THE EARLY AGE OF GREECE VOL.I by W.Ridgeway 1901

-'
THE ROUND SHIELD. 463
Nor was it only in the Bronze Age that this type prevailed,
for it was also generally in use among the Germanic peoples at
the Christian era, and for long afterwards^
The Anglo-Saxons brought Avith them into England from
their homes beyond the sea shields of the same type. The
'
battle board ' {hilde-horde) was circular, as is proved from the
traces left by it in the graves, where it was regularly laid fiat
over the warrior's breast. It was usually of wood, probably often
464 THE ROUND SHIELD.
It closely resembles the bosses of the Hallstatt type. It is
therefore certain that the circular shield with the central boss
survived among the German
Fig. 92. Boss of Anglo-Saxon Shield;
Suffolk.
tribes till far into our era.
Indeed, although we shall
shortly see that the Gauls
had adopted the scutum
uhlongum from the end of
the fourth century B.C., and
that the Belgic tribes had
brought
such shields into
Britain, nevertheless it is
certain that at the end of the first century A.D. the British
tribes of the interior still used round shields, for Tacitus
speaks of the Britons, who fought against Agricola, as armed
"
ingentibus gladiis sine mucrone et brevibus caetris'." This
large pointless sword, useless
for thrusting, was the
parent of the Highland
claymore {claithmor, big
sword), whilst the caetra
survived in
the target borne
by the mediaeval Highlanders
and Irish.
I
figure (no. !)8) a
wooden shield covered with
leather and studded with
r**""**.
Fiii. '.tl. Jiron/.e Sliirld. r,,, I.r.mrick (l)ack).
covered with leather. A sliidd (if inm is nieiitioned in Beiiundf.
The ir(ju bo^s is a regular featuri' (it
Anglo-Saxon graves. It
was Hxed in the centre of the shield by livets which usually
remain. 'I'he
shape is iKunially that of a small dee]) basin
tapei'ing at the top to a point which ends in a knob (Fig. I>:i)'-.
'
scuta.
Tac. (ii-nn. 11: (.niiiiimn liaiuiii miilitim ((Mitlunics cte.) iii.'^i^iu.' rotuiula
TIr' illustiiuiou (fiDiu (iiic (if
my own sjicciiiKiis) is fiuni a drawin;^ li_v
lav fii(jiid the Kcv. .J. (.. C'laik, M.A.
Fiii. U8. The O'DonoVan Shield;
Skibbeieen.
brass nails disposed geometrically
which is about
200 years old. It belonged
to one of tile O'Donovan
clan and is now in the ])oss(\ssion
of The 0']Jono\an-. This
shield is verv interesting as showing that the ancient fasiiion of
1
-
Aijric.
;-5tl.
I iim indebted to Tlie O'Donovan for a most accurate account of his
shield, to my friend Mr Itoii.Tt Day. l-'.S.A.. fm- intoiination about its date, and
to my friend Mr -lolin Day fur ilic pboto^'raiih from whicli nry illustration is
taken.