[Nathan Gilleland]

Were there standard shield sizes in medieval Europe? I'm thinking particularly about the Norman/Saxon kite shields and the 13-14 century Heater shields.

Any comments or ideas?

[Nathan Gilleland]

From what I've gathered, it seems that kite shields ranged from 34-50 inches long and seemed to stay around 20 inches wide at the widest point. Is this historically accurate? Are there any pictures, statues, effigies, surviving pieces that would contradict this? Please, any help or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Jean Thibodeau]

There might be typical sizes of shield according to type but no standardization in the modern sense of the word that I know of ?

Now, the makers may have had standard patterns on a local level or some shield makers " guild " guidelines to what was considered a good shield.

Some lord(s) may have had a bunch of shields made to identical specifications for his men ?

Any standards size would vary by period, culture and geographic area also I imagine.

Functional designs would impose size and weights that work best or would be considered to be best, so a buckler, shield or kite shield would tend to be of similar sizes per type, but this just means that one wouldn't make them too huge, small, heavy or light. A shield of perfect size would also depend in part on the size of the user ?

Earlier in Roman times there may well have been very strict shield patterns and specification in law or regulations that contractors would have had to respect for their shield to be accepted.

Just speculation on my part and maybe there are historical records of standardization: I'm just not familiar with any.

[Lafayette C Curtis]

[Nathan Gilleland]

Thanks for the comments, guys!

For the sake of clarification on my part, let me rephrase the question...

Is there a set formula to judge the correct size of shield for each person? (i.e. the width across your shoulders x the distance from shoulder to ankle?)

Is there any such formula? I'm looking to build a historical shield that would provide the maximum defense while not turning it into a wooden wall.

I'm looking for a norman kite shield, as that style is my favorite, though heater shield formulas are welcome as well (if any historically based formulas exist)!

[Kelly Powell]

but the romans were a millitary machine.....they would of needed to keep things as regimented and have a base standard for contractors(just like today)....but around normon times at least on the anglo saxon side, the main of the army , the fyrd, would be freemen and farmers and shields would be indiviually made...most lijkely to social standards.

[Jean Thibodeau]

There are functional reasons to make a shield a certain size and here is what I think would be an example of that:
With a round shield ( target, rondache ) that uses a handle for the hand and a strap for the forearm to go through, it would seem like a good idea for the shield rim to extend a little past the elbow to protect it from blows.

Hand on handle a few inches from the edge of the shield and the arm strap on the forearm close to the elbow.

With a smaller buckler the handle it at the centre of the shield boss and generally the buckler is 10" to 14" wide.

Larger shields that are also held in the centre like the Viking shield might also tend to be large enough to cover the elbow when held along the arm.

If this rule applies then a bigger person would need a larger sized shield.

Anyway, there are probably some other design issues that are related to how much coverage one needs that I don't know about. ( Although, I must admit that the above example is mostly just a theory and if I reads something about it before I don't remember the source of the idea ).

[Nathan Gilleland]

I found this article on a SCA site that talks about heater shield sizes. Does anyone know if this formula might be historically correct? An might it apply to a norman kite shield as well? (obviously you'd have to make it taller than the heater, but width wise?)

Quote:

"Shield shape and size is purely up to you and your Kingdom of residence. The general rule for shield size for a heater is to measure from your left shoulder to your right shoulder in width and from the bottom of the chin to top of the knee in length. This will give you roughly a 24” x 36” shield for a person close to 5’ 8” - 6’ 0”. This is also a very common shield blank size that is produced by most armories. Try to keep the shield size to something that you can manage. It is very nice to have a 30” x 38” shield to protect you at war, but just try to haul that thing around on the tourney field if you happen to be 5’ 1”."

(quoted from: http://www.duchyleuwenberg.com/sinister_swords.htm )

[Lafayette C Curtis]

[Kelly Powell]

good question! I'm sure they had some standards....at least saying WHAT a fyrdman should have, if not regs for size and quality.

[Elling Polden]

The norwegian Leidang, which was organized along similar lines as the Fyrd, called for a shield, spear and axe/sword, but did not say anything about size.

In our group we usually use 60x90 cm heaters, and slightly longer kits. This seems to be consistent with historical shield sizes in our period (13th c)
Basically, you want a shield that covers you from the shoulders to the knees; Historical viking round shields where about 1m in diameter, and thus quite a lot larger than the shields used by most reenactors.

Cultures that where more prone to skirmishing and raiding, like the arabs, scots and picts, seem to have favored smaller shields, that could be conveniently carried.

From the mid 13th century, knightly shields became smaller, as leg defences got better. Another factor might have been the adoption of straping arrangements that attatched the shield to the upper arm, combined with a guige, which would let you lift the shield over your head while leaving the left hand free to hold the reins, or a two handed weapon if on foot. (someting I've experimentde with quite sucsessfully)