"Sword and Buckler are pretty awesome" - Matt Easton 2014

Of all your videos I've seen so far, this one was the biggest knowledge bomb on me. Having owned a buckler for a few years, read I33, and most of my melee skill being with one handed long blade, this really spoke to me. I've watched it several times just trying to truly absorb it all. Thank you. I really like "tower shields" to use the DnD term, having rocked a heavy one in LARP for 5 years and loved every second and pound of it. I love Roman history and want to work private security one day. Any information or future videos you could provide on this "class" of shield would be most appreciated. Thank you for distinguishing buckler from targe from heater/kite shield from pavise/tower shield from Norman shield. I've adopted as the base item versions for my home version of VTM and DnD, because I take accuracy of weapon, armor, ammunition, etc stats very seriously, because I enjoy realism in RPGs, and think characters should have diverse options. Thank you.

I feel like this is how geometry should be taught...angles make a lot more sense when you have this kind of visual

This was one of my favorite videos that you've done. Good work!

I really enjoyed this video! I love the mix of glimpses into medieval life and how they informed the use and popularity of different weapons.

@scholagladiatoria: I've counted everytime you promise "to talk about that in another video". Are you aware that you owe the internet about 7.000 vids about shields n spears n stuff? :)

You heard the man, asking questions leads to more videos. QUESTION HIM!

I was just lookin gat buckler stuff on your channel yesterday, so perfect timing for me :P

Your videos are always brilliant. Choc full of information.

Your videos are great, keep up the good work.

Great video Matt, I really enjoyed this one. Gonna report back to my D&D crew.

If anyone needs a frame of reference, carrying a sword is like carrying a pistol - very lightweight, very convenient and very quick to deploy. Carrying around a full sized shield or a polearm would be the equivalent to carrying around a rifle. The rifle is very much a field weapon (whether it's hunting or battlefield) and so would a polearm, shield or greatsword. Trust me, it gets very annoying and tiring to have to carry that around for hours on end. I was once a Marine, but just ask anyone who's been hunting, and they'll tell you the same thing. Great vid as always, Matt!

Thanks for taking the time to do such an in depth discussion. Really good stuff. I can see how the buckler could provide nearly as much protection as a full sized shield. It makes up for it's small size by being more nimble and being able to be held closer to the adversary. I think it come up short versus missiles since there is no cone of defense anymore when the shots are coming in on parallel lines. And yes, in a civilian setting, that bit isn't important - you're not going to be standing in formation under a barrage of arrows.

"bolognese sources" the pun always makes me smirk.

Great video! Keep it up!

I've always been fond of the Spanish rodelero kit setup; this video was quite enjoyable. :D

OMG! A video over 10 minutes! You spoil me. :D

Nice...thank you for sharing!

Using sagas to rebuild ancient fighting styles is like trying to learn WWII combat by reading Captain America comics.

Really looking forward to your video on dueling shields. Such weird looking things.

great video, but I love that you give your opinion about what you would carry given the choice.

Having spent many minutes using you for steady sight and small adjustment practice on a big screen, I can say that buckler makes it tougher to aim at you as well. Could just be the camera, but it tends to cover the spots I want to aim at and only leave me small bits. It's pretty fun! I've seen Skall's demonstration of how surprisingly well Medieval armor does against modern firearms. Not suggesting it's great, only that it's not insignificant.

Me and a friend just decided to pick up some Cold Steel training swords and try out some fencing. I'll be using your videos as reference! :D

There is an anecdote about carrying a sword and buckler in town. Carrying the buckler with the sword on the same side would cause one to knock against the other, making a characteristic noise with every step. In Italian, this was referred to as 'fare figo', which means 'to be cool'.

Because of this video, I purchased the cold steel buckler. After two hours, of practical reasoning, being right handed. I would use the buckler in my right hand, my sword in my hand. You may think that would not make sense. After just two hours with the buckler, I have a second one on the way. I can't wait to see how it fills to use two at once. Thanks.

I agree with your choice of weapons for wandering those scary places. I'd feel good having them in most modern scary places, much better off than most with the bare minimum of kit.

Interesting to see you put you take in with the skullagrim and demomanchaos recent talk on the shields, all three of you seem to have had a pulse on the subject at once. thank you very much for the education, entertainments and continued contribution to the 'community'.

Yes! More shields please! I don't know if it's your expertise, but can we have an analysis of spear and shield, particularly Hoplite use, and comparisons to sword and shield use, both in war or duel, particularly how Hoplite combat declined, I'm super curious.

Thumbs up, more longer videos please, I think we've got the attention span.

I have a recreation of a targe that I bought because it looked cool, and have used for fancy dress on occasion, and I can attest to the fact that it does make everyday activities unnecessarily arduous

Could you possibly do a video on utilizing shields as weapons during combat?

+scholagladiatoria great video. Thank you for posting. Do you have any information on the Chinese wicker shields? Were center grip or strap?

Matt, Hello! Could you please do a video about underarm versus overarm for daggers. I am thinking not only for Medieval & Renaissance Europe, but for more or less all periods and areas. Keep up the good work and cheers !!

In medieval swordsmanship the guards are positions of action, as you said. You start or finish a move with them, however I've noticed in 19th century saber, the guards are basically already parrying positions. How did this development come by and why wasn't it done earlier? You touched this topic briefly here and I think it would be great to expand on.

Matt Easton, could you do a video on what you think cross guard leather flaps such were for? If you look at groups such as Hammaborg, they have them on their swords and you mentioned that in many towns in Germany, civilians were allowed to carry sword length blades and I've read that those towns in Germany and Italy were essentially the dueling centers of Europe.

Were these treatises on fencing and other dueling techniques written by single individuals or were they more of a compilation of techniques gathered together into a kind of reference manual? If the former, is much known about these swordmasters? If you haven't done so already, I think a video on the personalities behind the blades is something I'd definitely be interested in.

I've just ordered two as they will easily fit in an EDC bag.

I agree 100% with your choice of civilian self-defense weapons in the Middle Ages etc. I wish it was acceptable (and legal...) to wear a sword and buckler today. I would wear them everywhere in addition to my pistol and iiiA armor to be as secure as I can be and still live normal life; maybe a FAST iiiA ballistic helmet.

You mentioned that bucklers were worn attached to the sword hilt, but I've also seen some modern bucklers with clips to attach them to your belt. How were bucklers usually worn?

Very interesting and well-thought out commentary on the buckler. The buckler would definitely have become evolved with smaller, faster weapons such as the rapier or stilletto. It also would have been used more aggressively to punch rather than block like a cestus. About 20 years ago, I saw an experiment where someone built themselves a buckler to practice padded swordplay. He tried to extend with the buckler to deflect and nearly has his wrist snapped by the first sword blow. While it may have been his blocking technique, it certainly appeared that extending the buckler was a mistake.

On the discussion of extant treatises discussing the rotella, Capoferro describes its use paired with rapier in plates 42 and 43 of the Great Representation.

Thanks for this awesome video. Very educational. I always wondered about why someone would elect to use a buckler over a "normal" round or kite shield that covers more of the body with minimal movement. And I suppose the answer, in short, is that they are lighter and more maneuverable while still providing ample protection (in duels - open battlefields... not so great against arrows or spears/polearms) by holding them to closer to your opponent and simply blocking the essential lines and angles at arm's length rather than being held to the body. Way easier to carry and cheaper for the average civilian or foot soldier.

Is combining a sword and a shield on one weapon a good idea? Like making a katar that covers the outer part of the lower arm. If yes, would it be practical to dual such weapon? If no, what weapon would pair with it well?

Hey Matt. I've recently started doing a historical-combat focused larp. While I fully realize that padded weapons and their use in the point system is VASTLY different from historical combat (with the padded weapons you tend to strike as quickly and often as possible, and of course, aren't nearly as worried about being hit), I've still noticed a few small similarities. The way shields are used, for instance, seems to be pretty on-point. I would love for you to do a video about how to get around shields! It's one problem I've been having in the practice. When we are doing sword and shield practice, it seems the only way to get past a shield is to bind it up or get a really effect feint in to make them move it aside. I'd love to hear your opinion and see your ideas for defeating a shield, getting around it and whatnot. the safest ways to do so and any other thoughts you have on the topic would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much I've learned tonnes from all of your videos!

I have trained in hema for 6 months now and i have grown a curiosity for the knightly shield. Since there are only personal interpretations available for that, were would you recomend to start? I Think that type of shield is a part of the european martial arts and still should have a place in HEMA. Thanks for great videos!

A buckler looks like something that you could cook some bacon and eggs on... And due to angles, at close range a buckler is big protection... Not big protection at all from distant missle attacks, but it is big from close attacks.

If I lived "back then" (or even now...) I would carry a buckler just to stay always ready and have a "tower shield" for when I truly expect to fight. I adopt this "light/always ready/covert" and "heavy/expecting combat/overt" philosophy in my EDC gear selection, RPG characters, etc. I know you think it is silly or absurd or even dangerous to go around wearing weapons and armor all day while working a normal civilian life. I happily do with no problem and I look quite ordinary. Not going around "looking silly" as you say in a modern context means I don't wear my AK around my neck with my chest rig of hard armor plates and 9 spare magazines and pistol tucked with helmet and elbow/knee pads like a Western soldier in a warzone. THAT would be absurd, crazy, and very tough (Roman soldier level, I aspire to it). Hiking that way is fun tho. That's the equivalent of going around in full plate with my halberd and longsword etc. in the Medieval context. I would never work a field or tend a forge or brick up a building in full plate with my greatsword on the back as for traveling. I agree, unless you expect to fight or it's your job that's not the way to go. But for RPG characters, that IS their job, kicking down doors and fighting mobs. So just have NPCs react to these unique stand out people the way they should. In the modern context, my armor is very concealable and only for the torso (Metatron's chainmail appeals to me, I'll try it). I've got a pistol the size of a big dagger squished about a bit, and a few pockets have things the size of a cell phone in them. You couldn't pick me out without a DC 15 spot check lol That's the midevial equivalent of just having a light coat of mail or a light breastplate and bringing a longblade and buckler around with a dagger or knife. People did that all the time, except for the armor. It would have saved many lives. Some people carry folding knives (most common weapon for crime, they scare me) clipped in a pocket where everyone can see them. I show less lethal force than that look (which people in the US usually dismiss). So no, I don't "look silly." Neither do my RPG character *single tear rolls down cheek, meanie* Everything is concealed. No, it's not that hard to do or difficult to live with. In fact, it's great exercise, good fun as harmless as I am, and provides real security to me and anyone innocent I have the power to help. If more people did like I did, the world would be a safer place because there would be less helpless victims and fewer passive or powerless bystanders. Evil doesn't like to do what it can't get away with clean and easily or fight battles it might loose or take risks it doesn't have to. Deterrence.

Matt, What about the Fist Buckler by Kingston Arms? That's an interesting buckler.

Personally, I started preferring the 'dark souls' style vertical grip on small and medium shields. Seems to give (me at least, with a previous severe reconstruction on my left elbow) more leverage and stability.

scholagladiatoria Is it true that we get the term swashbuckler, that is used to refer to some kinds of fighters, from the sound that the sword makes moving against the buckler when worn on the hip?

A few questions: Were boss- or bar-held shields used (fairly commonly) at the same time as strap-on shields? Were heater shields ever center-grip? And would wearing a shield (and/or polearm) in a Renaissance city raise similar reactions to casually having an AK-47 on your shoulder in modern day?

I like that you differentiate between a buckler, and a shield. Bucklers aren't shields, that's like calling a dagger a sword. They're similar, they're used similarly, but the critical difference for me is a shield has enough coverage to be effective against Arrows (Slingstones, light shot in some cases) A buckler is for Parrying, a shield is for Blocking. Just like a parrying dagger/main gauche is primarily used for defense (In a Florentine style sword fight) while the Sword/Rapier (Ax...) is primarily used for attack. That doesn't mean you can't use a dagger, buckler, or shield for attack, but that's not what you strapped it to your belt for. That's not what it's designed for, people use all sorts of things to attack, too. (Trying to cover all the FAQs here. Never going to happen, IK.) A shield can also be used for Edge Parries. This is critical in your decision whether to carry a shield, or a buckler. Are you planning on getting shot at? Might want to carry the shield. (Bucklers are also a hell of a lot easier to carry) Just want something to defend yourself in case of a duel, or robber? A buckler should do. Matt mentions that they were popular with civilians on the street, because they weren't expecting to run into massed archers, in formation. Maybe an Pistol. That's another critical difference: In formation, shields are useful for a defensive line, and a buckler is essentially useless. (Once the formations break down to a general melee, any sidearm might be useful, and there's really no predicting what you'll need. Unfortunately, you can't carry a sword, longsword, shield, spear, mace, and ax like you can in games, so chose wisely.)

Quick question regarding the maru dhal indo-persian parrying bucklers. Isn't that the best of both worlds then? You have long protruding steel tipped horns on opposite ends for potential thrusting & binding as well as further inhibiting the opponent's line of attack "area"

Would you ever use a buckler with a sabre, or is the hand protection good enough to make a buckler superfluous?

scholagladiatoria, why do you have that bar connecting the 2 walls behind you? are you bracing your walls against cannon fire?

scholagladiatoria, What do you think about the melee animations of soldiers/warriors in Rome 2 Total War. Is it accurate? I know your niche is not Ancient warfare but still, its an interesting AI accomplishment imo.

Billy Collins loved Bucklers.

Do you have que cards/outline that you use when making your videos or is this completely extemporaneous? What kind of prep do you put in before you film? Excellent work, I enjoy your videos.

True Targes also had an 6"-8" spike on them.

I watched two belegarth fighters fighting and had an epiphany that the flail outshines the axe and sword in getting around shields while still preserve the full kinetic energy of the strike (the ball on chain will continue flying at full velocity even when the stick is blocked). But I also read a text that said flails are not real medieval weapons. Do you have any insight into this?

Would one carry a buckler with a later period sword. I'm thinking of the Munich Town Guard sword, which has a much more covered hand.

Much like the buckler, the viking/round shield is much more effective if not held flat forwards. With a buckler you're looking for a reasonably shallow angle, maybe 25-30 degrees off of flat on, but with a round shield you can have it almost directly edge on and it'll work much better - it closes off lines more effectively, it catches more cuts on the flat, it gives you more offensive options, etc. As you mention though, we have no sources for this. As far as I'm aware (read: people who know more about this than me have told me) round shields should not be particularly heavy and you should be able to hold them extended for reasonable amounts of time (like a rotella, for example). Still not something you want to carry around all day though. Many re-enactors, at least here, are guilty of having overly heavy shields, because they understandably don't want their shields getting damaged all the time. Nice video, as always!

Hello Matt, I saw this statement today on a message board. This doesn't make much sense to me. Can you please address the point made below? "But a Sabre is like a Left-handed opponent to regular swords. Regular Sword and Shield techniques as we know them weren't effective against a Sabers/Schamshirs/Scimitars curved blade, which had a deceptive true length on top of the cultural martial arts that used them being able to just work around a shield easily." Thanks Max

This video has helped me understand why I'm good with a viking shield and crap with a buckler.

Hello Matt, so I have recently decided that I would like to get into traditional archery, so my question is, what would be a good bow for a beginner and, do you have any training tips.

What buckler would you carry in modern times?

Also technically a Shield is used to block/stop an attack and the Buckler to Deflect, or sort of a non weapon parry.

What do you think of the Cold Steel buckler?

How much of an issue is visibility in a comparison between parrying daggers, bucklers, and shields. Without any practical experience with shields I can image it ranging from almost no effect on your ability to see, to completely obscuring half your vision. Are there any treatises that discuss using obscured vision against an opponent using a buckler or shield?

Hi! I was on /k/ board on the 4chan website and the sword vs hatchet fight came up and i'd like to know given that the fighters had no previous experiance which fighter would most likely win if you take away the chaos aspect. I'm only asking this since people seemed to have the notion that swords were hard to deal significant damage with without the previous experiance.

many depictions of gurkha footmen, gurkha kings/shahs, carrying EDC bucklers&kukries, PLUS even EDC talwar (talwar-related)

Got any of the spikey Spanish bucklers?

As always a highly interesting chat with plenty of " I hate you Butler " It's (on the buses)

Are there and Highlander manuals for targe and broadsword?

scholagladiatoria What's your favorite Albion single handed sword for sword and buckler play? I'm thinking about getting one, and it seems that the Knight is very highly rated by the good folks in myarmoury....

Ive read I. 33 in translation and it gives different advice than the Bolognese or other Italian books. The buckler in that source is used more like the how the later rotella or round shield is advised to be used.

From italy, we have some bolognese...nice

i've seen dozens of Nepalese period-art depictions, even a few photos, of gurkha foot soldiers, and 'kings', EDC kukri and buckler

I was thinking, considering that a shield is as much defense as it can (potentially) be an offense weapon, what if you attached a rainbow shaped blade at the bottom of your shield that is sticking out maybe a few inches out of it? Or maybe just make the outer ring of the shield from solid steel and then sharpen the bottom half of it? It could be used in a sweeping motion with your left hand to cut your opponent, to me it sounds practical. What do you think?

I am new to this channel, so sorry if was covered already at one point... But I'd love to see a comparison between Langes Messer, Großes Messer and a sword of that era. From what I know both types of Messer where basically developed as a response to the fact that only noblemen were allowed to carry double-edged swords in the Holy Roman Empire. So it would be interesting to see how these commoners weapons actually compare to a sword. And it's quite funny that even then people tried to find legal loopholes.

Where did you buy that buckler?

What about those bat/paddle shaped tourney shields?

Boss held shields seem to have been predominant for over 1000 years, even though there were exceptions like the Hoplon. Do you have a theory about what triggered the transition from boss held to strapped shields in medieval europe? Under what circumstances do they become the better alternative?

Links to purchase that model of sword and buckler? Should I start with 9 or 12 inch buckler

Sword and buckler almost always beats Longsword, it takes a lot of time to work out and figure out how to best a sword and buckler guy. I spent months on end practicing and trying to work out ways to best a sword and buckler fighter. It is very hard and you have to more out think, and feint out your foe to make your opponent over extend the buckler then take his wrist.

Were bucklers always round? Or were they in other shapes prior to the 16th century, what of the shoulder mounted shields of then seen in jousts? also what do you know of later sheild types seen in German manuscripts used for spears with holes or slots cut into the side? Would be very interested to know.

I don't know if this is stupid or not, but when you describe things and bring up new names... it would be nice if you could spell what you are going to talk about on the description. I have found myself trying to guess how what you said is spelled several times... bo...what? shields?

What about rapier and buckler? Was this combination popular? Would it be better than sword and buckler?

That looks exactly like my buckler... hey, have you been rifling through my collection?

Here's a question... As an off hand item, which would you prefer. A main-gauche or a buckler? Having more defense or the second edge?

Is there historical evidence for shields made of hide over a wooden frame, in Europe? And does the weight/material difference change how it would be employed Vs. a wooden shield?

center grip round shield?

With the popularity of using wood for shields and weapons throughout the ages, why was wooden armor pieces never considered if you couldn't afford metal armor?

Is the buckler only for civilian use or did the military use it as well? I don’t think it would be that good if your opponents are equipped with range weapons?

Your mention of Skallagrim confirms my theory that you three at least know about eachother (lindybeige)

I've noticed most bucklers have a u shaped handle that bulges out (like your's mine is similar). I realize this is probably done to fit a protective glove or because it is cheaper than making the dome bigger, but is it really historically accurate? I thought most bucklers historically had recessed or flat handles. Maybe all our hema bucklers are wrong!!!!

Any thoughts on warzecha idean of how viking shields could be used?

Would you go with a sword and dagger combo over a sword and buckler?.

Matt, is that an Albion sword you are using in this vid? What model?

what did town guards typically carry and wear?