Hello all, i have some questions about 15th cent. shields. i had heard that after plate came sufficiently around, men-at-arms and the like abandoned shields as unnecessary. i was wondering whether they still used shields in the age of plate. and what kinds? were they only used by the people who only had a few pieces mixed with mail (men-at-arms) or did knights have them too, or did everyone go over to longswords? all help greatly appreciated!

Shields of many types were used extensively even in the late 15th c., by lightly armoured men as well as men in full plate harness. Targets and bucklers continued in common use into the 17th c., and the wooden target persisted into the mid 18th c. in Scotland.

Isn't there already a thread about this subject?

(OK, after some poking around, it turns out that there is: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=8346& )