Traditional Shield Materials

 
Kenneth Mansfield
 
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Kenneth Mansfield
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22 October 2013 21:07
 

Nick B II;100915 wrote:

OTOH, an inch or two of Oak bent steamed for a slight bend would work great. It takes paint, or a rendering (on leather if needed for extra toughness) can be nailed to it. It’s incredibly solid, which means that a) very little will pierce the shield itself, b) most of the stuff that does will lose so much velocity it’s harmless, and c) you can attach really robust straps. Done in a single piece it would probably actually be tougher then chain mail.


Two inches of oak would be too heavy to wield for any length of time in a manner that would be useful for protection. One would still be pushing it.

 
 
Michael F. McCartney
 
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Michael F. McCartney
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23 October 2013 18:03
 

Well, you’d have to bend the wood & let it dry in the desired shape before gluing it all together.

I do recall reading accounts of the Crusaders riding into COnstantinople with bright metal (brass?) bosses on their shields—the remainder of the shield obviously being something else, possibly wood & leather.  Of course, that was pre-heraldic times.

 
liongam
 
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liongam
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24 October 2013 07:54
 

The funeral furniture of Edward of Woodstock (1330 - 1376), [known to history as the ‘The Black Prince’ who the eldest son of Edward III] found at Canterbury Cathedral which included the prince’s 14th century shield which was made from poplar wood, glued with layers of linen, and bearing heraldic charges of boiled leather.  This is in all probability the most exact example of medieval shield construction that we have, although other examples may well exist elsewhere.

This shield and the other funeral furniture which at one time hung over the prince’s tomb is now found in a protective glass case nearby, whilst modern replicas now appear over the tomb which consist of the prince’s shield, helm and crest, jupon, gauntlets and, perhaps, sword and spurs (?).  I cannot now recall if the sword and spurs form apart of today’s replicas as the original sword went missing during the Commonwealth period and was supposed to have come to light many years later.

 

John

 
Guy Power
 
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Guy Power
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24 October 2013 12:13
 

liongam;100928 wrote:

...I cannot now recall if the sword and spurs form apart of today’s replicas as the original sword went missing during the Commonwealth period and was supposed to have come to light many years later.

John


Ewart Oakeshott authenticated the extant sword to be the original belonging to the Black Prince.  His research is recorded in his book, Records of the Medieval Sword—and if I’ve misremembered in which book this sword was treated, it was definitely one of Oakeshott’s books.

 

 

http://cache1.bdcdn.net/assets/images/book/large/9780/8511/9780851155661.jpg

 
Guy Power
 
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Guy Power
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24 October 2013 17:58
 

Found this book in German, thought it might be valuable to your research; especially since the poster wrote: "...Ea[c]h piece is discussed in detail, size, making, color and etc….."


Quote:

"Der mittelalterliche Reiterschild: Historische Entwicklung von 975 bis 1350" (The medieval knight shield: historical development from 975 until 1350) by Jan Kohlmorgen

in German

 

is really a must for anyone who is interested in making a replica of historical shields and also who wants to see excellent examples which have survived the course of time. The best book on this topic, in my opinion.

 

1. Introduction

2. Considerations on form and size - a pattern shield

3. Material and tools - description

4. Steps in kaming a shield

5. Making the wooden body

6. Preparation of the corners and edges and the covering

7. Hand grips

8. Coloring

 

 

Lots of good pics and the historical examples (which are fully described in detail each) you can see are:

 

1) The shield of Arnold of Brienz 1180-1255 (in Schweizerische Landesmuseum, Zurich) page 48-51

2) The shield of Landgrafen Konrad of Thüringen before 1240 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und kulturgeschichte) page 52 - 55

3) The shield of Vögte of Keseberg around 1250 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und kulturgeschichte) page 56- 59

4) A shield with unknown arms (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und kulturgeschichte) page 60 - 63

5) The shield of Deutschordenkomsturs W. of Liederbach, 1250 -1300 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und kulturgeschichte) page 64 - 67

6) The shield of Nodeck zu Rabenau 1250 -1300 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und kulturgeschichte) page 68 - 71

7) The shield of Graf von Arnsberg 1250-1300 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und kulturgeschichte) page 72 - 74

8 ) The shield of Landgrafen Heinrich I. von Hessen 1292 - 1308 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und kulturgeschichte) page 74 - 77

9) The shield of Raron around 1300 (in Musée cantonaux du Valais) page 78 - 81

10) The shield of Burggrafen von Stromberg around 1300 page 82 - 85

11) The shield of Herren of Steinau around 1300 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte) page 86-89

12) The shield of Herren von Welfenberg around 1300 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte) page 90 - 93

13) The older shield of Schenken von Schweinsberg 1300-1320 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte) page 94 - 95

14) A shield unknown (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und kulturgeschichte) page 96 - 99

15) The other shield of Schenken von Schweinsberg 1350 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte) page 100 - 103

16) The shield of Herren von Muschenheim around 1350 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte) page 104 - 105

17) The shield of Loew von steinfurth, around 1380 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte) page 106 - 107

18 ) The shield of Herren von Dernbach 1350-1400 (in Marburger Universitätsmuseum für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte) page 108-109

19) The shield of the BlackPrince before 1376 (Canterbury Cathedral) page 110-113

20) The shield of theKing henry V of Englans before 1422 (in Westminster Abbey) page 114 - 117

21) A shield which is attributed to the King Edward III of England (in Westminster Abbey) 118-119

22) Two shields from the Spanish Monastery San Salvador de Ona 120-125

 

Eaxh piece is discussed in detail, size, making, color and etc.

 

This book is a must for any person interested in knowing more about medieval shields.

 

source


Ebay has it for $45.93 including shipping)—Item # 141074000016:

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Der-Mittelalterliche-Reiterschild-Historische-Entwicklung-Von-975-Bis-1350-An-/00/s/NTAwWDUwMA==/z/E1oAAOxyTkJSQ~uG/$T2eC16N,ykFIdzZuN0EBSQ+uGe94Q~~60_12.JPG

 

—Guy

 

EDIT:  I just bought a copy!

 
Guy Power
 
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Guy Power
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24 October 2013 18:13
 

More comments from the above linked thread.


Quote:

The shields are mostly Germanic, which is no surprise. The usual construction seems to be of planks glued edge to edge, covered with parchment? (pergament), (there may be some covered with leather or canvas). Some of these are quite large: the shield of Arnold of Brienz, the oldest (ca. 1200) is 87 cm x 67 cm, less the tip the shield, which is missing. Estimated length 95-100 cm. The planks in this case are 15 mm thick, which makes for a respectable weight for this shield (unlike the Viking shields you alluded to in another recent post). The later smaller shields run down to about half the dimensions of the biggest, and are clearly outside of your interests.

Nothing I have noticed about rivets, yet. The enarmes get a lot on interest. There is a drawing of the surviving rivet pattern on the back of each shield, and at least one reconstruction of possible enarmes. (Mostly from some fellow named Helmut Nickel). The decoration seems to be paint or some molded material I haven’t deciphered yet; "engobage", possibly papier-mache?


Front:

http://www.swordforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12877&d=1056933987

 

Reverse:

http://www.swordforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12878&d=1056934068

 

Diagram:

http://www.swordforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12887&d=1056934808

 

Enarmes:
Quote:

and the enarmes. Most of these shields are not edged, at least at first glance. (One ascribed to Edward III in Westminster seems to have some sort of edging).

The earlier shields are not far from kite shields in size, so there may be similarities in construction. Certainly, the construction of these shields seems closer to Viking ones than Roman techniques (no surprise). So I think it likely that the information here is relevant to your area of concentration. Given the paucity of information out there on shields, this book is probably worth considering.

http://www.swordforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12885&d=1056934733

 
Guy Power
 
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05 November 2013 16:50
 

Negative and Positive jigs for plank and/or plywood forms:

http://imageshack.us/a/img843/2673/ynqs.jpg

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img27/2200/m5v1.jpg

 
Guy Power
 
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05 November 2013 16:51
Guy Power
 
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Guy Power
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05 November 2013 16:51
Guy Power
 
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Guy Power
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05 November 2013 16:52
Guy Power
 
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Guy Power
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05 November 2013 16:54
 

http://imageshack.us/a/img802/5495/0cm1.jpg

175 With parchment attached on reverse.

176-177 Parchment stretched from front and attached to rear

178 After two days

 
Guy Power
 
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05 November 2013 16:55
 

http://imageshack.us/a/img543/5336/sb6u.jpg

Padding and attachment of arm pad

 
Guy Power
 
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05 November 2013 16:56
 

http://imageshack.us/a/img547/705/s05d.jpg

193: note how the nails are bent on the reverse, then driven back into the shield.

 
Guy Power
 
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Guy Power
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05 November 2013 16:57
 

http://imageshack.us/a/img23/8103/krky.jpg

Rear view of the finished rough

 
Guy Power
 
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05 November 2013 16:57