Anyone have any info on Templar shields as far as design goes. I'm looking for late 12th century. From what I gather from the Osprey book "Knight Templar 1120-1312" the shield is basically divided in half with a black section over a white. They also show one with white over black and a black cross in the upper part which may be belong to the head of the order. Anyone have any info to the contrary or pics of any of the shields of the military orders?

Thanks,

Nathan

I would be quite surprised if someone feels that we can definitively state that this or that order corated their shields at such an early date. I say this as the 12th c. corresponds to my period of interest and pictoral historical examples of shields are rare. The Bayeaux has some as well as an illumination (can't remember the name) showing the martyrdom of St. Thomas Beckett. There are some effegies showing patterns but no colors.

Jeremy

Other illustrations can be found in the work of Peter of Eboli, in the Liber ad Honorem Augusti, from the end of the 12th century. Varous stripe and chevrons seem to be distributed randomly, but at least the boar symbol seems to be a sort of proto-heraldry; it shows up on shields, helmets of the same men, and a horse's barding. (a man named Dipold v. Schweinpunt)

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