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How heavy was a spartan shield?

Updated: 8/23/2023
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13y ago

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depends on what type some were wooden (vikings and i think Persians/Turks/Muslims) and steel (most Europeans) they could be very light or very heavy it also depended on the person carrying them knights i think had their shields custom made

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14y ago
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13y ago

much lighter than you'd expect.

the average one handed sword weighs about 1,150 grammes (2lbs), and maces and axes were about the same weight too.

the hand and a half longsword around 1.4 kilogrammes, (2.5lbs)

the pollaxe, a 6 foot haft with a hammer or axe head and spear point on one end weighs about 2.5 kg (4.5-5lbs)

The lance used on horseback, about 3.5kg (6.5-7lbs)

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13y ago

from 21kg (43lbs) in the case of full gothic plate in the 1470's upwards.

most armour was around the 25kg (50lb) mark, for a full covering harness, with partial armour correspondingly lighter.

these averages were for later medieval armour, the sort most people imagine as "knight in shining armour" type attire. Early "transitional" types of armour, however, were heavier: the Norman era maille hauberk was around 55lbs, made from thousands of linked rings, and the later plate harnesses were shaped steel plate without much maille, but transtional period armour was made from plates worn over a fulle harness of maille, and was correspondingly heavier, up to about 65lbs or so. This weight was rapidly reduced as the maille underneath was abandoned as excess weight without any additional protection.

The one exception to the weights of armour was in jousting armour.

Specialised armour was created for the sport of jousting, often featuring solid arms, extra-thick breastplates, and massive helmets solidly attached to the body. These sporting armours weighed 50kg (100lbs) or more - but were specifically used for sport, not war. Victorian collectors appear to have imagined the jousting harnesses were the same as war or "field" armour, creating the myth of the knight being immpobile if unhorsed, and the incredibly heavy armour. the reality is the field armours were lightweight, allowing the user to move easily.

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10y ago

The Romans had three types of shield over their history.

From the 6th century BC to the 4th century BC the Romans used the clipeus, which was a small round shield which was carried on the arm. It was then replaced by the parma and the scutum

The parma was a round shield which was a yard of less across and was made of metal, making it very effective. It was used by the light infantry in the Early- and Mid- Republic. It was scrapped when the light infantry was also scrapped and all legionaries used the same weapons and equipment, thus getting replaced by the scutum which was previously the shield of the heavy infantry.

The scutum which was originally oval and curved and was made of two sheets or strips of bentwood glued together to make a convex curve to deflect javelins and blows. They were covered with canvas and hide and the edges were bound in rawhide or iron. Later the scutum changed in shape and became rectangular. As they were also curved, they formed a semi-cylinder. They had a round boss of bronze, brass of iron at the centre. The best surviving example has been found in Syria. It is 1.06 metre (42 in) high, a distance around the curve of 0.86 metre (34 in) which made its width, a depth of 66 centimetres (26 in) a thickness of 5-6 millimetres and weighs 10 kilos (22 pounds). The rectangular version of the scutum remained the shield of the Roman soldiers for the rest of Roman history.

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13y ago

About 20 pounds.

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12y ago

30 pounds

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