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A sword dance and Scottish highland dances were included at the reception for Anne of Denmark at Edinburgh in May 1590. [10] Seventeen sword dancers wore bells and newly made suites or "stands" of Highland clothes. [11] Scottish courtiers performed a sword dance for Anne of Denmark and Beaumont, the French ambassador, at Hampton Court on
Individuals were expected to provide their own equipment, including axes and pole arms. Highland troops often brought bows and two-handed swords. Heavy armour was abandoned after the Flodden campaign. Highland lords tended to continue to use lighter chainmail and ordinary highlanders dressed in the plaid. The crown took an increasing role in ...
Highland dances (Highland Fling, Sword Dance, Seann Triubhas, and Reel), National dances (which include the Scottish Lilt and Flora McDonald's Fancy), Character dances (Specifically the Sailor's Hornpipe, and Irish Jig; although The Cakewalk used to be part of this category, it is no longer commonly danced).
These swords were often of very fine construction and quality. Scottish swords continued to use the more traditional "V" cross-guards that had been on pre-Norse Gaelic swords, culminating in such pieces as the now famous "claymore" design. This was an outgrowth of numerous earlier designs, and has become a symbol of Scotland.
Lady Gongsun of the Tang dynasty, who was known for her elegant sword dancing, as depicted in Gathering Gems of Beauty (畫麗珠萃秀). Sword dances in China and Vietnam, known as jian wu or múa kiếm, began as a military training exercise with swords and spears which evolved into an elaborate acrobatic dance. [8]
Tartan trews were part of the Highland wardrobe for chieftains and gentlemen whilst on horseback (the large Highland ponies) from the early 17th century onward. Some Seann Triubhas steps seem to have originated from hard shoe dancing, and the dance was taught to be performed in regular shoes with heels by dancing masters in the 19th century.
In February 1596, the clan leader John Grant of Freuchie was able to muster 500 men, including 40 armed "according to the Highland custom" with bows, helmets, swords, and targes. [1] After the disastrous defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden, the carrying of the targe had been banned by the Disarming Act, and many were destroyed or put to other ...
The term claymore is an anglicisation of the Gaelic claidheamh-mòr "big/great sword", attested in 1772 (as Cly-more) with the gloss "great two-handed sword". [3] The sense "basket-hilted sword" is contemporaneous, attested in 1773 as "the broad-sword now used ... called the Claymore, (i.e., the great sword)", [4] although OED observes that this usage is "inexact, but very common".