This might seem a silly question but, what is a shoulder shield? I read something on a site that mentioned it but can’t find anything on it or the site again, other than one done up for a SCA or LARP battle. I was trying to find a historical example. The closest I could find are a gladiator pauldron and the sode for a samurai. Neither of these seems close to what I was thinking. I was thinking of something closer to a long rectangle shield mounted on the upper arm, that would cover a spear arm. I was looking up spearmen because I was thinking of going with a spear for the SCA.

The only form of shoulder mounted shield I am familiar with comes from the jousting community. There is the large steel grand guard used in heavy jousting and the wooden encranche used in light jousting. Neither of these has any practical use in ground combat though. One of of the important aspects of a shield is you can move it around for better coverage and deflection angle.

I believe spearmen in a few periods of medieval and early renaissance history used shoulder mounted targes with pikes and spears, but as to the specifics I leave it to the more knowledgeable members of the forum

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Guige straps can be used to suspend a shield from your shoulder.

Shields used by knights on horseback are hanging on the guige, in order to leave the left hand free for the reins. Thus, a dismounted knight becomes a twohanded spearman with a shoulder shield.

Apparantly, it was also common to fight on foot with the shoulder strap in place when using a one handed weapon, often with the guige configured so that the shield hangs in the guard position. Thus, there is nothing preventing you from letting go of the shield, and using both hands.

You can also do this with round shields, kites and pavises.


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And yes, it is a very good idea. I use shields like this when I'm using a spear or polearm (In w.europan reenactment fighting). But if SCA rules does not allow it that is kind of moot.

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Polearm tanks to the fore. [ Download ]

Just a quick hijack, then I'll go...

You say round shields can be used like this? Are you perhaps aware of any Middle Eastern examples of a similar concept?

In particular Mamluk, but even I suppose Turk or Circassian/Georgian...?

Thanks for your time. Carry on... :D

I don't think the OP is confusing ailettes for a shield. Here's an image I saved of what I think he means since I was curious about it as well. In this photo it looks like it may be a type of shield for jousting, but I'm just guessing. I also recall pictures of knightly combat with shields strapped to their shoulders while using a two handed sword but without the notch in the top corner of the shield. If this has a specific name I'd like to know what to call it.

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If i'm correct, the pictures you are reffering to are those in the second part of Codex Wallerstein (15th century).
Here you see several pictures of armoured knights in foot combat using what apears to be jousting shield, either strapped to the shoulder or on the lower arm.
Several pictures do suggest its effective use in defending against spear thrusts.

a few examples i could find on short notice:

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Those shields are also featured prominently in the Gladiatoria group of manuscripts, as well as numerous depictions of St. George. That type of shield is usually called an ecranche, although I may have the spelling wrong and I'm not sure of the proper pluralization. They are used for jousting, but also shown for foot combat, often hanging from the shoulder. Most of the judicial combat manuscripts show them, but they appear to have been frequently dropped or discarded fairly early in the combats.

anyone knows about sources for this shoulder-shield foot combat with a two hander / polearm in the 13th Century ?

I am not quite sure if this fits in this thread but I saw an effigy of a mid 14th century knight, having something shield-like laced to his spaulder/rerebrace. They're surprisingly smal and the shape irritates me and I wonder if it is rather plate than a shield. But it seems rather misshapen to me for a piece of plate, far to long and by 1350 Ailettes definitely are out of discussion. Has Someone ever seen anything like it before and knows its purpose.
http://effigiesandbrasses.com/static/monument..._r1284.jpg

A similar type of shield to some of those shown affixed to full harness was used in the German tradition of jousting with sharpened lance. I can't remember the exact spelling of the period name for the style but it was something like schnerifin in 12th century era. http://thejoustinglife.blogspot.ca/2012_08_01_archive.html

The other problem is that we have no detailed sources for 13th-century fighting styles to begin with. Much less for a combination that we simply don't see depicted in art (since spear or polearm-men in this period's artwork either carried no shields or the conventional heater/truncated kite shield).