RE: Re: Shields

From: Jane Williams <janewilliams20_at_...>
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2004 06:55:35 +0100

> I understand that one reason mideval round shields
> were often painted was to prevent the opponent from
> figuring out which direction the boards ran, because
> hitting the shield face along the wood grain had a
> much better chance of causing the top layer to split.

Interesting! You'd get that effect from the cloth coating, too (though there I suspect it would also tend to prevent splintering in and of itself).

Anyone know enough about the painted designs to know if they tended to have rotational symmetry?