Excavated dusagge from near Culloden site

[Jim McDougall]

This article from Man at Arms Feb.2024 shows an excavated dusagge said to have been dug up from an area near the Culloden battlefield site. It was suggested that as these swords were from the 16th century they would have been too archaic to have been used in these campaigns.

One factor with the Culloden battle and the campaigns of this period with Jacobite uprisings was that these forces were not just Highlanders, but constituents from England, France and of course the Lowlands. Also included were groups of borderers long known as 'reivers' (the term Border Reivers was not used until 1802 by Sir Walter Scott) in earlier centuries, and by 17th century as 'Moss Troopers'. While essentially not recognized as 'entities' by the time of Culloden, the clans and families descended from these border groups still existed and remained largely independent of any national loyalty.

These groups still carried on their local traditions in independent life, warfare, raiding etc. and as their forbearers, still used the hereditary weapons that had traditionally become their armory. These border regions and groups may easily been seen as part of the conduit between the evolution of the basket hilt from English regions into Scotland, as well as lowlands into Highlands or vice versa.
The dusagge, and its variations from North Europe are considered to have had considerable influence on the Scottish basket hilt, and it seems likely these remained in use in the northern English areas well past the 16th century and through the 17th.

Weapons often a century or more old during wars and conflicts are hardly uncommon, though somewhat anomalous.

This is a great example of the kinds of swords which had a place in the scope of British basket hilts in degree. The 'reivers' are even known to have had some schiavona, but here it must be noted, these are not considered as part of the development of the basket hilt, but independently evolved.