used was not uniform throughout the Middle Ages.
Many schools of fighting even developed different
methods for armored and unarmored combat.
Most medieval combat, however, pitted mail-clad
warriors armed with shield, spear, ax, and sword
against one another. It is important not to charac-
terize all medieval combat by means of the cliché of
the knight in shining armor. Throughout the period,
plate-armor was the exception, not the norm, and
represented only a fraction of armor types worn.
Used primarily by knights and wealthy men-at-
arms, plate-armor existed in countless varieties, and
the later style of fully encasing, fully articulated
plate-armor must be distinguished from the earlier
forms. Much medieval European plate-armor is in-
genious and unequaled anywhere in the world. Al-
though the use of plate-armor did decrease speed
and agility, its use was not nearly as debilitating or
restrictive as popular belief suggests.
The shield, among the earliest and most obvi-
ous forms of personal defense, served as an adjunct
to armor for most of the Middle Ages. In the
crowded clash of battle with spears and arrows,
holding a deflecting cover makes great sense for a
warrior. In the push and shove of mass warfare
there might be fewer opportunities to employ one’s
weapon, but a shield will get almost constant use.
In closer combat, the utility of the shield is evident
in the way it allows a warrior to block slashes and
thrusts while still allowing counterattacks. With the
many classes of medieval shield and the highly de-
veloped methods of employing them, these ancient tools were represented
in a highly effective form. Like the medieval sword, medieval shields are fa-
miliar objects that frequently have been undervalued. Like the sword, me-
dieval European shields were by no means uniform or universal. They
ranged from larger oval and round forms to long teardrop and triangular
kite shapes, and small hand-bucklers. Due mainly to the rise of heavy cav-
alry and the coming of plate-armor, shields underwent several changes dur-
ing the Middle Ages.
Weapon blows were devastating in their effect, and armor alone was
simply not sufficient protection (at least not until the later advent of full
plate). In all its varied forms, the medieval shield could be used passively572 Swordsmanship, European Medieval
Defense and
disarming moves
as taught by the
enormously
influential Italian
Master of Defence
Fiore dei Liberi.
This illustration
appeared in his Flos
Duellatorium
(Flower of Battle),
first published in- (Courtesy of
John Clements)