Naval Medical Logistics Command Celebrates Diversity in a Big Way [Image 2 of 5]

FREDERICK, MD, UNITED STATES

08.14.2018

Photo by Julius Evans 

Naval Medical Readiness Logistics Command, Williamsburg, VA

On display were a collection of plastic, and safer for an office setting, medieval weapons that were commonly used throughout Europe during the 11th-15th Century.

The medium shields were commonly used from the Viking days of the 700s - 900s AD and they made very effective shield walls from both ground fighting in formation (like a Roman Phalanx of a wall of shields with a shield roof or a turtle-like dome of shields as shown in movies like “300” or TV like “Vikings”) and ship-to-ship fighting as two ships came along side and then one crew boarded the other. Shields varied in size, materiel, and function which largely depended on the culture using them and the weapons they were paired with; a good example is how the Greeks fought in Troy, a lightly armored person carrying a large shield paired with a long spear makes an effective fighter who is relatively inexpensive to arm and send to battle. The buckler is a later development and was more commonly used in the 14th through 17th Centuries. The buckler was light and small, often called a “Target” and they work very well paired with the long thin rapiers associated with Musketeers and Swashbucklers. The shields in general use fell out of popular favor as gunpowder gain advantage and firearms became more effective weapons.

• Date Taken: 08.14.2018
• Date Posted: 08.15.2018 15:53
• Photo ID: 4648836
• VIRIN: 180814-N-VL857-984
• Resolution: 3456x2304
• Size: 3.68 MB
• Location: FREDERICK, MD, US