Are Bucklers Better than Shields? Possibly Maybe Sometimes

One question I get often is whether bucklers are better than shields. This is a question that seems to have been asked throughout history, as George Silver sought to answer it as well. Silver wrote in 1599 that “The sword and buckler has advantage against the sword and target…”. However, he also followed up by stating “Yet understand, that in battles, and where variety of weapons are, among multitudes of men and horses, the sword and target, the two handed sword, battle axe, the black bill, and halberd, are better weapons, and more dangerous in their offense and forces, than is the sword and buckler…”. So if George Silver is right, then the buckler actually has an advantage over the shield in a fight where only sword and buckler or sword and shield is in use.

Previously, we tested the effectiveness of sword and shield versus sword and buckler. The conclusion was that the less fencing experience someone had, the more value they got out of the shield, but with enough experience, bucklers began to look like more viable options. However, the fencer had to be trained with the buckler to maximize their effectiveness. It was not enough just to have swordsmanship knowledge to benefit from the buckler over the shield.

A couple of weekends ago, a teammate of mine competed in a sword and shield tournament hosted by Arena Weapon Arts in Austin. So, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to Kyle! He has been training with more for a few years now, and he wanted to share his experience with shields and bucklers in the context of competitive HEMA.

Kyle’s Experience on the Comparison of Bucklers and Shields

Earlier this month I entered a tournament that included a sword and shield category. The rules on the shield were loose, simply no more than 34 inches in any one dimension. The result was a great variety of shields showed up, with the center gripped “Viking style” shield being the most common. I started the day with a 21” Scottish targe I had made myself out of ½ plywood and covered in leather. Since the few extant historical targes we have are arm strapped, I copied this configuration on my shield.

During the first round of the tournament, I noticed that the arm strapped shield was at a serious disadvantage to the center grip shields and even the buckler I’m used to using for I.33. Using the targe, I was unable to adjust the angle of the shield to respond to off-line attacks, and it was virtually useless for locking down an opponent’s blade. In addition, it offered little to no protection for the sword hand, as nearly all attacks ended up extending beyond the shield. I lost all of my matches in that pool, including one 0-5 route.

For the second round of pools, I switched to a 19-inch, center held buckler made by Cold Steel that the tournament host had available as loner gear. I had an immediate improvement in results and felt far more comfortable while fencing. I was able to utilize techniques I was more familiar with, and covering off-line attacks was far easier when I was able to quickly adjust the angle and position of the shield. With both arms able to extend fully, I was also able to protect my sword hand (vital when using an arming sword) with the buckler instead of being forced to extend past the shield every time I attacked.

That’s not to say that certain limitations didn’t exist using the 19-inch shield. It was certainly much harder to attack around, and even the plastic buckler was tiring to hold extended compared to a steel 12-inch buckler and even the targe.
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I can see where arm strapped shields would be advantageous in a battle line, especially if using a spear or other polearm that would allow the hand to remain back.  However, for one-on-one sword fights (duels or street fights), a center held shield certainly seems to be far more versatile and protective. Given the choice, I’d carry a buckler before a targe or rotella. 

Closing Thoughts

Kyle’s experience is one more data point we can use to continue to explore different manuscripts. George Silver’s ranking of weapon sets has always fascinated me. Thank you, Kyle, for sharing your thoughts and adding to the growing research we have in HEMA!

I’d also like to give a huge thank you to Arena Weapon Arts for hosting a fun tournament that helped us further learn about historical swordsmanship!