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The Roman panoply consists firstly of a shield (scutum), the convex surface of which measures 2.5 ft (76 cm) in width and 4 ft (120 cm) in length, the thickness at the rim being a palm's breadth. It is made of two planks glued together, the outer surface being then covered first with canvas and then with calfskin.
In the testudo formation, the men would align their shields to form a packed formation covered with shields on the front and top. [1] The first row of men, possibly excluding the men on the flanks, would hold their shields from about the height of their shins to their eyes, so as to cover the formation's front.
The scutum from Dura-Europos is the only surviving semi-cylindrical shield from Roman times. It is now in the Yale University Art Gallery (inventory number 1933.715). The shield was found in the excavation campaign of 1928/37 on Tower 19 of Dura-Europos (in present-day Syria). [ 1 ]
According to legend, one divine shield fell from heaven during the reign of Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. He ordered eleven copies made to confuse would-be thieves, since the original shield was regarded as one of the pignora imperii (pledges of rule) , sacred guarantors that perpetuated Rome as a sovereign entity.
The Late Roman army in the late 3rd century continued to use the insignia usual to the Roman legions: the eagle-tipped aquila, the square vexillum, and the imago (the bust of the emperor on a pole). In addition, the use of the draco, adopted from the Dacians, was widespread among cavalry and auxiliary units. Few of them seem to have survived ...
Model of a medieval crossbowman using a pavise shield. It is decorated with Bartolomeo Vivarini's St. Martin and the Beggar.. A pavise (or pavis, pabys, or pavesen) was an oblong shield used during the mid-14th to early 16th centuries.
The parmula was the shield used by thraex gladiators. It was also used by the Roman vexilliferi or flag bearers that carried the standard that marked the cohort, as well as by most early auxiliaries. In the Pyrrhic dance it was raised above the head and struck with a sword so as to emit a loud ringing noise.
English: Shield and Coat of Arms of the Holy Roman Emperor, drawn in the style the late medieval period. Also used as shield of arms (generic) by the King of the Romans Deutsch: Wappen des Römisch-deutscher Kaiser (c.1400-c.1430)