[Nathan Robinson]

Today's update:


The Shield: Its Use and Development
An article compiled by Patrick Kelly


"Re-enactment Grade" La Tène Shield
Added to Nate Bell's Collection


Hjortspring Style Shield
Added to Nate Bell's Collection


White La Tène Shield
Added to Nate Bell's Collection


Fayum La Tène Shield
Added to Nate Bell's Collection


"Arch of Orange" Shield
Added to Nate Bell's Collection


CAS Iberia Targe
Added to Nate Bell's Collection


Mercenary's Tailor Kite Shield
Added to Patrick's Collection


As always, you can see our Complete History of Updates listed right from our home page.

[C.L. Miller]

Nice work! I think a shield feature is much needed and you have all done a very nice job of creating a concise history of the European shield. Obviously there are many issues and controversies (such as the question of whether the Gokstad shields were indeed typical of practical shields or were entirely ceremonial) which cannot be fit into such a brief history, but I think on the whole you have done an excellent job of covering the most pertinent points, all of the most necessary information is present. I especially appreciate the mention of the convex versus flat shield controversy regarding Viking period round shields.

In the interest of constructive criticism I would, however, call your attention to what appears to be a minor contradiction in the following passage:

"The only depiction of the shield's grip is found on the Franks Casket, and this is far from a clear illustration. There is also an illustration..."

If the only depiction of the shield's grip is found on the Frank's Casket, there can hardly be another illustration. Beyond that, there are a few other period illustrations and even sculptures (most of them Frankish) of the grip used on shields of this type. Examples can be found in the Stuttgart Psalter (circa 825 CE), the Golden Psalter of St. Gall (circa 883 CE) and the 9th Century CE ivory of guards asleep at the holy sepulchre in the Cathedral Treasury of Nancy, France, to name a few.

As an additional note for those who may be interested, while the statement "Square, rectangular, or oval shapes do not seem to have been used by the northern peoples..." is correct as far as I am aware (I do not know of any northern depictions of oval shields during this time), the Frankish "Book of Maccabees" (circa 924) does depict in a number of scenes what may be bossless(!) oval shields, although they could also be interpreted as stylized convex round shields, clearly different examples of which appear, with boss, elsewhere in the same manuscript.

For clarity's sake, I want to be clear that I only mention any of this in the interest of constructive criticism and of elaborating upon a very interesting subject, I realize that much of this is information that the authors of the article in question are no doubt already aware of and that in providing a succinct, introductory history of the European shield there will inevitable be numerous concessions for the sake of brevity. I call attention to a few of these concessions here in the forum solely for the benefit of those who may have some continuing curiosity. The comments I've made are in regards to a period of particular interest to me, and as always, additional thoughts or corrections are very welcome.

I think this update is a great addition to the site, and my compliments to both Nathan and Patrick on your shields! Patrick's kite shield I've seen in his previous posts, and it is lovely as ever. Nathan's wonderful Celtic shields I was unaware of... very nice indeed! Of these, I have a special liking for the "Arch of Orange" shield, which represents a fine recreation of a Gaulish type I've seldom seen in the modern market.

[David Etienne]

Thanks to the authors for this excellent article ! There was a real need for such informations about shields. Once again I've learned a lot.

Keep up the good work !

Cheers,

David

[Eric Myers]

I've been thinking and wondering alot about shields over the last 2 weeks, so this week's update was perfectly timed

A very good article, and the shields by Nathan Bell are quite inspiring. I have some other questions about shields, but I'll post them in the Historical Arms Talk section.

[Nathan Robinson]

[Nathan Bell]

Thanks, guys, for the compliments on my shields. In researching, constructing, and then weilding these shields, I got a new respect and understanding of ancient period combat and weapons systems, I hope some of that comes through in the article and thread discussions...

[Folkert van Wijk]

I also would like to congratulate you fooks up on the shield artikel.
Realy great!!
A good thing to finally see the famous Celtic Fayum shield...

Folkert

[Jean Thibodeau]

Nathan;

Yes those shields are seriously impressive and attractive, as well as being very educational for us.
Will have to go back and read the description again: Worth more than one read.
You have every right to feel proud of the workmanship and artistry.

Patrick;

Very interesting article and thanks for all the research and work that you put in.

[Patrick Kelly]

Thanks Jean but I can't take full credit for it. Everyone involved really contributed in a big way to this one. When I finally sat down and combined the text I couldn't believe how long it was.

There are a lot of historical items that could be approached in the same fashion. Hopefully we can use this team concept again in the future.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Well then good job text combining by you and good work by the team finding all the source material.

[Patrick Kelly]

I wrote the Intro and Conclusion as well as the section on the Anglo-Saxon/Viking shields. Putting the other sections together was a fun learning experience for me since I knew very little about most of them.

[Felix Wang]

My compliments to the authors! A very nice overview of a large subject. As you may know, shields are an interest of mine, and good basic information is not always easy to find. I might consider one addendum, though. Stephen Hand has written a couple of articles on shield usage in Spada I and II respectively. These concentrate on the medieval era and the differences between large flat shields and deeply curved ones. It seems to me that the concepts might usefully extended retrospectively to the hoplite's aspis, the legionary's scutum, and various flat shields. Mr hand has done that to some degree already.

One other resource should be mentioned: Jan Kohlmorgen's Der Mittelalterliche Reiterschild. It is in German, but with Babelfish, a dictionary and an inkling of German grammar 99% of it is comprehensible; and it has invaluable data on High medieval German shields.

[Geoff Wood]

My thanks to everyone who contributed to the shields article. I really enjoyed that one. Given me the itch to try again with some different designs (and less historical errors).
Geoff

[Nathan Bell]

Noticed that the sources for my section are lacking, oops.

One main source, probably the most important, was

Gourney II: Boucliers et Lances by Rapin and Brunaux


a few other articles and books to add to the sources when I get back home to my "library".

N

[Nathan Bell]

Other sources for my part:

Studies on the Oldest Shields in Europe, Zbigniew Bukowski
A Catalogue of Irish Iron Age Antiquities Barry Raftery

[Richard Wells]

In the feature article on this site "The Shield, its use and development" there is a photograph of four Italian 'square' or trapezoidal (hope thats spelt right!) targets.
Can you tell me where the originals are - which collection or museum. I have looked for the ref. but cannot see it

Richard

[Nathan Robinson]

[Richard Wells]

Thanks very much Nathan - Hope you are feeling better
Richard