Buckler
A small fist shield up to 45 cm across, gripped behind a central boss, used from about 1100 to 1600 alongside a one-handed sword, falchion or rapier.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
The buckler is a small shield held not on the forearm but in the fist. Its name comes from the Old French bocle or boucle, boss, from which French bouclier, shield, also derives. It was popular in Europe from roughly 1100 to 1600. The buckler's diameter usually did not exceed about 45 centimetres. The grip sits in the middle, behind the convex boss. The buckler was paired with a one-handed sword, a falchion or a rapier. The earliest known European fencing manual, MS I.33 from around 1270 to 1320, from the Franks, teaches sword-and-buckler fighting in images where a priest (sacerdos) instructs a pupil (scolaris); on the last two pages a woman named Walpurgis appears. The buckler serves six roles: it protects the hand, is held forward as a floating shield narrowing the opponent's attack lines, deflects the blade, hides the sword hand's position, strikes like a metal fist, and binds the opponent's weapon and arms. The manuscript has belonged to the Royal Armouries since 1950 and is held in Leeds; sword-and-buckler fighting is reconstructed from it in historical European martial arts. The buckler and the shashka are also used together in the Caucasian tradition of parikaoba. On ancient medals the buckler expressed public vows to the gods for a ruler's safety or his role as protector of the people.
Katas using this weapon
Historical sources
- Liber de Arte Dimicatoria (MS I.33) — Lutegerus (Clericus Lutegerus), 1270–1330