Shield type

Light shield: running speed remains unchanged

Necromancer Shrunken Heads ("dead head" for the undead)

Paladin Shields (Paladin-specific shield)

Buckler/Defender/Heater

Buckler/Defender Shield/Cold-proof Buckler

Small/Round/Luna

Small Shield/Round Shield/Moon Shield

Kite/Dragon/Monarch

Light Shield/Dragon Shield/Ruler’s Large Shield

Bone / Grim / Troll Nest

Bone Shield/Grim Shield/Cave Troll Nest Bone Shield

Spiked / Barbed /Blade Barrier

Spike Shield/ Blade Shield/Inverted Blade Shield

Medium Shield: Running speed slowed down by 5

Large /Scutum/Hyperion

Large Shield/Scale Shield/Hyperion Dragon Shield

Gothic / Ancient / Ward

Gothic Shield/Ancient Shield/Protective Shield

Heavy Shield: Running speed slowed down by 10

Tower/Pavise/Aegis

Tower Shield/Tower Shield/Tower Shield

The slowing effect of running speed is additive, that is to say, if you wear heavy armor and A heavy shield will slow down your running speed by 20

Shield: The earliest shields were made of rattan or wood. They appeared relatively late, when humans were fighting to the death with other beasts and humanoids. At that time, they only used offensive weapons and pounced on enemy beasts without hesitation. It is difficult to know where the earliest shield appeared - because of the material, it is easy to decay, and the traces of decay are difficult to trace. It is different from other wooden products for daily use. However, early civilized countries, such as Egypt and Sumerian city-states, had shields. This is certain when facing mammoths, short-faced bears, lions, bison, and Neanderthals. Homo erectus and Homo erectus, humans never thought of protecting themselves. But when they became the unchallenged overlord of the animal world, they needed the protection of shields. Does this mean that what humans fear most is their own kind? ( Of course, there are also reasons for the underdevelopment of early craftsmanship. But since the bow and arrow were invented so early, it is not appropriate to use craftsmanship to explain the underdevelopment of protective weapons.)

The early shields were made of rattan wood. There is a problem: Teng shields are easy to be chopped open by edged weapons, and wooden shields, in addition to this problem, also have the problem of being easily cracked along the wood grain when being struck by a strong blow. One of the ways to solve this problem. One is to wrap the shield with a tougher material, which the Egyptian army during the Old Kingdom had already done. By the Middle Kingdom period, Egyptian shields were mainly semicircular in the upper part and rectangular in the lower part. They were covered with fur. The fur covered the entire shield surface and was fixed with nails. At this time, a huge round shield appeared that could cover the whole body. Because it was too heavy, it had to be carried by one person during the march, and was not handed over to the warrior until the battle. There were no major improvements in shields during the New Kingdom. Another earliest civilization, the Sumerian civilization, also used shields. As early as the period of the Ur Banner, the infantry already had small shields. This is the conclusion I came to after looking at the picture. I dare not say whether it is correct. There was not much progress after that until the Assyrian period. Among the early civilized countries, Assyria paid more attention to shields. The largest of them is the wicker shield, which is made of wicker. The larger one is equal to or exceeds the height of a soldier and is wide enough to cover two to three people; the smaller one is about half a person tall and wide enough to cover one or two people.

Some of the shapes of the wicker shields are rectangular; some have a piece of top protruding backward, at right angles to the shield body; others start to curve inward from about the height of a person and gradually narrow, and finally form a spire shape, which is the most common one. During combat, a shield holder and an archer work in pairs. The shield holder carries a short sword or a spear and puts the shield on the ground to protect the archer; while the archer can fully utilize the effectiveness of his archery under the cover of the shield. This large wicker shield is most suitable for siege fighting. A large shield with its upper part folded back or curved inward can block the city's arrowhead stone. When a single person uses this kind of large shield, he leans the pointed shield against the wall and hides in it to carry out siege operations. Smaller round shields were used by charioteers, as well as by infantry spearmen and retainers of early emperors. This kind of shield is usually made of metal and is therefore relatively small. Its diameter rarely exceeds 0.5 meters. This was probably the world's first metal shield. Its shape is characterized by inward curved edges and a slightly protruding center. Round shields are sometimes made of bronze or iron, and there are also a few ceremonial round shields made of gold or silver. Among them, the golden shield is only used by the king, members of the royal family and a very small number of dignitaries. Later, the metal buckler was replaced by the wicker buckler. The edge of the shield was made of hardwood or metal materials, and sometimes the center of the shield was decorated with a protrusion.

Assyrian army siege map, pay attention to the round shields in the hands of the soldiers and the giant wicker shields under the city:

Assyrians often used convex shields in the later period. In the early days, this kind of shield was generally rectangular. After widespread use, its shape increased and its shape became square at the bottom and curved at the top. Some of these shields are made of wicker or metal. The center and edges of the shield are often decorated with rosettes or ring patterns. The length of the shield is 120 cm to 150 cm, so that soldiers can be protected from head to knee. The convex shield is carried on the back when marching. There are also some convex shields that are oval and larger, and are also carried on the back when marching.

The Assyrian shield reached the peak of early shields. In addition, India during the Age of Nations and China during the Western Zhou Dynasty were also equipped with shields. Both the Chinese infantry shield (step shield) and the chariot shield (chariot shield) are rectangular, but the chariot shield is smaller.

The famous large shield in the slave era was also the large round shield equipped by the Greek army. On the Mycenaean "Warrior Vase", this kind of large round shield has already appeared, but there is still a piece missing below. The shape of the shield is like the moon four days before the full moon. After the emergence of heavy infantry in the ancient times, this full moon took shape. The Greek buckler once withstood Persian arrows and was a trustworthy defensive weapon.

Picture of the Greek heavy infantry, pay attention to the round shield in his hand:

The heavy infantry of the Macedonian army, because they need to hold spears with both hands, they just hang a small round shield on their left shoulder. Another Macedonian unit armed with bucklers was the light infantry.

If other armies can fight the enemy with their weapons without holding shields, then it would be difficult for the Roman heavy infantry to lose their shields. After the reform of Camillus, the Roman heavy infantry, except for the reserve troops, uniformly used throwing spears and no long weapons. In melee combat, you can win with only the short sword in your hand, and you must protect yourself with a large shield. Otherwise, it would be difficult to fight against the enemy and Roman soldiers armed with shooting weapons, long weapons and even long swords. However, with the combination of large shield and short sword, Roman infantry became the most terrifying soldiers of that era. The Roman shield came into being after the invasion of Gaul, probably inspired by Celtic technology, and was used until the imperial era. This shield is made of wood, approximately semicircular when viewed from above, and rectangular when viewed from the front, 1.25 meters high and 0.8 meters wide. The shield is wrapped in leather and edged with iron sheets, and the middle part of the shield is lined with iron sheets. The Roman shield has accompanied Roman soldiers for more than 700 years, experienced countless dangerous battles, resisted the attack of countless weapons, saved the lives of countless soldiers, and finally led them to victory. It is one of the best shields in ancient times. Since a large picture of the Roman soldiers has been posted above, I won’t repeat the picture here.

The shield of the slave society has basically developed its technology to its peak. In terms of material, wooden shields, teng shields, wicker shields, copper shields, and iron shields have all appeared; in terms of size, giant shields, large shields, and small shields have appeared; in terms of shape, round shields, rectangular shields, and odd-shaped shields have appeared. Shields have appeared.

In terms of shield making technology, wooden shields are generally made of wood, wrapped in fur, often edged with iron sheets, and the handheld part is often protected by metal.

After the decline of Rome, the world ushered in the age of cavalry. At this time, large shields were not very popular, because cavalry often had to hold long weapons while riding. The objects held in the left hand were too large and heavy, which would hinder combat, and it was impossible to support the shield on the ground while riding. Therefore, the shape of the shield tends to shrink. The shields of the feudal era were relatively boring because the key technologies had already been invented in slave society. What is more distinctive at this time is the Viking teardrop shield. See picture below.

China initially called shield Qian, then changed its name to shield, and later changed its name to pai and pai. The shape is roughly rectangular or round. The more distinctive ones are: Teng Dun, made of old thick rattan, with a protruding center, similar to a bamboo hat, and more effective in protecting against arrows - Chinese infantry from the Song to Ming Dynasties were the same as Roman infantry. When facing the enemy, they first threw their spears suddenly, and then drew out their sabers. Melee combat under the protection of a shield; the invincible god card can hide 25 people. It can be said to be the largest shield in human history! There are also various "offensive and defensive" shields - most of which appeared after the invention of firearms: the Shenxing Enemy-Destroying Fire Knife, made of rawhide, with built-in incendiary firearms, can spit fire at the enemy when approaching the enemy; the Tiger Head The fire sign contains ten or twenty gunpowder arrows, which can be fired when approaching the enemy; the tiger head wooden sign is made of wood and has some small holes dug for shooting with muskets or gunpowder arrows. However, these strange shields proved to be ineffective in actual combat, so they were no longer used in the Qing Dynasty.

The function of shields is the same. It is the most effective to resist arrows. Because the arrow has a slow initial velocity and is large, unless the shield is broken, it will remain on the shield; a stabbing weapon hits the shield. Unless the shield is cracked, it will easily slide away (because the shield holder must not face the enemy completely head-on with the shield, and there is a certain angle between the shield and the weapon. Some shields are also specially designed to make the enemy's weapon slip easily) ), especially high-speed impact cavalry; and slashing weapons are easier to chop against shields, because their power is completely borne by the shield, but shields are often covered with metal, which prevents the shield from cracking along the grain; shield comparison What is difficult to deal with is the throwing gun, because its weight and size are large, and it will easily cause inconvenience to the shield holder after penetrating the shield; as for the gun, because its projectiles are small and high-speed, the effect of the shield is very small. So after the appearance of the flintlock, the shield quickly disappeared from the battlefield. Although there are still shields in modern times, they are a defensive weapon used by the police to prevent riots and cannot be used on the battlefield