Broadsword

Broadswords, Basket-Hilted Scottish Broadswords, and Medieval Broad Blades

Explore broadswords inspired by the wide-bladed European cutting swords carried by Scottish Highlanders, English cavalry, medieval foot soldiers, and Renaissance officers. This collection includes Scottish basket-hilted broadswords, medieval broadswords, Schiavona-style Italian broadswords, English mortuary swords, and decorative wall pieces designed for collectors, Scottish heritage enthusiasts, reenactors, HEMA practitioners, cosplayers, and anyone drawn to the brute power and ornate hilts of Europe's classic cutting swords.

The broadsword is the cutting-focused European sword defined by a broad, straight, double-edged blade and — in its most famous form — an elaborate protective basket hilt. The term gets used loosely in modern English, but its proper historical meaning refers to the wide-bladed cut-and-thrust swords of the Renaissance and early modern period, especially the iconic Scottish basket-hilted broadsword carried by Highland warriors at battles like Killiecrankie, Sheriffmuir, and Culloden. These weren't medieval fantasy swords — they were the working sidearm of real soldiers, mercenaries, and clansmen across two centuries of European warfare.

Our broadsword collection includes designs with wide double-edged blades, ornate steel basket hilts with woven bar work, leather-wrapped grips with traditional wire winding, distinctive wheel and pommel-cap finials, and authentic-style leather scabbards with brass fittings. Blades are forged from high-carbon 1060 or 1095 steel for cutting and reenactment use, spring steel like 5160 or 9260 for serious HEMA practice, and stainless steel for decorative display pieces. Many include Scottish-style basket hilts modeled on surviving museum examples and are suitable for Highland reenactment, Scottish heritage celebrations, and serious collector displays.

Types of Broadswords

The broadsword family includes several distinct regional and chronological designs. The Scottish basket-hilted broadsword is the most iconic — the Highland clansman's sword, with its dense steel basket protecting the hand, double-edged blade roughly 30–32 inches long, and ribbed wood handle wrapped in leather and wire. Carried by Highlanders through the Jacobite risings of 1689, 1715, and 1745, the Scottish broadsword became inseparable from Highland military identity and remains the dress sword of Scottish regiments today. The closely related claybeg ("small sword" in Gaelic) is essentially the Scottish basket-hilted broadsword, distinguished from the larger two-handed claymore of earlier centuries.

The Schiavona is the Italian basket-hilted broadsword, developed in 16th-century Venice and carried by the Slavic mercenary guards (Schiavoni) of the Doge — distinguished by its complex cat's-head pommel and intricate basket work. The English mortuary sword (or "mortuary hilt") is the mid-17th century English basket-hilted broadsword associated with the English Civil War, sometimes featuring engraved portraits of the executed King Charles I in the basket — giving the type its name. The walloon sword is the closely related continental European basket-hilted broadsword used by Dutch, German, and French cavalry through the same period.

Earlier medieval broad blades include the arming sword (the knight's one-handed cruciform sword from roughly 1000–1350 AD, sometimes loosely called a "broadsword" in modern usage) and the side sword (the Renaissance transitional blade that bridged arming swords and rapiers). Modern fantasy and theatrical broadswords draw on these various traditions, often featuring exaggerated proportions and ornate hilts popular for cosplay and themed display.

The Scottish Broadsword in Highland History

No sword is more bound to a single culture than the Scottish basket-hilted broadsword is to the Highlands. From the late 16th century through the 1746 Battle of Culloden, the broadsword was the primary close-combat weapon of Highland warriors — drawn after the initial musket volley and used in the devastating Highland charge that broke government lines at Killiecrankie (1689), Prestonpans (1745), and Falkirk (1746). The sword's heavy basket hilt protected the hand during the brutal mêlée of the charge, and the broad blade delivered cuts that could disable an opponent in a single stroke. After Culloden ended Jacobite resistance and the British government banned Highland weapons under the Act of Proscription, the broadsword survived as the ceremonial sword of Highland regiments raised for British military service — including the Black Watch, the Cameron Highlanders, and the Gordon Highlanders. Today, the Scottish broadsword remains the dress sword of Highland regiments and is carried in pipe band drum-major traditions, Highland dance competitions, and Burns Night ceremonies around the world.

Battle-Ready vs. Decorative Broadswords

Battle-ready broadswords feature full-tang construction, high-carbon or spring steel blades, and proper heat treatment suitable for cutting practice, HEMA study, and serious reenactment use. Decorative broadswords are typically made from stainless steel with partial tangs and are designed for wall display, costume use, Highland dress, cosplay, and themed home decor. Ornate basket-hilted display broadswords are particularly popular as wall pieces given the visual impact of the steel basket and the cultural prestige of Scottish heritage imagery. Blunt-edged training broadswords are also available for safer contact sparring and stage combat use.

Broadsword Uses and Display

These broadswords are popular for Scottish heritage and Highland reenactment, Jacobite-era and 17th–18th century living history, HEMA practice and study of the basket-hilted broadsword tradition (including historical sources like Donald McBane's Expert Sword-Man's Companion), Highland games and Scottish cultural events, Burns Night ceremonies and traditional Scottish dress, pipe band drum-major regalia, Renaissance and English Civil War reenactment, museum-style home displays honoring Scottish and European military heritage, themed offices and dens, cosplay for productions set in Highland Scotland, theatrical use in Scottish-themed plays and films, ceremonial gifts for those of Scottish descent or Highland heritage, and collector pieces honoring one of Europe's most culturally significant sword traditions.

Browse the collection to find Scottish basket-hilted broadswords, English mortuary swords, Schiavona broadswords, and decorative display pieces that fit your collection, Highland dress, or themed display.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a broadsword? Properly defined, a broadsword is a wide-bladed, double-edged European cut-and-thrust sword, most famously the basket-hilted broadswords of Scotland, Italy, and England from roughly 1600 through 1850. The term is sometimes used loosely in modern fantasy and gaming to describe any wide-bladed medieval sword, but historically it specifically refers to the basket-hilted cutting swords of the Renaissance and early modern era — including the Scottish Highland broadsword, the Italian Schiavona, and the English mortuary sword.

What's the difference between a broadsword and a claymore? A claymore (from Gaelic claidheamh-mòr, "great sword") originally referred to the large two-handed Scottish sword of the 15th–17th centuries — with a long blade, distinctive forward-sloping quillons, and a two-handed grip. The broadsword (or claybeg, "small sword") is the later one-handed Scottish basket-hilted sword that replaced it from roughly 1600 onward. Confusingly, the term "claymore" is sometimes incorrectly applied to the basket-hilted broadsword today, but in proper historical usage they are two different weapons from different periods.

Why is it called a "mortuary" sword? The English mortuary sword takes its name from the engraved portrait often found inside its basket hilt — the face of King Charles I, who was executed by the Parliamentary forces in 1649. Royalist supporters carried mortuary-hilted broadswords as mourning tributes to the executed king, and the hilt design became iconic of the late English Civil War and Restoration periods. The mortuary sword was carried by both Royalist and Parliamentary forces despite its origins, and surviving examples often show the Charles I portrait worn nearly smooth from generations of use.

Did Highlanders really fight with broadswords? Yes — historical accounts, surviving battlefield artifacts, and detailed Jacobite military records confirm that Highland warriors used basket-hilted broadswords extensively in real combat through the Jacobite risings of 1689, 1715, and 1745. The Highland charge — running forward under fire, firing a musket volley, dropping the musket, and closing with broadsword and targe (shield) — was a documented and devastatingly effective tactic that broke government lines at Killiecrankie, Prestonpans, and Falkirk. Surviving broadswords from Culloden (1746) bear genuine combat damage, and museum collections in Edinburgh, Inverness, and Stirling preserve hundreds of authenticated Highland broadswords from this period.

What is a basket hilt? A basket hilt is the elaborate steel cage-like hand guard found on broadswords and some sabers from roughly 1550 to 1800. Formed by curved steel bars woven into a protective basket around the entire hand, the design offered far better protection than earlier cruciform crossguards — important during the close-quarters mêlée combat that defined Renaissance and early modern warfare. Basket hilts reached their most elaborate form on Scottish broadswords, with hundreds of subtly different basket patterns produced by Scottish swordsmiths in cities like Stirling and Glasgow.