Shields

Almost all warriors of the Dark Ages carried shields to protect themselves in battle. The shield was carried in the off hand and used to block and deflect strikes and to protect the fighter from counterattacks. The Fellowship uses and trains with shields for the same reasons that the ancients used to.

There are essentially two styles of shield that we use - round shields and kite shields. Round shields were used by most groups, including Saxons and Vikings, while kite shields became more common towards the end of the period the AAF re-enacts. By 1066 the kite shield was standard issue in both the Norman and Saxon armies, and Vikings were probably also using them by this time. The heater shield of later period is related to the kite, and the techniques are similar.

The buckler is slightly different. The buckler is a very small shield - often no more than 30cm in diameter. Bucklers can be considered separately and will not be covered in this article.

During the Dark Ages, round shileds were used that varied in size, from quite small, around 34 cm diameter, up to quite large, 108 cm diameter. Generally speaking their shields were a lot lighter and flimsier than the ones we tend to use, and this suggests that they were constructed to last only a single battle. Our shields are considerably heavier and sturdier, which means that a single shield may last you a long time. It is mainly for this reason that we train with smaller shields as well as the more historically accurate large shields.

Throughout this manual the term block is used to denote intercepting your enemy's weapon with your shield. The term parry is used for intercepting your enemy's weapon with your weapon. It is usually, but not always, better to block than to parry.

Large or Small

Whether a shield is large or small is a relative consideration, but in general anything with a diameter of less than 60cm can usually be considered a small shield. The traditional image of the Viking or Saxon warrior carries a large round shield. Large shields have the advantage that they cover more of the body, but this is countered by the fact that they are heavier and more cumbersome. Smaller shields are lighter and quicker, but cover less of the body. Using a shield is therefore a matter of compromise between protection and weight. Select a shield that you are comfortable with and stick with it. Changing shields after you have trained with a particular size can for some people be almost as disorienting as changing from a long to a short weapon.

Technique with a large shield is quite different from technique with a small shield. The small shield is constantly on the move, blocking attacks where and when they occur. The largest and heaviest shields are held more or less stationary and it is the fighter's body that shifts behind it.

In either case, it is the leg that is particularly vulnerable when using a round shield, and your training should incorporate that fact.

Strapped or Punchgrip

The other distinction between shields is whether they have an arm strap or not. Some shields are held with a single handle in the centre of the shield - these are referred to as punchgrip shields. These shields are depicted in the historical record as being almost universally used by infantry. Small punchgrip shields are often known as bucklers. Large punchgrip shields can be more unwieldy than small ones.

Shields with an arm strap are known as strapped shields. They lie flat against the forearm, and are quite steady and easy to control. These shields were used by cavalry as they allowed the rider to hold the shield and the horse's reins as well. It is recommended that a new recruit try both styles of shield to see which sort suits them better.

The advantage of the punchgrip shield is that it is much more maneuverable. The advantage of a strapped shield is that it is easier to maintain control.

Holding the shield

There are two main ways to hold a shield: flat or angled. When holding the shield flat to the body, the shield is more or less face-on to the opponent. This is less flexible in its movement and reduces the area that your shield can cover. It is usually better to hold the shield angled.

When holding the shield in an angled position, the shield arm is held angled across the body, with the elbow closer to the body then the hand. Fir a right handed fighter, the left edge of the shield is closer to the body then the right edge (vice versa for left handers). The shield can be moved quickly from this position to any line that needs blocking. Because the shield is held closer to your opponent, it is able to intercept your opponent's attack earlier. However, it is more tiring to maintain for any length of time, especially with a large shield. Most fighters will use a combination of these two positions in a fight.

A flat shield is less flexible in its movement, reduces your opportunity to attack and limits your active defense, but also makes it harder for your opponent to hit you, especially in group fights. A angled shield leaves more gaps for your opponent to strike for, especially in group fights, but can be used to more offensively hinder your opponent's attacks and the angle means it covers more of you from the right direction.

There are two main factors to determine how far away from your body you should hold the shield. They are the distance to your opponent, and whether you are facing one opponent or several. A Shield held away from the body covers more of you from opponents at range, but if an opponent can close they can strike more easily to the gap between your body and your shield. A shield held against the body only covers what it touches but prevents this kind of "slot shot".

Against a single opponent, start with your shield angled out, extended as far as you can. As they close, bring your elbow close to your body, but keep it angled for as long as you can, until they are close enough to work around your sword side. With a punch grip, you can also turn your shield flat as soon as a opponent tries to close, in order to bind and confound their attacks.

Against multiple opponents, start with your shield extended, pulling it back as your opponents close or surround you.

The last factor to consider is the shield's weight and how tired you are. Large punch grip round shields are very tiring to hold extended, while even heavy kites are very easy to hold when kept close to the body.

How close is too close and how far is too far is something you learn from experience.

Blocking with a large round shield

The less you have to move a heavy shield, the better. Defending a blow with a large heavy shield is more about being able to ignore a blow completely than blocking with the shield. Often you try to leave the shield where it is and move your body behind it rather then blocking with the shield. Try to move your legs and body to either smother a blow or leave nothing but shield in a position to be hit.

Whenever your opponent attacks, you should either move forward to catch and smother the blow, or move back to allow it to strike the shield.

Blocking on your shield side is usually quite straightforward. Blocking on your weapon side is a little more complex. You should always remember to keep your weapon arm free to make a counterattack. This is where holding the shield angled is very good. Using the right edge to block the opponents sword gives you room to counter attack.

In general, do not try to block a head shot with a large shield. Raising the shield this high brings certain disadvantages. First, your line of sight to your opponent is often blocked as the shield is brought in front of your face. Second, it leaves the legs extremely vulnerable to second intentions. Third, it takes effort to raise the shield this high and you often won't make it in time. It is therefore usually better to parry had shots with your weapon. Keep in mind that if you are using your weapon to parry, you are not using it to attack your opponent. Use the shield whenever it is practical to do so, and try throwing a counterattack at the same time.

The lack of targets left by a large round shield mean you can stay in range more easily and concentrate on throwing blows. When used punch grip or strapped they are also mobile enough to bind and smother opponents. But they can hinder your ability to strike and can block you vision when used unwisely.

Blocking with a small round shield

Small round shields, as noted previously, are usually much easier to move into position to block an attack. It is more practical to block head shots with a small round, as the disadvantages described for a large round shield are less severe. The small round is lighter and much more flexible. At all costs keep it moving to the area that you need it. Again, it is important to keep your legs and body moving to avoid blows, but with a small shield it is easier.

A small shield or buckler are more often used to target an opponent's weapon arm. As they make a strike, push your shield into their arm or weapon and hold it there. If they try to move their weapon around your shield, follow it and push it where you want it to go. If they withdraw their weapon from your shield, you must either step in and keep contact or retreat back out of range. If you stand still and try to chase their arm, you will be struck when they free it. If you can, bind their weapon arm so that they are unable to make any effective strikes with it. Be aware however that this will invariably bring you closer to your opponent – usually to within dagger distance.

The biggest advantage the smaller shields have is that your own attacks are not hindered as much by your shield. You can not afford to stand and trade blows like you can with a bigger shield. You have to either strike quickly and withdraw, or bind your opponent and counterattack.

Kite shields

The kite shield can be regarded as a "medium" shield, it is flat and generally lighter than the large round shield because it is generally narrower. Its width is the length from the knuckles to the elbow plus about 15 cm. Its height, covers from the shoulder to the knee in the infantry version and from the shoulder to the ankle in the cavalry version. The Bayeaux Tapestry depicts some cavalry using the "infantry length" shield, but none of the infantry on the Norman or Saxon side are using "cavalry length" shileds. There are later examples of larger, curved kite shields but these are 12th to 13th century styles.

The kite rarely needs to be dropped to protect against low blows - simply turn the elbow so that the point of the shield is on the correct line. Use your weapon to block high blows, and William's your uncle.

The main difference between round and kite shields is that the kite can be held with the forearm close to vertical, and it rarely moves from that position. A habit learned when training with round shields is to rotate the forearm to block low blows. If you do that with a kite, the ‘tail’ of the shield is brought up, and you effectively expose the region you were trying to protect. A low attack is blocked with a kite shield with very little movement.

It takes practice, but a trained fighter with a kite shield is very hard to hit. The kite protects the entire side of the body, so your opponent’s shield-side blows are more or less ineffective. As with a large round shield, it is best used by correct positioning of the body, and by changing the range. Head blows can be blocked by slipping the back leg away and pulling the shoulders back and down, while pulling the chin in and pressing the top of the shield forward.

Fighting against the shield

A fighter in hanging guard with a large shield is almost impossible to strike with any single attack. When trying to fight against someone holding a shield, it is essential to maneuver them into a position where an attack is possible. For example, if they are in a hanging guard, their head will become unprotected when they attack with their weapon. That is the time to go for their head.

There are many ways of getting your opponent out of guard position. Most centre around either inducing them to throw a blow, running around so that a gap opens up as they to follow you, or attacking with multiple blows and second intentions. One common technique is to close to dagger distance and press with your own shield.

Always step to one side when you attack or defend. If you step to their weapon side, you are able to attack the exposed part of their body, at a slight risk of being more vulnerable to their weapon. If you step to their shield side, you may be able to "wrap" around to attack their rear.

Range is important. Attack distance is shorter with a shield than without one, as you usually hold your shield arm forward. Range is also more important with a smaller shield than with a large one. A large shield can block a wide array of attacks with little or no effort. A small shield needs to be moved to intercept the attack, and that means you need to know where the attack is coming from. Hang back until you are sure of the direction and location of the attacking blow, then close agressively while interposing your shield into the line of the attack.

Techniques

The Shield Wall

There is plenty of evidence for the use of the shield wall in almost all of the time periods that the Fellowship is interested in. A shield wall should consist of a number of fighters all holding the same style of shield. A Norman shield wall consists of kite shields; a Saxon shield wall consists of large round shields. Ideally round shields should all be the same size.

The fighters in a shield wall should overlap the edges of their shields. It is preferable for all of the fighters to be of the same handedness to make this easier. The lone lefty (or righty) should take up a position of opportunity. With shields overlapped, the wall is as strong as all the individual fighters combined. Without overlapped shields, the wall is only as strong as one fighter. All of the fighters should support each other and hold the wall steady.

Weapons are held high, as the one thing you cannot do while maintaining a shield wall is raise your shield to block a high attack.

Under no circumstances should the wall be allowed to disintegrate. As soon as the wall is broken, the fighters are essentially on their own. In a tightly held shield wall, all the fighters can support each other. The effectiveness of the shield wall was amply demonstrated on the battlefield of Hastings in 1066.

The Flying Wedge

This is a formation that is used to break a shield wall. You take your biggest toughest fighter and build the wedge around that person. That fighter is now the point of your wedge (the point fighter), and all the force of your charge will be focused on that point. Other fighters should line up on either side of the point fighter in a wedge formation. The wedge should consist of a minimum of five fighters for best effect. The fighters immediately behind the point fighter should press their shields into his back, and the fighters behind them should to the same. This way the entire force of the charge is focussed on the point fighter.

When the wedge charges the shield wall, all the fighters should break all the way through and emerge on the other side. Ideally you should aim the charge at the space between two defenders rather than at a specific defender, as they are likely to go flying when you hit. Once the wedge has broken the wall, the attackers can split up and take on the two sides of the wall, rolling it up from the inside out.

In large group fights, it is best to arrange some fighters into a wedge to break the wall, then follow it with other fighters (especially spear fighters) to immediately follow up and exploit the breach. When done effectively, the defenders are dazed and confused by the attack and are easy to mop up.

The author has witnessed (and videoed) one memorable battle involving a flying wedge where a lone defender countercharged the point fighter. Although the defender was pressed immediately back several steps, this did absorb the force of the charge and allow the defending side to scatter and eliminate all of the attaching fighters in short order. See the Famous Flying Wedge video on this site (5.6mb AVI file).

Shield Charging

The proper technique for giving and receiving a shield charge should be mentioned, even though shield charging is generally considered dangerous. However, the flying wedge consists of a well-supported shield charge, and it can look good in a display situation, so it is important to know how to do one safely.

To safely perform a shield charge, it is important to remain in control. You must not literally throw yourself at your opponent. Instead, maintain your balance and throw only your shield arm at your opponent. Run steadily towards your opponent without compromising your balance. You will find that very little force is required to produce an impressive result.

When receiving a shield charge, the best response is to avoid it. Step to the side and strike the charger as they pass by. It is not recommended to drop to your knees and let them go over you - it is dangerous, as they will undoubtedly land on the ground. While effective, it is at the very least antisocial.

If avoidance is not possible (such as if you are part of a shield wall), you should always counter-charge, even if it is only a step. Absorb the impact of the blow by countering it. That way you will not absorb the impact by leaving the ground and flying away.

When shield charging in a display (see the chapter on Display Combat), the best technique is not to throw your whole shoulder into the charge, but to pull up the charge before you hit and throw your shield forward. When both fighters clash their shields this way, it makes a lot of noise. When two shield walls meet and clash their shields, it can be thunderous.