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 large double-edged swords of unknown weight and composition with sharpened hilts. Besides being sharp and strong, the Claymore swords also possess unusually high durability, which suggests that they are not ordinary swords. They very rarely, if ever, break. 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 serves more mundane purposes than combat, such as chopping firewood and hunting game. Claymores often rest by sticking their swords in the ground and then sitting down to lean against the blades. When a Claymore dies, her sword is used as her gravemarker (as shown above with Elena's sword).

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 usually belongs to a deceased friend of the user.

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".

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."

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

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.
 * 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."