Ok, so I've seen all these episodes and plenty others, but im still wondering if full metal sheilds were actually used back then. Can anyone help me out? I'm sorry if it sounds like an uneducated question, but I love this subject and I seem to be very limited on sources.
@Lusitania101 Not usually. Bucklers could be made of metal, but bigger than that very rare or completely unseen. The biggest one's I've heard of are from later Spain, used with a rapier. Their diameter was about the length of your fist to your elbow. Anyone's free to correct me, if I'm proven wrong.
A shield wall and a phalanx are different things though. A Phalanx is much deeper than a shield wall and is not a defensive formation at all. The idea of a phalanx is that every man pushes the man in front of him and the combined weight of the formation drives forward into enemy. It takes a lot of drill to accomplish as every man must march and heave forward in unison. A shield wall is relatively static by comparison, perfect for the kinds of militia armies they had.
"but what where they for?" he asks. *random arrow that-would-have-gone-through-his-freaking-body hits the shield* "well! thats one reason" hes says with a smile. then a bloody knight charges at him and he blocks for his life. this guy isent a historian, hes a warrior! i mean he dident even blink when that arrow struck his shield, even if its been arranged before-hand. great stuff.
this guy is awesome, he had this one series on the history channel (i forget what it was called, but it dealt with medieval weapons and stuff) and it was really cool
Ummm actually, the golden age of shields was Ancient Rome. The roman legion used shields more than anyone. And what about hoplite warfare in ancient greece? I think this program is a little biased.
@hockey160029 Um...you do realise the show is called Weapons that made BRITAIN, not the world? It IS biased to what was going on in Britain because that is what the show is about...Britain.
Shields have been commonplace throughout history, everyone used them, not just the Romans. Persians, Greeks, Celts, Assyrians, Germanians, etc. You name it.
Late antiquity/early medieval western Germanic warfare centered their battlefield tactics on extensive use of the shieldwall, the most elaborate shield formation in history, sometimes consisting of three or four levels of interlocking shields.
@hockey160029 you are one of those people who keep asking questions in the classroom because you are not listening to the instructor. It always makes me want to ask; "why did you take this class if you already know all you want to know?"
@royalknight2 you can punch someone in the face witht the handle - it's one of the reasons that shields have a metal boss, not to mention that you can use the edge to break spears and necks.
@royalknight2 Anything and everything is a weapon... A shield makes a perfectly fine weapon, given the correct situation (which is up close)... If you understood how to properly use one, you would understand that it is indeed a weapon.
Has anyone ever seen "The Worst Jobs in History" with Tony Robinson? Thats a good show... its a documentary like this too. Too bad they took away Crime and Punishment series tho.
This series is really great too! Is there any other series that this great guy (what's his name?!) partakes in?
@Droopydog545 His name is Mike Loades. Only other documentary series that I know he's in, is one called Weapon Masters (and I believe the show is still airing). I'm planning to get episodes of that, but it's proving difficult to find. Hopefully I can get them though, because some of them are really great.
@Droopydog545 He does a lot of guest appearances on other shows but the one I have seen him on most after Weapon Masters is Ancient Discoveries. He shows up every other episode.
Anyhow, mike loades looks like a real soldier, he could act in a medieval film anyday. I wonder if he did spend time in a military.. if he did i wouldnt be surprised
but self defense? mhm.. more guns used for selfdefense result in more dead people. for hunting or shooting, you can also use a normal singelshot wepon right?
*Correction* more dead criminals not people in general. I live in an armed society and we do get along here well. We do have single shot weapons are they are good for hunting varmints, bigger game a multi-round magazine is extremely helpful.
not so. If you know how to shoot the chances of you hitting someone unintended are very slim. The regulation of firearms only hinder the law abiding citizen from being armed not the criminal. That is why people who break the law are criminals.
as citizens preventing crime we stop about 2.5M a year, not to mention on a daily basis 550 women don't get raped, 1,100 murders are prevented and 5,200 violent crimes. That is just daily. 92% of the time just showing a firearm will stop an attack.
@TheLoki7281 Why dont you compare the sweedes to the germans. They have more laxed gun control than the states. Further more your statistics are WAY off. US has way more than 11 512 killings in Non-culpable murder alone
I wonder why the roman shield wasn't used anymore, it seems like the perfect shield for a shield wall... or maybe it was too big and not mobile enough
Good question. It was abandoned as early as the late (Bazantine) roman period, where large round sheilds started to be used by foot soldiers ( as you suggest possibly to increase mobility) and the roman military became more horse based anyway, as a response to the effectivness of "barbarian" cavalry. The anglo-saxon sheild wall could be seen as the beginning of the reinvention of roman sheild formations, allbeit manned largely by "amatuers", not professional legionaries.
As shown in the documentary shields did become longer again, then even oblong, but in the latter case as a mobile wall to protect crossbowmen/ early gunners against their enemy counterparts. As he describes here armour finaly made the sheild obsolete on the battlefeild.
that guys insane haha :P what a bloke tho, excellent series, with amazing footage of the sheilds, and weapons being used as they would have been. quality
you're UK based, so for some suggestions, look online for the following:
"The British Federation for Historical Swordplay" - their groups section links to nationwide groups.
you might also want to look at reenactment groups if you're interested in history - exactly which ones will of course be dependant on what areas of history interest you most, and your location.
Holy crap he must have big clanking brass balls to have that arrow shot at him
smile221 1 month ago
Ok, so I've seen all these episodes and plenty others, but im still wondering if full metal sheilds were actually used back then. Can anyone help me out? I'm sorry if it sounds like an uneducated question, but I love this subject and I seem to be very limited on sources.
Lusitania101 2 months ago
@Lusitania101
I don't think large shield ever was only metal. But there where some small bucklers that where only metal.
gurkfisk89 1 month ago
@gurkfisk89 thanks for the reply!
Lusitania101 1 month ago
@Lusitania101 Not usually. Bucklers could be made of metal, but bigger than that very rare or completely unseen. The biggest one's I've heard of are from later Spain, used with a rapier. Their diameter was about the length of your fist to your elbow. Anyone's free to correct me, if I'm proven wrong.
DiabolusIgnis 1 week ago
well i was always taught swashbuckling came from the pirates?
philhindu29 3 months ago
@philhindu29 ya
MultiFirespark 1 month ago
1:30
You say shield wall, I say phalanx
You say potato, I say... potato... well it doesn't translate to text too well but you get my point.
AnonymousUbiquity 8 months ago
@AnonymousUbiquity
A shield wall and a phalanx are different things though. A Phalanx is much deeper than a shield wall and is not a defensive formation at all. The idea of a phalanx is that every man pushes the man in front of him and the combined weight of the formation drives forward into enemy. It takes a lot of drill to accomplish as every man must march and heave forward in unison. A shield wall is relatively static by comparison, perfect for the kinds of militia armies they had.
Unwardil 6 months ago
@Unwardil
Touche better-educated-on-the-subject-guy, touche.
AnonymousUbiquity 6 months ago
0:43 - 1:07 shows how badass Mike Loades is, Damn, i will follow that guy in every hand to hand Battle.
He is my Hero too!
TheHolyWenzel 9 months ago
wouldn't it be awesome if war and fighting was still like this?
mrpinkice 9 months ago
"but what where they for?" he asks. *random arrow that-would-have-gone-through-his-freaking-body hits the shield* "well! thats one reason" hes says with a smile. then a bloody knight charges at him and he blocks for his life. this guy isent a historian, hes a warrior! i mean he dident even blink when that arrow struck his shield, even if its been arranged before-hand. great stuff.
Tarimoth 11 months ago
this guy is awesome. nuff said.
Tarimoth 11 months ago
this guy is awesome, he had this one series on the history channel (i forget what it was called, but it dealt with medieval weapons and stuff) and it was really cool
videogamerxx 1 year ago
saxon shield is small time
try the late much tighter Hoplite formations
or the Roman Legionary formations
barneysixx 1 year ago
Ummm actually, the golden age of shields was Ancient Rome. The roman legion used shields more than anyone. And what about hoplite warfare in ancient greece? I think this program is a little biased.
hockey160029 1 year ago
@hockey160029 Notice that he said "It was a golden age" not "The golden age."
Kisk79 1 year ago 27
@hockey160029 Um...you do realise the show is called Weapons that made BRITAIN, not the world? It IS biased to what was going on in Britain because that is what the show is about...Britain.
KodieDaBear 11 months ago
@hockey160029 The series is called "weapons that made britain" not "weapons that made the world".
Addybattler 10 months ago
@hockey160029 the name of the show is weapons that made BRITTAIN not weapons that made the world... seriously
gamlingendelux 9 months ago
@hockey160029 lol
lol
Shields have been commonplace throughout history, everyone used them, not just the Romans. Persians, Greeks, Celts, Assyrians, Germanians, etc. You name it.
migkillerphantom 8 months ago
@hockey160029 BUT... there is one 'but'.
Late antiquity/early medieval western Germanic warfare centered their battlefield tactics on extensive use of the shieldwall, the most elaborate shield formation in history, sometimes consisting of three or four levels of interlocking shields.
migkillerphantom 8 months ago
@hockey160029 you are one of those people who keep asking questions in the classroom because you are not listening to the instructor. It always makes me want to ask; "why did you take this class if you already know all you want to know?"
RiverVmanna 6 months ago
@hockey160029 dude, you're kinda forgetting about viking round-shields. especially the big ones. vicious weapons, greatly used as such.
AnonMadara 4 months ago
a shield is a weapon now?
royalknight2 1 year ago
@royalknight2 Did you not start the video at the start? Because if you did, you'd see how it can be one at 1:04.
Kisk79 1 year ago 5
@royalknight2 kid. play modern warfare 2. u can beat people up with shields quite easily
LPmaniac123 1 year ago
@royalknight2 the shield has always been a great weapon.
toxi87 11 months ago
@royalknight2 you can use shield to bash, just like you can use a sword to parry.
Ivaron2 10 months ago
@royalknight2 you can punch someone in the face witht the handle - it's one of the reasons that shields have a metal boss, not to mention that you can use the edge to break spears and necks.
Yockenthwaite1 9 months ago
@royalknight2 Anything and everything is a weapon... A shield makes a perfectly fine weapon, given the correct situation (which is up close)... If you understood how to properly use one, you would understand that it is indeed a weapon.
tomcat2222 9 months ago
@royalknight2 Anything can be a weapon in the hands of a skilled fighter...even a pen believe or not :)
sairoku 8 months ago
@royalknight2 its always had the ability to be used as a weapon
Verseification 8 months ago
@royalknight2 the metal circle in the middle of the shield (earlier shields, think roman) packed a massive munch!
brahimbug 7 months ago
@brahimbug or saxon for that matter >.<
brahimbug 7 months ago
@royalknight2 Yes! The things could be used to bash and the boss or edge could smash
ajferet 4 months ago
0:53 thank god the archer didn't miss.
Droopydog545 1 year ago
Has anyone ever seen "The Worst Jobs in History" with Tony Robinson? Thats a good show... its a documentary like this too. Too bad they took away Crime and Punishment series tho.
This series is really great too! Is there any other series that this great guy (what's his name?!) partakes in?
Droopydog545 1 year ago 2
@Droopydog545 His name is Mike Loades. Only other documentary series that I know he's in, is one called Weapon Masters (and I believe the show is still airing). I'm planning to get episodes of that, but it's proving difficult to find. Hopefully I can get them though, because some of them are really great.
Kisk79 1 year ago
@Droopydog545 Shame that cock Baldrick is in it. He ruins Time Team.
erroneousapostrophe 1 year ago
@Droopydog545 He does a lot of guest appearances on other shows but the one I have seen him on most after Weapon Masters is Ancient Discoveries. He shows up every other episode.
hybriddefect 1 year ago
bioware should hire him as adviser for dragon age 2 , 1 was soo gay especially now that i've seen Loades show .
This guy is best historian ever , not only he studies history he goes out and tries it .
sewagedweller 1 year ago 4
Iberian ifantry used bucklers called then caetra...
PompeusMagnus 1 year ago
Anyhow, mike loades looks like a real soldier, he could act in a medieval film anyday. I wonder if he did spend time in a military.. if he did i wouldnt be surprised
Pawnbroker00 1 year ago
WEAPONS DONT KILL PEOPLE, I DO HAHA
Pawnbroker00 1 year ago
@000majorwinters000 And sliced by a sword!
Dtaylor94 1 year ago
Best show ever.
Swidhelm 1 year ago
that small shield looks like a pot lid
fletcher0102 1 year ago 4
@fletcher0102 My brother and I used pot lids as shields while playing swords when we were kids.
TheThinRedLine98 1 year ago
wow if that arrow was a bit off....
1x93cm 1 year ago
wepons made britain, and nowdays we cant even own a fuckin semi auto handgun
138FrOsTy138 2 years ago
@138FrOsTy138 and wy do you need them?
gb is under war? or somthing like that? ;)
TheLoki7281 2 years ago
you don't need weapons for war, you can use them for self defense, hunting or just to shoot.
Drunkgrenadier 2 years ago
@Drunkgrenadier sure
but self defense? mhm.. more guns used for selfdefense result in more dead people. for hunting or shooting, you can also use a normal singelshot wepon right?
TheLoki7281 2 years ago
*Correction* more dead criminals not people in general. I live in an armed society and we do get along here well. We do have single shot weapons are they are good for hunting varmints, bigger game a multi-round magazine is extremely helpful.
Drunkgrenadier 2 years ago
@Drunkgrenadier so all the killed people are criminals? O-o
no..more and better weponsresult in more dead poeple... maybe also in more dead criminals but every time in more dead people...
TheLoki7281 2 years ago
not so. If you know how to shoot the chances of you hitting someone unintended are very slim. The regulation of firearms only hinder the law abiding citizen from being armed not the criminal. That is why people who break the law are criminals.
as citizens preventing crime we stop about 2.5M a year, not to mention on a daily basis 550 women don't get raped, 1,100 murders are prevented and 5,200 violent crimes. That is just daily. 92% of the time just showing a firearm will stop an attack.
Drunkgrenadier 2 years ago
@Drunkgrenadier i dont know, were come from but if we compare the usa(more wepons) and germany(less wepons)...
U.S. Population 308 million Germany 82 million Ratio: 3.6
93,500 rapes U.S. 7 292 rapes Germany 26,251 compared to U.S.
11,512 people killed by firearms in the U.S. 161 people killed by firearms Germany 579 compared to U.S.
Total murders 16,929 U.S. 2266 Germany 8757 in relation to U.S.
TheLoki7281 2 years ago
@TheLoki7281 Why dont you compare the sweedes to the germans. They have more laxed gun control than the states. Further more your statistics are WAY off. US has way more than 11 512 killings in Non-culpable murder alone
chillnshred 1 year ago
but then you get some mad fucker
tutfut 1 year ago
Loades is awesome
TheWELSHGUARD 2 years ago
I wonder why the roman shield wasn't used anymore, it seems like the perfect shield for a shield wall... or maybe it was too big and not mobile enough
SamPsc 2 years ago 3
yes for a shield wall it was a good shield however in single combat it was more of a liability i fyour formation was broken you were in trouble
lockbreak12 2 years ago
Good question. It was abandoned as early as the late (Bazantine) roman period, where large round sheilds started to be used by foot soldiers ( as you suggest possibly to increase mobility) and the roman military became more horse based anyway, as a response to the effectivness of "barbarian" cavalry. The anglo-saxon sheild wall could be seen as the beginning of the reinvention of roman sheild formations, allbeit manned largely by "amatuers", not professional legionaries.
raysteer 2 years ago
As shown in the documentary shields did become longer again, then even oblong, but in the latter case as a mobile wall to protect crossbowmen/ early gunners against their enemy counterparts. As he describes here armour finaly made the sheild obsolete on the battlefeild.
raysteer 2 years ago
Very impressive!! You've really got to be confident in your training partner to let them do anny of those things to you with real weapons.
charlieChanning 2 years ago 3
did they just shoot him with reall arrow?
loveryoda 2 years ago 6
I gotta get to Edington
EPU01 2 years ago
He just risked being shot by an arrow and plugged with a lance in less then five seconds. He's my hero.
000majorwinters000 2 years ago 70
And almost got a sword to the face. Definitely the most awesome presenter ever.
ArthasvsLeon 2 years ago 5
@000majorwinters000 I bet the health and saftey bloke cacked himself when he saw them film that heheh
MartinRV1975 1 year ago
that guys insane haha :P what a bloke tho, excellent series, with amazing footage of the sheilds, and weapons being used as they would have been. quality
CplDrew 2 years ago 3
I couldn't agree more! I want his job! xD
000majorwinters000 2 years ago 3
you have to love mike's way of demonstrating the weapons and armour, well, unless you're a health and safety officer lol
i just love this series
biffoisirate 2 years ago 4
ahhh sod H&S lol. put them in Afghanistan or Iraq n let them talk abt H&S there lol.
EmperorTiger 2 years ago
I love it!
000majorwinters000 2 years ago
i really want to learn authetic sword figting. i have fenced for 5 years but would love to use a real sword.
jocarroll 2 years ago
you're UK based, so for some suggestions, look online for the following:
"The British Federation for Historical Swordplay" - their groups section links to nationwide groups.
you might also want to look at reenactment groups if you're interested in history - exactly which ones will of course be dependant on what areas of history interest you most, and your location.
Good luck finding a group - it's great fun. :)
suzerain01 2 years ago
Comment removed
000majorwinters000 2 years ago
hes got the job every guy wants
whowantsabighug 2 years ago 38
My thoughts exactly.
000majorwinters000 2 years ago
@whowantsabighug He really does. I'd love his job
EdvvardCash 8 months ago