Talk:Buckler

Does anyone know of a buckler that didn't have a boss? I can't think of an example.--User 144 10:03, 22 July 2006 (EST)

Bosses

I don't think so -- a buckler is a small, all-metal shield -- by early-period standards, a bucker pretty much is a boss.

Basically, it's a metal soup plate with a grip inside -- although, as any fencer will tell you, it's used in an extremely different fashion from a centre-boss shield.

User:Paul Matisz 17:06EST 22/07/2006

Thought so. I couldn't of any examples outside of the SCA of bossless bucklers. On their use, I always remember the advice a well known WMA told me, "Fighting badly is still period".--User 144 12:33, 23 July 2006 (EST)

boss ... umbo?

Hmm... I've always thought of a "boss" as something that is fabricated separately from the shield, and then attached to it with rivets. At the same time, I've always thought an "umbo" (look it up) was a boss-like projection dished into the main plate of the buckler.

Sorry, I can't provide any documentation for that notion, so it may be totally erroneous.

"Boss-less buckler"? Well, there is the "Marozzo buckler", "Spada e Targe" or "Wavy buckler" (see http://www.thearma.org/essays/SwordandBucklerP2.htm ) which is more like a small rectangular shield with a shallow "W" cross section. Somewhat like a small pavise.

Another type of buckler is the "dog-dish" buckler, which has an umbo surrounded by a rim that is curved (or bent) sharply forward.

Pretty sure that "shield boss" is simply a modern term for an umbo and no distinction was made in history between separate and integral bosses. You are right onthe square bucklers, but I was thinking more on the odd round, flat bucklers some SCAdians and reenactors use.--User 144 21:32, 26 February 2007 (EST)