Robin Netherton wrote:
This question relates to a costume issue I'm working on, but it's out
of my own field.
I am working with a document from England, c. 1400, that describes a
brooch, worn on the chest, as being as wide as the boss of a buckler.
There is no additional detail. I need to know what that would mean to
the medieval reader.
So: What is the typical diameter of a buckler boss (meaning the round
metal stud-like thing in the middle of a small round shield) from c.
1400 England? I have no idea if any artifacts exist, but I know that
shields with central bosses are evident in artwork. Rather than just
look at illuminations and guess, though, I would feel better
consulting people who work in armor of this period and have a broader
sense of the available evidence.
Bonus points if I can get a citation -- to either a written work
(period document or a modern study), an extant artifact, or an expert
who has studied these well enough to be considered an authority (e.g.
not just "this is what works for me when I make them" or "my Laurel
says...").
If anyone here has a contact with an armor expert, or is on a list or
board that includes armor researchers with a strong grounding on
period evidence, I would greatly appreciate your forwarding this query
along. I will gladly take answers either by private e-mail or to this
list.
Thanks,
Robin
I'd second all the answers you've had - ask on LivingHistory, look at
the Fechtbuch and other fighting manuals. The key thing is that a
buckler is more like a piece of armour for the hand than a body-covering
shield, the idea is that you move it around and block (and sometimes
punch) with it. The boss is the domed part that covers your knuckles,
so fist-sized is the general idea.
Jean
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