Byzantine Shields of the 14th Century

[Vilhelm550]

I've been doing some research on arms and armour of 14th C. Byzantium, and would like to explore what others may have found about infantry shields of this era. I see quite a few depictions of round shields, long, kite style shilds with a central boss, some of each that seem to be supported by the arm like a traditional Western 'heater' shield.
One question I have is; Do round, center-grip shields persist into the 14th Century in Byzantium? How about other shield shapes, both center or arm mounted?

[Theron]

By the time the 14th century rolled around there wasn't really a set "all Byzantines used shield style X". In the mid/late part of the century there were little (if any) professional army elements and the empire subsisted on mostly militia and mercenaries to keep itself safe. The Empire had been sacked and ruled by Latins for about 60 years and had only relatively recently reclaimed Constantinople. Their currency was on a steady decline forcing them to yield to Venician and Genoesian trade demands. For about 200 years, Western Crusaders had passed through their land and some had even set up shop not too far from Constantinople itself (Knights of Rhodes for example).

So, all that to say, pretty much any shield/armor style used in Europe (especially in Italy) during that time could be found in the Byzantine army. This doesn't mean that the trademark "Byzantine" styles of the 10th-12th centuries didn't exist anymore, just that they did not have the monopoly\ in the 14th century.