Buckler

A buckler (French bouclier 'shield', from old French bocle, boucle 'boss') is a small shield gripped in the fist -- it was generally used in hand-to-hand combat during the Middle Ages, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons (e.g., arrows) but useful in deflecting the blow of an opponent's sword or mace. There are two major forms of surviving and medievally documented bucklers. The first is a simple round shield with the fist positioned directly behind the boss with a variety of shapes of face and depths of rim. These could also have projections from the top and bottom as in Hans Talhoffer's Fechtb?cher or serrated rings around the boss as in one example in the Wallace Collection. The second major form is a corrugated rectangle as suggested by Achille Marrozzo in his Opera Nova.

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MS I.33 (around 1300) contains an early description of a system of combat with buckler and sword.

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Shield: :This article is about the defensive device. For other meanings of the word see shield (disambiguation)...

Middle Ages: The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three 'ages': the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. The Middle Ages of Western Europe are commonly dated from the end of the Western Roman Empire (5th century)...

Arrow: An arrow is a pointed projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures....

Buckler related Images and Photos (experimental)

Buckler Shield Decorated with Tulips and Carnations

Broad Prickly-Toothed Buckler Fern Painted at Brantwood 6/7th December 1857