[Pedro Paulo Gaião]

I came across a drawing of Ralph de Stafford's efiggy and found a very curious heater shield not much bigger than a Buckler, and fastened to the sword-belt as just as one.

There are other references for small heater Shields by this date? Could they've been the first "Bucklers?"

By the way, since we're discussing Shields, is the smaller dizer Kite Shield of Kingdom of Heaven movie a transition model between the kite shield and the heater one? I heard the movie wasn't incorrect with the historicity of it

Transition-shape shield: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1a/23/03/1a2303575ec16998d1e5fe67e13978fa.jpg

[Pedro Paulo Gaião]

Since we're talking about shields, I notice something at "End Him Rightly":



Both are using a sort of buckler-sized cavalry shields, like those used especially in tournments. What's the name of these shields, they're simply called bucklers or could they be what is called a "petit pavise", or hand pavise?

By the way, the lance rest in this shield has any usefullness at all?

[Dan Howard]

They aren't drawn to scale. Look at how short the lances are. The artist isn't trying to portray a photo-realistic scene; he is trying to teach the reader how to fight.

[Mark Millman]

Dear Sr. Gaião,

[Pedro Paulo Gaião]

Thanks for all the information,

I find this odd effigy, representing Guillaume Duchastel and dated 1444 (according to a certain Antonin Chenel). The small shield appears again:

[Anthony Clipsom]

I'm not sure that shield is contemporary with the effigy. It appears to be metal, perhaps added to place show the deceased's arms - it certainly seems to have the Du Chastel arms.

I note that the shield does not appear on modern photographs of the monument e.g.
http://www.churchmonumentsgazetteer.co.uk/Fra...u_Chastel_

[Craig Peters]

Pedro,

There are examples of smaller kite shields that were used alongside the more common flat-top kite shields in the later 12th and early 13th century. Calling them a "transition" shield may be a bit misleading, insofar that the other style of shields (both kites and flat top kites) continued to persist.

One example of this are the kite shields in the Morgan M.724 Psalter from 1155-1160 AD. Some of the shields shown here are unambiguously shorter than most of the contemporary shields. Presumably, these shields are not merely based upon the illustrator's imagination, but reflect actual shields that really existed. What's noteworthy is that this is right around the time when flat top kite shields were starting to become common, and these latter shields dominated probably until around circa 1200 AD. So this is certainly one instance where calling shorter shields "transitional" could be misleading.

http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4684/12322/

As for the Kingdom of Heaven shields, the most likely historical inspiration for the shape (if they were inspired by historical research) is from the Liber ad honorem Augusti sive de Rebus siculus, an Italian manuscript (likely southern) dating from 1194-1196 AD:

http://manuscriptminiatures.com/3966/11577/

[William P]

[Anthony Clipsom]

[Chad Arnow]

A number of brasses like Stafford's have smaller heater shields. This may have been done simply to avoid having the shield obscure so much of the decedent. Also, a number of brasses had enamel on shields. Perhaps the brass' maker couldn't or didn't want to enamel a full-size shield (that could be a lot of glass to melt). Granted, this is complete speculation on my part.

Effigies (3D quasi-statues) are totally different than 2D brass slab effigies, of course.

[Lee O'Hagan]

Talhoffer buckler halfway down page,
http://www.stgeorgearmoury.co.uk/5501.html
looks the right size,
ref is mentioned, just a fyi, if of interest,
always liked the look of one,