Huginward Hand Made Viking Round Shield | 30 Inch Planked Body | Steel Dome Boss with Engraved Knotwork Roundel and Rawhide Rim | Norse Reenactment Gift | RK-1498

The Huginward is a Norse round shield built the traditional way, from butted planks glued edge to edge into a single flat disc, with a raven painted across the full face in black, a steel dome boss over the central hand hole, and a rawhide and leather rim nailed around the edge. Behind the boss the wood is engraved with a knotwork roundel that frames two small raven heads, so the eye is pulled to the centre of the shield rather than to the rim.

The planked construction is not a shortcut, it is the archaeology. The sixty four shields found with the Gokstad ship in Norway were made from thin planks of spruce and pine, about seven millimetres thick, faced with hide and bound at the rim, and they were painted alternately yellow and black. Nobody in the Viking age was building shields out of solid slabs. A thin, light, slightly flexible board that can absorb a blow and can be replaced cheaply is a better shield than a heavy one. Every Huginward is cut, glued, painted and fitted in a Czech Republic workshop. How these were planked, faced and gripped is in our guide to Viking shields.

Specifications

What the boss is actually for

People assume the boss is decoration or a spike mount. It is neither. Cut a hole through the middle of a shield, put a bar across the hole and close your fist on the bar, and you have a centre gripped shield, which is what every Viking age round shield was. The hole is the whole point of the design, because it lets the shield rotate freely in the hand and lets you punch with it. But your knuckles are now sitting in an open hole in the middle of a board that people are hitting. The boss is a steel dome that covers that hole and keeps axes out of your hand.

Everything else follows from that. The boss is domed rather than flat so blows glance off it. It is mild steel rather than hardened, so it deforms and absorbs energy instead of cracking. It is riveted through the board with several rivets rather than screwed, so the load is spread across the timber. And because the boss stands proud of the face, it is the first thing that meets an incoming blade, which is exactly what you want when the alternative is your fingers.

The rim binding does the second half of the job. The edge of a plank shield is exposed end grain, which splits when it is struck and drinks water when it rains. A rawhide binding, wet formed and nailed on, shrinks tight as it dries and holds the whole disc together like a hoop on a barrel. Cut the rim off a period shield and the boards will separate. It is a structural component pretending to be trim.

The timber, the paint and the steel

The body is planked and glued edge to edge, then trimmed to the circle, so the grain runs across the whole disc in one direction, just as it does on the finds. That gives the shield a natural bias. It is strong across the grain, which is where the blows land when it is held vertically, and it can be split along the grain, which is why period shields were considered consumable. At around twelve millimetres ours is thicker than a Gokstad shield, because a display piece needs to survive being carried, hung and knocked about rather than lasting one battle.

The raven is hand painted in flat black over the natural timber ground, which is why you can still read the plank lines through the paint in the photograph. Norse shields were painted, and paint on bare wood is period correct. The knotwork roundel around the boss is engraved into the timber and then finished, not printed.

The boss is raised from mild steel sheet and left with its planished texture visible. It is riveted through with the heads showing on the face, the way a period boss is fixed, so the rivets are part of the decoration whether they were meant to be or not.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel or the leather. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On the Huginward that means a rune line cut into the roundel around the boss takes the place of the knotwork already there, and the rawhide rim is the alternative surface if you want the roundel kept as it is. Full detail is on the engraving page.

Hanging and display

A flat round shield hangs easily. Two hooks bearing on the rim at roughly the ten and two positions will hold it flat to the wall and spread the load across the binding rather than into one nail. Fix into studs. Ten to twelve pounds on drywall anchors will find its way to the floor sooner or later. If you want it to sit proud of the wall, hang it from the grip bar instead, which pushes the boss forward and throws a good shadow.

For carrying, remember it is a centre grip and it hangs from your fist. If you are going to be holding it for hours at an event, the brown leather guige strap shown in the photographs goes over the shoulder and saves your forearm, and it lets you carry the shield on your back when you are not using it.

Care

Keep it out of long direct sunlight, because paint on bare timber fades and the ground darkens unevenly. Dust the face dry. Feed the rawhide and leather rim with a neutral cream twice a year so it stays flexible and keeps its grip on the edge, and check the rim nails once a season. Wipe the steel boss with an oiled rag occasionally, especially after handling, because mild steel takes fingerprints and holds them. If the shield lives somewhere with big humidity swings, expect the timber to move very slightly, which is normal for a glued plank body. Our notes on protecting bare steel are on the steel care page. If it is going on a wall rather than into a line, choosing a shield for display covers size and mounting.

Made in the Czech Republic

This piece is made by hand in the Czech Republic, in a workshop that still works the old way. The steel is forged, ground, heat treated and finished by smiths who learned the trade from the people before them, and the wood, horn and leather are cut and fitted by hand rather than pressed out on a line. That is also why no two pieces come out exactly the same.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We import these pieces ourselves, check every one when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Chicago, Illinois. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives, so your runes or your own design go on before it leaves for you.

A note on handmade variation

This shield is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The plank lines, the grain showing through the paint, the exact spread of the raven wings, the tone of the rawhide and the planishing on the boss vary from one shield to the next, because each one is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

How is it held

By a timber bar across the hand hole behind the boss, in a closed fist. That is the correct Viking age arrangement. There are no forearm straps, because a period round shield did not have them.

Can I use it for full contact fighting

No. It is made for display, photography, film and light living history. Combat societies specify their own shield construction, edge treatment and boss fixing, and this shield is not certified to any of those standards.

Is the boss real steel

Yes. It is mild steel, raised and planished by hand and riveted through the boards. It is not a plastic shell or a resin casting with a metallic paint on it.

What is the rawhide rim for

It protects the exposed end grain and holds the planks together like a hoop, which is structural rather than decorative. Period shields relied on it, and so does this one.

Is the leather strap in the picture included

Yes. The brown leather guige strap with its buckle comes with the shield. You receive the shield with its painted face, engraved roundel, boss, grip bar, bound rim and strap.

How long does it take to arrive

Processing is one to two weeks because each shield is planked, painted and bound to order, then shipping is free within the United States in an oversized carton.

What is in the box

• One Huginward Viking round shield, approximately 30 inches across
• Hand painted raven device and an engraved knotwork roundel at the centre
• Raised mild steel dome boss, riveted over the hand hole
• Timber centre grip bar and a nailed rawhide and leather rim
• Brown leather guige carry strap with buckle
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See more in Viking shields, round shields and shield bosses, or read the guides before you choose a diameter.

Close to this one

Another in the same line is the Starguard round shield. Next along the rack is the Ravenward round shield. For a straight comparison, see the Stormwheel round shield.

The Domewarden shield boss covers the other half of the same kit. Nothing here exactly right, build one to your own spec on the design your own page.