Category:Shields

Every melee combatant should carry a shield. Shields were the principle means of protection in our period. It is important to remember that body armour was always a last resort – the best way of avoiding harm was avoiding being hit in the first place by preserving a solid shield-wall.

Construction of shields

For safety, shields should be made from wood and be no thinner than 8mm and should be edged with either rawhide (doggy-chew) or strong leather. Round shields should have a steel boss to cover the handgrip, which may be a plain single bar of wood or wood and metal.

Shields must not have metal edging – given how frequently shield rims get hit, there is too great a chance of the metal edge becoming burred, damaged and dangerous.

All shields should be faced in fabric or leather and painted, using authentically-achievable colours and designs appropriate to the period. A Shield Register shows you the colours already in use by different groups.

Even if a shield is of perfectly authentic appearance but fails to meet the Society’s minimum standards, it will not be allowed onto the field.