IV. The Use of the Shield: Combat and Display

Abstract

Very little work has been done on the use of the shield, and it is the aim of this chapter to demonstrate how this aspect may be approached using archaeological evidence. Although the use of the shield is easier to infer from written and pictorial sources, written evidence on this aspect is few and far between, and pictorial evidence is generally later than the period dealt with here. Archaeological evidence that can be adduced includes sizes and shapes of shield boards and bosses, damage and repairs, decoration and some board fittings. Weapon combinations in burials do not give much straightforward information on fighting practices involving the shield (see p. 67). The archaeological record is also unlikely to throw any light on the use of the shield in battlefield tactics, such as the ‘shield wall’ referred to in several sources (Beowulf, line 3118; Battle of Maldon; and the Battle of Brunanburh in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, AD 937).