Medieval Shield
There are many different types of shields that date back to the medieval times. A shield is amour
carried on the arm to intercept blows from the weapons of enemies. They can also be used as a
protective covering and structure. They were originally made of wood or animal hide. As the
middle age's progressed metal became the preferred material. There are many different shapes of
shields that evolved throughout history. Each shield is created different and personally
handcrafted.
The Crusaders use shields are kite-shaped. They were rounded at the top and tapered at
the bottom. The first line of defense for a crusader is the shield. A crusader shield usually had the
symbol and designs of a specific group of nights. Each group of crusaders had some form of a
cross on their shields. The name crusade given to the holy wars is an old French word crois
which means cross.
Kite shield was introduced by the Normans in the middle ages. They evolved
from the circular shaped shields offering more coverage of the body especially the foreleg.
There were three main functions of the kite shield. The primary function was to defend
soldiers against swords and projectiles. The second function was recognition to help in confusion
of battle and recognize friend or foe, The third function was for attack as they were also used to
hit enemy. The sharp sides of a shield could easily kill an enemy with one hit.
There were two main military orders in the twelve century. The Knights Hospitaller and
the Knights of the Templers. The Knights Templers were one of the most powerful of the
Western Christians Military order. The Knights Templers protected the pilgrims in the holy land
in during crusades. .They existed for nearly two centuries during...