Talk:Shield Register
JC: should this be a page under the category:shield or does it belong somewhere else?
Sandra: its just a a link I put in - and it will be linked form other places too, the obvious place being How to start a new group. A lot of pages are going to be applicable to multiple areas so the Wiki will end up more of a network than a hierarchy. btw, it will be a standard cartoon/graphic, so your shield photo is useful, but will be replaced.
Jk: there seems to.be a lot of blue paint used for shields which goes against society rules for paint in lhe and over represents a uncommon colour. Should this perhaps be phased out to more accuratly reflect the time we portray
JC: will be hard to get groups to change their colours. My resent research into paints would also indicate that maybe it is the society rules on paint that needs to be looked at.
Jk: I would like to think that groups would like to be authentic? As that is our purpose for reenactment. There is definitely far too much bright blue paint.
Sandra - the instruction years ago is that paint should be thinned before use, so shields weren't bright anything. That seems to have gone by the wayside over recent years.
Jk: when I say bright I mean in hue not density. A ultramaine blue is only created using lapis lazuli. Which is in the early medieval period more expensive then gold leaf. Having blue on shields is not representative of the period at all. Maybe an outright ban would be best. Also there is no real evidence for 'celtic' knotwork designs which seem prevalent.
JC: The best preserved painted shield from Denmark: A recently discovered 10th C. chamber grave at Grimstrup, Denmark contained a circular wooden board which covered the corpse from head to hip (unpublished: I. Stoumann, Esbjerg Museum, Denmark, pers. comm. 1994). As no other traces (ie. boss) were found in an otherwise fully equipped male burial, it has been suggested that the board is a 'blank' or unfinished shield. The board was elaborately painted with interlace patterns, though the overall design is no longer discernible. The background colour is dark blue, the interlace is grey-green edged with white lines. Some lines of red paint and white dots are also visible.
JC: even the experts are disagreeing on what paints were available/used during the period. For ships the guidelines from Roskilde is Blue Red and Yellow. If blue can be used on a ship it must be available at a reasonable cost. You will also know that experts are discussing about the paintwork on halls in exactly these colours.