Medieval Heater Shield - Part One

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Looking for a winter project to occupy the evenings I decided to make a heater shield as part of a 12th century knight/man at arms kit I am assembling.

The heater shield evolved in the late 12th century from the Norman kite shield.It was smaller but more manageable for cavalry and armored infantry whose limbs were now covered in chain mail and early medieval plate armor.

Having researched the dimensions of historical shields I opted for a 3-1 ratio; 21 inches across the top, 7 inches straight down the sides at which point I used a 21 inch ruler to pivot out the sweeping curve to the bottom point. First step was to create a paper version to use as a template to outline the shield on a sheet of 1/2 inch plywood.

Update....
Finished cutting out the shield and sanded round the edges



Measured and plotted the projected arm cushioning on the back of the shield in preparation to add the arm and hand strapping.

After priming the back of the shield I sewed a padded gambeson style forearm protection from an old coat liner.I then mounted it to a piece of hardboard to facilitate attaching it to the shield.

Added the fabric....


The basic form is now complete.
  

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