Medieval Knight St. George Heater Shield and 23 similar items

Supplanting the earlier ?kite? shields around 1250, heater shields were the primary battlefield accompaniment of knights throughout the latter Middle Ages. This high quality reproduction is forged from 18 gauge steel and is 20 inches by 28 inches, offering a great deal of protection to a bearer. Hand painted by expert craftsmen, the shield features an orange field highlighted by the white cross of St. George, the famous dragon slayer. Starting off decorated with a painted pattern or an animal representation for easy identification on a busy battlefield, medieval shield designs eventually developed into systematized heraldic devices during high-medieval times. The shape of the "heater" shield itself came to define the escutcheon, the shield used in a coat-of-arms.