Description
Inner diameter 12-13 cm
Height 6 mm
Material – Steel ST3
Thickness 2 mm
Hand forging.
Umbon (Latin umbo “protrusion, bulge”) is a metal plaque-a hemispherical or conical overlay placed in the middle of the shield, protecting the warrior’s hand from blows piercing the shield. Under the umbon there is often a handle by which a warrior holds a shield. It also acts as a shield decoration. Often the umbon was given a pointed shape, which allowed striking blows with a shield.
Shields with umbon were widespread from the Bronze Age to the late Middle Ages, as a more expensive and reliable version of a simple wooden shield. The manner of holding the shield with a fist by the handle in the middle of the shield significantly influenced the tactics of combat: both single fencing (not only actively repelling weapons, but also attacking) and building a foot formation in a line (as tightly as possible with a solid wall of shields). As the cavalry became massive, the shield had a second sling, which the shield began to hang on the forearm.
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