A reenactment shield has to be two things at once: right for the period your group fights in, and tough enough to take a weekend of contact without delaminating. That rules out most decorative boards. What is here is hand made timber and steel with real rawhide edging, riveted rims and proper strap sets, in the three shapes that cover most of European reenactment.
Round, kite and heater
The round shields are the Norse shape: 24 inch boards painted with twin ravens on red and white over a steel valknut boss, a navy and white pinwheel with an Elder Futhark rune ring, and a steel faced version with an engraved Celtic knotwork border, a riveted rim and a domed centre boss. A 30 inch planked linden face carries a brass boss with carved knotwork and a rawhide rim. The kite shields are the Norman answer to fighting on horseback, running 34, 40 and 48 inches: a teardrop board with painted bands and a rawhide edge, a black and white per pale with an engraved knotwork panel and a riveted rawhide rim, and a 48 inch face with a riveted steel rim, a Celtic knotwork band and a leather guige for carrying it. Two Templar kite shields carry the red cross pattee, one on black and white with an engraved gilt border, one rawhide bound on a white field. The heaters are the later shape: a quartered navy and white board with a knotwork border, a 30 inch tall one with a painted rampant lion and a leather arm strap, and a steel faced one with a blue painted face and a riveted polished border. Prices run from 279 dollars to 419 dollars.
Picking the right board
Shape follows period, and getting it wrong is the first thing anyone at an event will notice. Round against kite covers when each was used and what each is actually good at. If you are assembling a kit rather than a single piece, our notes on gear for reenactors are worth a read. The Norse boards are in round shields and the teardrop shapes are in kite shields and bucklers.
Ransack Viking is a US company based in Chicago, Illinois. These pieces are handmade in the Czech Republic, then imported, inspected and shipped from Chicago. Engraving is done in the US after arrival: text 19 dollars, symbol 39 dollars, family crest 49 dollars.
Free US shipping
On most pieces. Heavier and oversized ones carry a flat charge.
Hand Forged
Heated, hammered and ground by hand.
Engraving available
Names, dates or Norse runes on most pieces.
