Andrew Ferrara or Andrea Ferrara was a type of sword-blade that was highly esteemed in Scotland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

notes that the name of Andrea de Ferrara was inscribed "on all the Scottish broadswords that are accounted of peculiar excellence". Andrea Ferrara was born in Fonzaso in Italy (which is located in the province of Belluno-Dolomiti) and was an active and esteemed producer before and after his staying in Scotland (the ruins of his workshop are still in Belluno in the place called Busighel, near the river Ardo). This confirms the general belief reported by Scott that Ferrara was a Spanish or Italian artificer who was brought to Scotland in the early sixteenth century by

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

to instruct the Scots in the manufacture of the high-quality steel blades current in Renaissance Europe. According to some sources the name of the manufacturer was Andrea dei Ferrari of

Belluno Belluno (; lld, Belum; vec, Belùn) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region ...

, according to others, Andrew Ferrars or Ferrier of

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

. The term came to be used generically as a term for the

Scottish basket-hilted broadsword The basket-hilted sword is a sword type of the early modern era characterised by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages. In mod ...

. If the sword was of high quality it was referred to as a "true Andrew Ferrara". Grose says "the common name of the glaymore, or Highland broad sword".''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'', Francis Grose His method of manufacture remains much a mystery, but it is suspected that they were made by interlamination, a process of welding the blade in alternate layers of iron and steel. The blades were special in their extreme flexibility. It is said that Ferrara himself always carried one wrapped up in his bonnet. The blades rarely broke, even under immense force and when used to deal horizontal blows.

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