The term "swashbuckler" originates from boisterous fighters who carried a sword and buckler (a buckler being a small shield).[4] "Swashbuckler" was a putdown, used to indicate a poor swordsman who covered his lack of skill with noise, bragging, and clamour. Novels, and then Hollywood, altered the word's connotation to make swashbuckler mean a loudmouthed but good braggart, and the hero of the plotline.[1]