The Armour Archive

Anyone know what the Magyars were using for shields around the 9th century?

Thanks!

It's a topic of significant debate. In the ninth century, Hungarian cavalry was already VERY heavy by western standards.... but so far as is known, not a single boss has ever been found in a known Hungarian burial. This may change based on knowledge coming from Russian scholars, and it means one of four things:

1. Shields used were pretty typical for the region (meaning likely but by no means exclusively round), but were not generally considered putting in with grave goods (similarly, a very, very low number of lance/spear heads has been found, and those theoretically due to a known tradition of marking graves with a spear).

2. Hungarian heavy cavalry was sufficiently heavy, with extensive lamellar and splinting, etcetera, that they eschewed the shield in favor of two-handed lance work.

3. Hungarian warriors used a variation of wooden shield not requiring a boss (similar to the MUCH later reference in Goliath to a "Hungarian shield" that is similar to what would have been used in Venetian bridge battles). This is on the one hand much less likely, but on the other hand supported by the fact that Hungarian history has kicked out at least a few very odd, specialized shields.

4. Hungarian shields were made from alternate materials: some combo of cuir boilli/leather/tawed hide/rawhide, perhaps.

It's, unfortunately, a WIDE open debate, made worse by the fact that the majority of the troops that other nations' writers came in contact with were lightly-equipped troops serving under the Gyula (the leather-armored skirmishers referred to in Byzantine sources, for instance), and thus not the Hungarian main-line cavalry.

Wow, ok...
So the rounds they used were arm strapped, not center grip?

So from a re-enactors standpoint, about anything they had contact with they used?

Thorfinn

Hrm... how to say this...

from a re-enactor's standpoint, no shield is safest, anything other than a shield with a boss is safer. There is major scholarly uncertainty, so you can even get away with an "anything goes" if you like, though kites and similar are extremely unlikely.

fyi, look under Khazar armor thread on "Armour"