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Sword and heater shield.
Sir William:
I do believe that the heater shields were used primarily on horseback...as you stated, on foot it leaves a bit to be desired in terms of coverage. Not to say it was never used on foot, only that it wouldn't seem to be the best option available.
SirNathanQ:
The 14th century was when the Heater Shield as we know it was at it's most popular.
The 14th century was a time when lots of Knights were dismounting to fight.
I think it would leave a lot to be desired if used in the same manner as a scutum, similar to the way a buckler would leave much to be desired in place of a rotella.
I think while it's a compromise between movement and protection.
Sir William:
I would have to give way to those more knowledgeable as I have no experience fighting with a scutum; but I have viewed many of the SCA vids posted on YT and noted some interesting shield shapes being used besides the rectangular scutum. Not sure if what I've seen in the SCA would translate well onto a battlefield, as they are not actively trying to do one another in like you would in a battle. Wrap shots in particular could get you into a world of trouble as those exposed elements would be attacked first.
Sir Gerard de Rodes:
We fight with heater shield and hand weapons quite often. We found the full sized 2`X3` ones to be quite cumbersome.
As I make our shields, I played around with slightly different sizes and strapping layouts and ended up with a great,light and usable shield. It is strapped so that the fore-arm sits behind its length and the tip can be used as a nice aid to punching :P It can also be strapped to the upper arm so defending the left shoulder but leaving the left hand free.
I don`t recall seeing any contemporary illustrations of heater shields being used in foot combat though. If I come accross anything I will post here.
G.
Sir Rodney:
--- Quote from: Sir Gerard de Rodes on 2011-08-17, 19:09:31 ---We fight with heater shield and hand weapons quite often. We found the full sized 2`X3` ones to be quite cumbersome.
As I make our shields, I played around with slightly different sizes and strapping layouts and ended up with a great,light and usable shield. It is strapped so that the fore-arm sits behind its length and the tip can be used as a nice aid to punching :P It can also be strapped to the upper arm so defending the left shoulder but leaving the left hand free.
I don`t recall seeing any contemporary illustrations of heater shields being used in foot combat though. If I come accross anything I will post here.
G.
--- End quote ---
What dimensions did you settle on? Would you mind posting photographs of the front and back of a heater you made? I need to make another heater for SCA combat (mine's about had it) and I'd like to go the historically plausible route vs. purely a sport shield.
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