Roman & Greek Shields

Two shields, two ways of fighting

Look at a hoplon and a scutum side by side and you are looking at two armies arguing. Both boards are made of laminated wood, both are faced and rimmed, and both stop the same things. Everything else about them is different, and the differences all come from how the men behind them stood.

The hoplon, or aspis, is round and dished into a shallow bowl. It is carried on two fittings. A band at the centre, the porpax, takes your forearm, and a grip near the rim, the antilabe, takes your hand. That arrangement moves the load off your wrist and onto the whole arm, which is the only reason a board this heavy can be held up at all. It also means the shield cannot move far from your body, and it sticks out well past your left shoulder. In a phalanx that overhang covers the man on your left, and his covers you. The formation is the point. On your own a hoplon is an awkward thing to carry.

The scutum solves the problem differently. It is a tall rectangle curved on the vertical axis so it wraps around the torso, and it is held one handed with a horizontal grip behind a domed metal boss at the centre. That single grip makes it mobile. You can push it forward, shove with the boss, drop it to cover your legs or raise it over your head. The curve means an edge sliding down the face is deflected around your body rather than into it. A legionary with a scutum could fight in formation or alone, which the hoplite could not.

The shields in this collection

Five shields across three traditions, from a full sized curved scutum to a pair of carved round boards built to be looked at.

The Roman scutum

Built to 37 inches tall and shaped in proportion, curved on the vertical axis, with rounded top and bottom edges. The core is laminated timber, bent to the curve and sealed before painting. The face is hand painted in white on a black field with wings, thunderbolts and arrows, which is the standard legionary device pattern and reads well from a distance. A domed steel umbo is riveted through the centre of the board, with a horizontal leather grip behind it.

Two details make this one practical rather than purely decorative. The edge binding is a bone coloured rawhide style strip, and a spare strip comes with the shield, because edging is the first thing to take damage on any shield that gets used. A fitting kit of steel rivets, burrs and washers is supplied loose along with a spare grip strap, so a repair does not mean sending the shield anywhere.

Greek hoplon shields

Two aspides, both on a laminated hardwood core dished to a shallow bowl, and both listed as display, film and light reenactment pieces rather than full contact combat rated.

The larger is about 32 inches across with a bronze finished sheet spun and polished over the full face, an engraved meander border around the rim, and a painted black lambda on the front. Behind it is a hand painted Gorgoneion and a leather shoulder pad at the upper rim, with a bronze porpax forearm band at the centre and a leather antilabe grip at the rim. The rim itself is rolled and riveted through the body at regular intervals. Listed at about 14 to 16 pounds.

The smaller is about 30 inches across, faced in steel sheet spun and polished bright, with a bronze finished flange at the rim carrying an engraved meander and a ring of domed rivets. The device is a hand painted crimson lambda for Lakedaimon. It uses the same forearm band and rim grip arrangement, riveted through the body, and is listed at about 13 to 15 pounds.

Carved round shields

Two boards at 24 inches across, carved from hardwood rather than planked and faced, in a deep red brown stain with a six spoke frame worked in relief. Both are hand stained, sealed and waxed.

One carries a carved double headed eagle with an escutcheon on the chest, under a blackened steel rim cut with a running knotwork band. It ships with the rim fitted and is built as a display and wall piece.

The other carries a single eagle with wings displayed in a bronze tone, under a bronze toned steel rim cut with a chevron band, and it comes with two leather arm straps and a forged iron grip bar already fitted. That is the one to take if you want to hold it as well as hang it.

Sizes, facings and fittings across the range

Every figure below is taken from the specification panel of a piece on this page. These are built by hand from timber and sheet, so read the numbers as what to expect rather than as a promise to the millimetre. Where a listing gives no weight, the table says so instead of guessing.

Weight, and how you carry it

A hoplon is carried on the arm, not the hand. Your forearm goes through the porpax at the centre and your fingers close on the antilabe at the rim, so the load spreads along the whole forearm and the shoulder takes most of it. Get that right and 15 pounds is manageable. Get it wrong, hold it out on the grip alone, and your shoulder will tell you within two minutes.

The leather shoulder pad at the upper rim of the larger hoplon is not decoration either. Tip the shield back so the rim rests on your shoulder and the arm comes off duty entirely. That is how a hoplite stood around waiting, and it is how you will get through a long day at an event.

The scutum is different. One hand, one horizontal grip, all the weight through your wrist, which is why the boss sits where it does and why the board is curved. The curve pulls the mass in around your forearm instead of hanging it out in front. Hold a scutum with a straight arm and it is exhausting. Tuck it against your shoulder and it is a wall you can walk behind.

The 24 inch round shields are the light option by a distance. A quarter of the diameter of a hoplon means roughly a quarter of the board, and the one with arm straps and a grip bar can be worn for an afternoon without complaint.

Cores, facings and rims

Every shield here is built on wood. The scutum and both hoplons use a laminated core, which is thin layers glued with the grain running in different directions, and that is what makes a curved or dished board hold its shape instead of splitting along a grain line. Solid boards split. Laminated ones do not, which is why the technique is as old as it is.

Facings do two jobs. A bronze or steel sheet over the whole face turns an edge before it reaches the timber and it holds the board together after the wood underneath has taken damage. Paint over sealed timber, as on the scutum, is lighter and easier to repair, and it lets you carry a device that reads across a field.

Rims take the punishment. The hoplons use a rolled rim riveted through the body, and the round shields use a steel rim over the edge of the carved board. The scutum uses rawhide style binding, which is the traditional answer and the one most likely to want attention, hence the spare strip in the box. Check the rivets around a rim once a season and reseat anything that has started to work loose before the rim opens up.

Grips, bosses and arm straps

The domed steel boss on the scutum is riveted straight through the board, and the grip sits behind it in the hollow. That hollow is the whole design: your knuckles live inside the dome, so a strike landing on the boss loads the metal and the rivets rather than your hand. Keep an eye on those rivets, because they are what stands between a boss and your fingers.

The hoplon fittings are a band and a grip rather than a boss, and they are riveted through the body at the centre and the rim. There is no metal cup over the hand at all, which is fine, because a hoplite was never punching with the face of the shield.

The round shield with straps carries two leather arm straps and a forged iron grip bar on the back, which is the arrangement that lets a lighter board be moved quickly. The other round shield comes with the rim fitted and nothing on the back, which is honest about what it is for.

Care and storage

Wood moves. Keep any shield here out of direct heat and away from a radiator, and do not leave one leaning in a garage that swings from freezing to warm, because a laminated board that gets damp and then dries fast will lift at a seam. Stable humidity matters more than temperature.

Steel facings and rims will rust if you let them. Wipe them down, keep a light film of oil or a wax polish on bare steel, and dry the shield properly if it has been out in rain. Bronze finished sheet does not rust but it will dull, and a metal polish on a cloth brings it back if you prefer it bright.

Paint and stain want the least of all. Keep the painted face out of long direct sun, because red and crimson fade faster than anything else in a device, and wax the stained round shields once a year to keep the finish even. Rawhide edge binding dries and stiffens over years, so oil it lightly with the same dressing you use on a scabbard.

Devices, painting and engraving

Most of what you see on these faces is already hand work. Wings and thunderbolts on the scutum, a lambda on each hoplon, a Gorgoneion painted on the inside of the larger one, and carved eagles under a stained finish on the round boards. Meander borders are engraved into the rims of both hoplons.

Metal fittings can be engraved after they arrive in the United States, which in practice means a boss, a rim flange or a grip bar rather than the painted face. Text engraving is 19 dollars, a symbol is 39 dollars and a family crest is 49 dollars. Engraving is permanent and an engraved piece cannot be returned, so send the exact spelling and read it back before you order.

Where these shields come from and how they ship

Ransack Viking is a US company based in Chicago, Illinois. The pieces are handmade in the Czech Republic, then imported, inspected and shipped from Chicago. Engraving is done in the US after arrival.

Every board is built and finished by hand, so the exact line of a painted device, the depth of a carving and the tone of a stain vary between two shields of the same name. These are large parcels. A 37 inch scutum and a 32 inch hoplon both ship in oversized boxes, so clear some floor before the delivery arrives and check the rim and rivets before you hang anything.

How to choose

For a legionary impression, the scutum is the only real answer here, and the fitting kit and spare edge strip mean it can be maintained rather than retired after one season.

For a hoplite impression, choose by facing. Bronze over 32 inches is the more historically expected look and the heavier board. Steel over 30 inches is brighter, slightly lighter and reads sharper under lights.

For a wall, the carved round shields do more with less space. Twenty four inches fits above a door or over a mantel where a 32 inch hoplon simply will not.

Browse related categories

• Round shields across the wider range
• Kite shields and bucklers
• Shield bosses and fittings
• Viking shields, planked and painted
• Roman and Greek helmets to match
• Scale and lamellar armour
• Gladius short swords of the legions
• Short swords across the wider range

Guides worth reading first

• Shields explained, from construction to carry
• Choosing a shield for display
• Round shield vs kite shield
• How to display arms and armour at home
• Armour explained, from mail to plate
• Gifts for reenactors