Where to get info on basket hilts, sgians etc?

[Damion]

Before reading about them here I'd never heard of a sgian achlais so where can I get more information about them? Also what is a good source for learning about broadswords such as types, designs.
Is there any information also about the designs used to decorate highland stuff. For instance I see the heart is a common motif, did this signify something of importance?

Thanks for your consideration.

[Geoff Withnell]

A good place to look, and to ask questions is http://www.swordforum.com/forums/forum.php. They have a Scottish forum with several sub-forums.

[Dughlas mor]

http://www.myarmoury.com/home.php is a similar site. If you register so that you can use the search function you will find lots of info, as well as great photos of original and reproduction Scottish arms. I believe that the heart, as a Jacobite symbol, represented loyalty to the deposed Stuart king.

[MacRob]

http://www.myarmoury.com/home.php is a similar site. If you register so that you can use the search function you will find lots of info, as well as great photos of original and reproduction Scottish arms. I believe that the heart, as a Jacobite symbol, represented loyalty to the deposed Stuart king.

My Armoury is a good place to go and there are quite a few posts on Scottish weaponry but it is a ecumenical site so you will have to visit regularly. Questions there are answered quickly by the forumites. They also have a list of reference books on the site which you should review as many of those volumes contain a lot of information. Withers' book on Scottish swords, generally available, is a good starting point. I have close to 1000 volumes of all sorts in my library and that has been a huge help in researching.

The use of the heart symbol in Scotland goes much further back than the Jacobite era and I believe it is representative of the heart of Robert The Bruce which Sir. James Douglas attempted to carry to the Holy Land until he was waylaid by Moors in Spain and killed.

[Dughlas mor]

According to the novelist Nigel Tranter, The Good Sir James led the doomed charge against the Moors with The Bruce`s heart encased in the head of a mace, so that King Robert could once more lead his knights into battle. It`s the kind of story that if it isn`t true, it should be.

[MacRob]

I have read Tranter's Bruce trilogy. Being a novelist he takes some liberties with recorded history to enhance the tale but it is a good story. The "historical legend" if there is such a thing, is that the heart was in a small box which Douglas hurled at the Moors before he led the charge. It was later recovered and returned to Scotland, which sounds highly improbable but, as you say, if it is not true, it should be.