Claymore (sword)

The Claymore (sword) is the iconic weapon of Claymores. Origin: Scottish Gaelic (claidheamh mór) for "Great Sword."

Soldiers of the Organization are named after this sword by the public (anime Scene 1). Each sword has its owner's personal symbol on the base of the blade's forte.

Characteristics
Claymore swords are very large, but of unknown weight and composition. No Claymore sword has ever been depicted broken or otherwise damaged, and it is implied by Miria that they are indestructible.

Usage
It is rare to see a Claymore without her sword, which often serves more mundane purposes than fighting (hunting game-animals and wood-cutting). Claymores sometime rest by leaning against their swords stuck into the ground. When a Claymore dies, her sword is used as gravemark (as shown with Elena's sword above).

Although Claymores usually carry only one sword, some (Undine and Deneve) carry two swords (see Double Sword Attack in Special Attacks in Claymore). The second sword most likely belongs to a dead friend.

Origin
How these swords are made is yet unclear. Miria says that despite her wide travels, she's found no mineral on the Claymore island world "even close" to her sword (VIZ translation says "I haven't found a metal anywhere near as hard as this.").

She hypothesizes the swords are from "an even greater land outside of this one" (Scene 79).

Miria hypothesizes that the swords are excessively strong for killing Normal Yoma, and suggests that they may be originally intended for killing "Awakened Beings or something even greater." (Scene 79, VIZ translation)

"...something even greater" possibly means the "Draconic Tribe," allies of the Dragon's Kins, enemies of the people who control the Organization (Scene 80). Miria says the Dragons have "extremely tough skin" (Scene 79).

Behind the Scenes

 * In the anime the color of the Claymore's symbol vary on the lighting conditions, varying from shades of red, blue and gray. In the anime opening credits, Ophelia's symbol (Claymore No. 4) appears red.
 * In anime Scene 18, during the remeeting of the Paburo Awakened Being Hunting Party, the symbols on the swords of Miria (No. 6), Deneve (No. 15), Helen (No. 22), Clare (No. 47), all appear red, despite differences in rank.
 * In the anime, the color of the sword's hilt gives some information about the Claymore owning it: single-digits have swords with blue hilts, defensive type Claymores have green hilts and offensive type Claymores have red hilts.
 * According to "The Gaelic Etymology of the Languages of Western Europe" by Charles Mackay, "claidheamh" can be pronounced "claire," the Scottish Gaelic word for sword, and more specifically a claymore (claidheamh mór). Possibly a homophone on "Clare," derived from "Claire," a French feminine name for "clear."
 * The original sword used by the Scottish Highlanders from the 15th to 17th Centuries was called "claidheamh dà làimh" (pronounced clare-da-lay).
 * These claymores were assembled from blades made in Germany. Swords using these blades were known elsewhere in Europe as "German big swords."
 * "Claymore" was originally an 18th Century term for a lighter, basket-hilted sword. "Claymore" later went generic and became a general term for any big Scottish sword.
 * Claidheamh" is also a homophone for the Japanese pronunciation of "Kurea," the original Yagi name for "Clare."