Re: Re: Cool stuff & NPCs

From: Manuel MOLINIER <astaroth.maillist_at_...>
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 09:23:16 +0200


My ounce of knowledge.
Very few of the shields of wood were round. It's very easy to make a good shield of wood, and I remind doing so often when I was kids (yes wood sword and shield fighting made me nearly a heortling). This mean that except for warriors who want to show the wood shield made of wood board were easy and fast to make in case of need. Another good reason is that the wood in itself is a better shock stopper than metal (the fiber allow more shock reduction) and it even allow to "grab" an oponent spear for exemple. Then I imagine that even for warriors it's easier to make and change wood shield than using steel ones. And I don't even talk about the ornated one we see that would be ugly after first combat. So I imagine most of the earlier history shields in metal were mostly for ceremony.

It was

> IIRC, the only historical all-metal shields were either ceremonial,
> bucklers, or little curved point-catching steel ones for jousters or
> fencers. [ed: one exception; Persian 'Damascus' steel flat
> small shields -
> maybe Kralorian, but rare even then.]
> The bucklers were the Spanish 'swashbuckler' bucklers, made
> of thin steel
> and dished, like a good-sized wok with arm straps in it. :)
> Wouldn't stop
> a solid hit with a broadsword or greatsword or crossbow bolt,
> but they were
> designed for deflecting points and edges and did a very good
> job of it.

  FWIW, the bucklers we use in C15 combat are affectionately refered to as   "saucepan lids". In fact they curve the other way, with the handle on   the inside, not the outside, but the size is about the same though the   steel is heavier.

  You *might* stop a full-strength blow with a broadsword (we pull all   ours of course), but I think you'd hurt your wrist doing it.

  There's some great "bucklers" in museums that are almost arm-armour -   strapped onto the wrist, and covered in what I can only describe as   chaos spikey bits. Definitely a weapon as well as a defence. 

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