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Norman-style kite shield. [1]A kite shield is a large, almond-shaped shield rounded at the top and curving down to a point or rounded point at the bottom. The term "kite shield" is a reference to the shield's unique shape, and is derived from its supposed similarity to a flying kite, although "leaf-shaped shield" and "almond shield" have also been used in recent literature. [2]
Also used to rush an opponent (known as shield bashing). Some shields had spikes, sharp edges, or other offensive designs. Aspis, oplon (Greek) Buckler (European) Clipeus (Roman, Greek) Dhal (Indian) Heater shield, heraldic shield (European) Hide, wickerwork, leather and ceremonial shields (Tribal, Worldwide) Hungarian shield (European) Kite ...
The Normans introduced the kite shield around the 10th century, which was rounded at the top and tapered at the bottom. This gave some protection to the user's legs, without adding too much to the total weight of the shield. The kite shield predominantly features enarmes, leather straps used to grip the shield tight to the arm. Used by foot and ...
The heater shield or heater-shaped shield is a form of European medieval shield, developing from the early medieval kite shield in the late 12th century in response to the declining importance of the shield in combat thanks to improvements in leg armour.
A shield boss, or umbo, is a round, convex or conical piece of material at the centre of a shield. Shield bosses (or sometimes, just "bosses") are usually made of thick metal but could also be made of wood. The boss was originally designed to deflect blows from the centre of round shields, though they also provided a place to mount the shield's ...
Battle scene from the Bayeux Tapestry, depicting kite shields. It has been proposed that the medieval era kite shield favoured by the Normans was introduced to Europe by the Vikings. [29] However, no documentation or remains of kite shields from the Viking period have been located by archaeologists, and the idea has been discarded. [30]
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The bulk of the Byzantine infantry were the skoutatoi (hoplite), named after the skouton, a large oval, round or kite-shaped shield. Their armor and weapons were modelled following ancient Seleucid and Hellenistic infantry equipment and patterns, which included: [9]