What size was a Saxon shield?

How Big Were Anglo Saxon Shields? The size of shields varied, but most shields were between one foot six inches and two feet two inches in diameter. Their thickness also varied, but most were between six millimetres and eight millimetres in width.

What did Saxon shields look like?

Anglo-Saxon shields comprised a circular piece of wood constructed from planks which had been glued together; at the center of the shield, an iron boss was attached. It was common for shields to be covered in leather, so as to hold the planks together, and they were often decorated with fittings of bronze or iron.

Did Saxons use rectangular shields?

Vikings get round shields and Anglo-Saxons get rather pathetic small rectangular shields, clearly inferior in terms of how much of their body they cover and also in terms of manufacture (the Viking shields have metal rims, or actually if you look close, painted details designed to look like metal rims).

What were Saxon shields made of?

Most Anglo-Saxon shields were made from different types of wood as there was plenty of this material in Britain. The most common design was to have many planks together, packed into a circular shape. In some cases, they were covered in an extra layer of leather to make them stronger.

How big is a shield?

Round shields seem to have varied in size from around 45 – 120cm (18″ – 48″) in diameter but the smaller and more manageable 75 – 90cm (30″ – 36″) is by far the most common.

How big was a Viking round shield?

The Vikings used round shields made of wood. be as large as 95cm or as small as 70cm. Shields were often custom made to be the perfect size for the warrior who was going to be using it.

What Colours were Anglo Saxon Shields?

The Saxon Shield comes in many colors including black, blue, red and yellow with white bars or spangles, blue with black bars or barless, blue check or silver check.

Did Saxons use shield walls?

The shield-wall was commonly used in many parts of Northern Europe, such as England and Scandinavia. In the battles between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes, most of the Saxon army would have been the fierce but inexperienced Fyrd—a militia composed of middle class freemen.

Did rectangular shields exist?

Legionaire scutum The most famous of the Roman shields, great scuta were large and either rectangular or oval. The use of rectangular scuta ended by the 3rd century AD, but scuta in general survived into the Byzantine Empire.

Did the Anglo Saxons use a shield-wall?

Did the Saxons have steel?

In the Anglo-Saxon period steel was very difficult to make and not very good. So the Anglo-Saxon’s used a mixture of steel and iron in their swords. They used steel on the outside of the sword to give a strong and sharp blade.

What was the width of an Anglo Saxon shield?

Their thickness also varied, but most were between six millimetres and eight millimetres in width. Smaller shields were lighter and easier to manoeuvre so were used in minor skirmishes, like issues within a tribe, and hand to hand combat.

What kind of wood did the Anglo Saxons use?

What Were Anglo Saxon Shields Made of? Willow, poplar and alder were the most common types of wood used for shields, but shields made from oak, ash, birch and maple have also been found. Old English poetry talks abut shields made from lime (linden-wood), but few examples have been discovered.

What was the length of an Anglo Saxon spear?

Spearheads vary considerably in length from a few inches to two feet or more, and the basic forms change very little throughout the whole Anglo-Saxon period. The overall length of the spear was around 6’6″ – 8′ (2.00 – 2.50m), and the butt of the spear was often capped with a metal ferrule.

What was the boss of a shield made of?

A shield boss was a round, conical or convex piece of material, such as iron or wood, which was welded to the shield using iron or bronze rivets, that was designed to deflect blows and provide a place to mount the shield’s grip. As shields evolved in shape and sophistication, the boss was retained but became purely ornamental.