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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cannyjiggit" data-source="post: 6451496" data-attributes="member: 6780231">Bucklers were primarily used in one hand to protect the other hand/arm whilst making a strike with a weapon and in conjunction with the weapon to make a sturdy block. During a combat, the closest part to the enemy (and therefore the easiest part for him to hit) is usually your striking hand.The earliest reliable manuscripts we know of are called the I33 system which all depict and describe the techniques involved ( <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Armouries_Ms._I.33" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Armouries_Ms._I.33</a> ). Archers may have carried a buckler to switch to when they needed to fight hand to hand but it would probably be carried on a belt strap and used when needed rather than kept on the arm whilst trying to fire a bow. The buckler was also useful to be carried around town and with the right techniques was a second weapon to strike with (usually after a block and closing the distance whilst maintaining a bind with the opponents weapon).The common misconception of bucklers being "worn" on the arm comes from larger shields requiring an arm strap to support the weight of the shield and therefore working backwards to all shields types being worn on the arm. If the shield is small/light enough then it is far more effective wielded with a "punch grip" than simply strapped to the arm like a piece of armour. Bucklers generally range from around 9" diameter to about 18" with different people preferring a different size. The smaller ones are more maneuverable and allow for much faster strikes with the weapon but require more precision and skill, the larger ones protect a larger area but require more work and time to work the weapon around them. My personal preference is for around 12" possibly rising to around 15". Beyond about 18-20", it becomes more of a shield that has to be used separate to the weapon and at that point its more about protecting a large area of the body rather than targetting the protection for the point being struck (again though, smaller shields are more maneuverable and aim to change where they are protecting to make up for protecting a smaller area). As the shield size increases, so does the weight and at some point it becomes easier to add a strap for the arm to bear the weight rather than the wrist.</blockquote>

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