sweet. i've always wondered why a viking shield was like that. This is the kind of history lessons i wish i could have had .

@warzechas Yes, sorry about that, I tried to upload the video several times, but unsuccessfully.

@warzechas ... the development of combat focused on blade binds is also reflected by sword design: Long steel cross guards, for instance, to guard the hand against opposing swords sliding down the blade from the bind. Small fittings, sometimes of organic material like with many Viking or Germanic but also ancient swords point at sword work where blade-on-blade contacts are the exception. Weapon design is never arbitrary!

this guy is a very good teacher!

@Luciffrit Very true. Hence the Romans usually lost when they couldn't fight in close formation. The military scutum was not designed for single combat.

Roman shields had a horizontal grip though. They were very hard to twist. Not to mention they were not used for personal safety, they were used to cover your allies in a dense formation. Imagine if the front line's shields began twisting when they got struck, you would have alot of dead men pinned with arrows in the middle of your formation and it would collapse.

@warzechas I basically got what I needed at the moment. If I have further questions, I'll try the contact form again. Thanks.

@demomanchaos I have fought in re-enactment shield walls myself and know about the use of them. As you say, such shield formations were successful with Greek, Carolingian, Ottonian and Anglo-Saxon round shields, too. Those shields were domed, not flat, if we can believe period images. I am saying that flat shields could be turned and opened by thrusting against the edge. This does not work with domed shields. Vikings accepted the disadvantage for the benefits in single combat.

@hathiphnath The fact that in the Viking Age domed round shields and later curved kites and triangular shields prevailed in Christian kingdoms would suggest that they were better suited for their more organised and larger armies. So their emphasis was on training warriors to fight in formation while single combat was not as high on their agenda than with the Vikings. I would expect that it takes less time to produce a good formation fighter than a single combat champion.

Strapped shields work great with heavy armour... don't need to expose your hand to keep grip. Not to mention with heavy armour you can advance rapidly on your opponent with little fear of their blade catching a vital while you slam into them with all your strength behind your shield, knocking them backwards and creating an opening.

@hathiphnath That is my reasoning. See my discussion with demomanchaos on this page. Also consider that in single combat, flat shield edge strikes against a domed or curved shield are likely to glance off sideways. So the flat shield is deprived off some of its potential in such fights. Two fundamental changes originate here: The more passive strapped shield led to more body armour as well as blade-on-blade techniques. The birth of swordsmanship as we know it.

@hathiphnath Excellent, thanks. Bookmarked!

I didn't realize how difficult it was to attack somebody's legs in one-to-one combat like that. Maybe that explains why early Roman armor seemed to offer so little leg protection.

@demomanchaos I think you are missing my point: The rotating door effect of flat shields is an advantage in single combat. It is reversed into a disadvantage in formation. Hence the overlap of shield edges in the shield wall. The latter is not necessary with domed shields. But these are somewhat inferior in single combat in comparison because they lack the offensive potential of attacking with the shield edge and cannot use the rotating door effect. That is all I am saying.

Very interesting, enjoyable to watch. Thank you.

@warzechas I get what you are getting at now. The flat shields have to overlap to be a strong shieldwall while the curved shields like what the Romans use do not. You hit a scutum and the soldier will still be covered despite the shield twisting.

@warzechas The center grip shields seem to have a lot more advantages compared to the strapped shields -- more maneuverable, deflect low blows just by stretching out your arm, can be used in binds because of better reach... But in history we see that except for buckler, the strapped shield takes over just about completely. On horseback the benefits are obvious, but what's good in strapped shield for a footman? What are the main advantages compared to center grips?

@warzechas If your shields are being opened by thrusts on the edge, then you need to work on your formation. With the shields overlapped and pressed into each other, they are locked in place. Whacking the shields themselves does you no good. The only way to open it is to use an axe or winged spear to hook the shields and pull it, creating a short opening for an ally to get a shot in on the enemy. Dome shields would be a bit tougher to turn with a strike, but not impossible.

@demomanchaos Exactly!

@warzechas Oh, sorry, I should have looked your other comments as well. You already answered my question =)

@hathiphnath You can have a heavier shield if it is strapped. You can also still use 2 handed weapons with a smaller shield (like the heater shield). Since armor evolved so much in the medieval period, the need for shields dwindled. Why carry a big shield when you are wearing one?

@warzechas Thanks for the reply! But... you're then saying that strapped shields are better in formation fighting a'la shield wall? And less offensive in their use?

I do viking reenactment myself and I disagree on your theory about the larger shields in group combat and the shieldwall. They used the shieldwall not because of it being of little use in formation, but because the shieldwall is extremely strong. It is very difficult to break through a shieldwall and the tactic has been around since the ancient greeks.

Do you have sompe more info on the domed shield fighting technic? are the other fighting technics for this shield types or are the carolingian shield tomuch curved in the historical drawing for realistic fighting?

I downloaded it and solved it by openingit in widows movie maker and moving the soundtrack in relation to the movie...

I fixed the audio: watch?v=dkhpqAGdZPc

@warzechas Thanks for the reply again! Actually I wanted to contact you with this question some time ago, but both the English and German contact forms on hammaborg.de seemed not to be functional and there was no other practical way I could think of.

@hathiphnath Hm, try Hammaborg again. Should be in tact. Otherwise google my full name.

Why u no Sync!?

Too bad sound and picture are not in synchronicity. That is annoying.

if your arm would be attached to your arse... wwwwwzzzt!!! hahahha lol