Scottish Weapons
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Glasgow Museums has a collection of over 200 Scottish weapons which date from between 2500 BC and the 19th century. This collection contains a hoard of Bronze-age weapons (between about 2500 BC and 1400) as well as two longswords and an arming sword from the medieval period. The longswords, one of which is in extremely good condition, have hilts (handles) which are of a uniquely Scottish style. They are the best examples of a very rare group of swords which include seven two-handed Highland swords that date from the 16th and 17th centuries – both the larger 'Lowland' type with clamshell guards and the Highland 'claidheamh dà làimh' which developed from the medieval longsword. There is also a rare 16th-century ballock dagger, complete with scabbard (sheath). Later swords and shields, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, include around 40 basket-hilted swords, 30 dirks and 10 Highland targes. Early firearms include an artillery piece, called a falconet, which dates from around 1520, a pair of Dundee-made pistols dating from 1624 and two extremely rare long guns of the 17th century. The distinctive all-metal Scottish pistol is represented by more than 30 examples with varying shapes of butt, including fishtail, lemon, heart, lobe, and scroll. Scottish weapons are instantly recognizable as different from their counterparts elsewhere in the British Isles and on the continent and this collection boasts fine examples of both the Glasgow and Stirling hilt styles.
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