The Kite shield was one of the most popular types of medieval shields and the one from which various other types of shields were derived during later medieval times.
This shield itself was popular during the early and particularly the middle medieval times from the 10th to the beginning of the 13th century.
Norman Knight Holding a Kite Shield
The term kite shield, as is evident, was applied to this medieval shield because of its resemblance to a kite shape. Initially, it had a reverse tear-drop shape with smooth edges but with the passage of time, it became a flat-topped shield.
This was among those medieval shields that were particularly popular among the Normans who brought it with them to England.
The image shows the weaponry, shields, and horses used by medieval Norman knights
The main purpose of a kite shield was the protection of the whole flank of a rider during combat. Due to this reason, it sometimes had a gradual curve to fit the contour of a human torso.
The kite shield was used by the common soldiers as well as riders during the early and middle medieval times.
Since the kite shield was among the most common medieval shields, it was extensively used by common soldiers, both riders and foot soldiers. During the earlier stages, kite shields had no boss but it was introduced later on to make it easier to deflect incoming blows.
One of the most popular medieval shields during the early and middle medieval times was the kite shield which resembled the shape of a kite. The kite shield was made popular by the Normans who extensively used it from the 10th to the 12th centuries.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article on medieval kite shields, medieval kite shields served an important purpose to protect cavalry and infantry in medieval times and were shaped like a kite.
Learn more about other medieval shields such as the Buckler *Targe *Pavise which were as equally important innovations as the kite shield please see the links at the bottom of this page.
Norman Soldiers