Roundshield.

This is a center grip roundshield. I made this in 2016.

It is made from spruce planks, faced with canvas and the boss is made from part of a woodstove.

Unlike many other shields, this type is not strapped to the arm, it is instead held by a single wooden handle behind the metal boss. This allows the shield to be held farther away from the body. Which in turn allows you to use thinner planks. Because even if an arrow penetrates a few inches, it will still be far away from your body. Thinner planks allow you to have either a larger or lighter shield. Both of which are good.

The center grip also makes the shield livelier and more versatile in the hand. Becoming not so much a piece of armor as a weapon in and of itself.

The boss in the center protects the hand from anything that might penetrate, as the hand is the only part that needs to be close to the shield.

The canvas facing is very important, nearly all wooden shields would have had a facing of either cloth, rawhide or leather. The facing is important for two reasons, The first reason is that it prevents the boards from splitting. The second reason is that it holds the boards together even if the glue fails.

A famous tactic of the shield is to lock them together into a wall and roof of shields. Contrary to what the movies would say, this tactic was only really used in the opening stages of a battle, when the archers and spear throwers would try to whittle away a few men before the armies have closed with each other. We know this tactic was effective for defeating arrows because of the fact that armies employed mainly spearmen rather than mainly archers.

There is a school of thought that this shield was used as the primary fencing tool in dark age duels, used to push aside the opponent's weapons and pin them against the body, allowing you to step in and finish the job with a sword or axe.

Shields like this were in use from the beginning of the iron age until around 1000 AD when they were replaced by the kite shield.

It weighs 11 pounds. And is 40 inches in diameter.

Here I demonstrate the coverage of the shield. I am kneeling, but not ducking. Only my head and feet are visible.

Here I demonstrate what a man might do when faced with a volley of arrows.

Here I am ducking. The shield covers me almost entirely.

Here the shield is worn on the back.

This is a good way to hold a roundshield when fencing. With the edge presented, it is harder for your opponent to control the shield and easier to strike with the shield. The main drawback is that holding it out from the body is tiring.

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