Balaur Arms – Irish Gallowglass Greatsword

Please Note: The blemished ones in stock are being sold at discount due to patches of light surface pitting on the blade surface that can vary from spotted patches to large, concentrated patches on one or both sides of the blade. Any blemishing may or may not be limited to this as this is a general overview. This blemishing is cosmetic in nature and does not affect performance and may be a good choice for those who intend to use their sword for regular cutting use, as cutting practice will be introducing scratches and scuffs to the blade anyway from standard cutting use.

The Gallowglass were the most sought after warriors of the Irish clans who characteristically fought dismounted in long coats of mail and with large and powerful greatswords and long-hafted biting axes. They were depended upon to form a hard and unshakable core to a 13th-16th century Clan army and could be counted upon to tenaciously hold a line or lead a vicious charge. The Gallowglass hailed from far northwest clans of Irish who had intermarried extensively with Scottish and Norse settlers and were thus called the Gall Gaeil (the foreign Gaels, the “Gallowglass”). It is from their Norse and Scot backgrounds that the Gallowglass clans inherited their style of fighting and mastery of heavy armaments and some cunning Irish chiefs perceived their martial potential and gave them land to settle upon in return for promises of military service. Not only an asset to the Gaelic Chiefs army, these warriors could be relied upon by an Irish chieftain for personal loyalty and he would often make his bodyguard, retinue or warband from these “foreign Gaels” who could be depended upon to not be involved in the complex familial plots and internecine intrigues of the Clan and its succession. Many Gallowglass would also offer their services (often seasonally) as mercenaries who would serve Irish chiefs who could afford their worthy price.

The Balaur Arms Gallowglass Greatsword bears the large and wide cleaving blade typical of their type and it is forged from GB 60Si2MnA High Carbon Manganese Spring Steel (a steel with properties similar to 5160) which has been tempered to an 54-55 HRc hardness. The wide lenticular blade is optimized for brutally slicing into and through a target with both power and velocity for fierce blows, especially when in the hands of a strong or imposingly large warrior. Despite its substantial size, the sword is surprisingly quick and easy to wield thanks to its notable distal taper and long grip affording the user great leverage to deliver powerful sweeping blows. The wide, spatulate tipped blade is very similar to styles seen in the Scottish two-handed Claymore and like the Claymore, the blades for the Gallowglass greatswords were imported from abroad by wealthy clan chiefs and nobles in places like Solingen and then hilted in the local Irish style by local cutlers and used to outfit personal retinues or warbands.

The stainless steel hilt is in the characteristic and unique Gaelic style with spatulate ends of the crossguard forming a rudimentary S-curve crossguard. These spatulate ends are a stylized derivative of some Irish swords which were worked into the shape of cupped hands. The pommel is in the open ring style pommel unique to the Irish and unlike most examples on the market has a central outer groove. The blade is stoutly anchored onto the pommel with a separate pommel cap and the sword was finished with a grip of two halves of wood which were tightly bound in leather.

The sword has its own well-crafted scabbard of wood which is wrapped in tightly stitched brown leather and capped with a steel chape. An etched Celtic Cross on the mouth of the scabbard gives it a finishing flourish of Irish character.