is in fact the ancestral form of it known typically as a “migration period” sword. These swords were original ancestors of both the medieval arming sword and the Viking sword, and shared similarities with both, though most similar to the Viking sword.
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AuthorI'm Ian Wilson; an eccentric comic artist, just telling a story.
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