Painted Shields from the Middle Ages and Renaissance

	Painted Shields
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This linkspage collects polychromatic painted shields from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, categorized by the form (and, to some extent, function) of the shield. It focuses on shields that were made for actual use, but includes parade shields and a few funerary shields as well. Additional links available on shields in general, and on making shields for SCA and related styles of combat. WAR SHIELDS War-shield with the heraldry of the Herren von Brienz, Switzerland, c. 1190 Shield with the heraldry of the Schenck family of Schweinsburg, 14th century PAVISES Several more photos & discussion in this thread on MyArmoury.com and this Flickr set. Pavise from Erfurt, c. 1300 Pavise from Erfurt, first half of the 14th century Back and front of a pavise with the heraldry of Erfurt, 14th-15th century With many a proude pavis, Gailly paynted and stuffed wele. The Siege of Calais Pavis with St. George and the dragon, Bohemia, c. 1430-1440 (Hermitage Digital Collection) Pavise, c. 1440 Pavise, 1441 Pavise, 1441 Alle so they hadde pavysse bore as a dore i-made with a staffe foldynge uppe and downe to sette the pavys where the lykyd, and loupys with schyttyng wyndowys to schute owte at, they stondyng by hynde [t]^e pavys, and the pavys as fulle of iij^dnayle aftyr ordyr as they myght stonde. And whenn hyr schotte was spende and done they caste the pavysse by-fore hem, thenn there myght noo man come unto them ovyr the pavysse for the naylys that stode up-ryghte, but yf he wolde myschyffe hym sylfe. Gregory’s Chronicle Archer's shield, Austrian? Bohemian?, mid-15th century A Swiss (Winterthur) pavise, “painted with the arms of the League of St George and the Town of Winterthur,” mid-15th century Pavise with the Arms of the League of Saint George and Winterthur, mid-15th century Pavise painted with the coat of arms of the town of Wimpfen am Neckar (Baden-Württemberg), made in southern Germany, 1450-1500 Burgundian pavise, c. 1480 A Bohemian pavise, “with a border and a cross-band, both containing inscriptions in Gothic minuscule script, that on the latter a prayer in Bohemian, 'Maria Nomoz' (Maria help!), and framing two panels, the upper one with a scene of St. George and the Dragon with the Princess in a landscape with a castellated town in the background, and the lower one with branches bearing flowers,” c. 1480 Pavise with a wild-man and the heraldry of Maximilian I, Vienna, 1493 Shield with the cross of St. George (?) and the heraldry of Sixt von Schinen, second half of the 15th century A German (Klausen) pavise, “painted light red with floral scrolls and with a white fess, representing the Austrian Bindenschild, at the top two shields, one on either side, painted respectively with the red cross of St. George on a white ground, and a six-pointed yellow (for gold) star on a green field,” mid-15th century A German (Klausen) pavise, “decorated with the Austrian Bindenschild superimposed with scrolling foliage, and the upper portion with the heraldic arms in an escutcheon,” mid-15th century Standing pavise, Klausen, c. 1480-1490 Pavise, Klausen Pavise, Bohemia, c. 1480-1500 Bohemian pavise decorated with the arms of the city of Ravensburg, c. 1490 Two shields, one from the end of the 15th century, the other from the 16th century, from the Bavarian Armory Museum A so-called pavise HAND PAVISES/TARGES Shield, 1441 Shield of Wimpfen, 15th century Pavise with David and Goliath, Bohemia, mid to late 15th century Shield with the Imhoff, Scheurl, and Harstorfer heraldry, second half of the 15th century Front and back of a targe with St. George fighting the dragon, made in Germany in the second half of the 15th century Shield with the arms of Volckamer of Nuremburg, featuring a heraldic lion and quatrefoils which stood in low relief by means of molded paper, c. 1475-1500 Infantry shield on which “Saint George can be seen wearing a gothic armour, stabbing a dragon with his sword; the knight-saint is framed by scrolls of acanthus and buds of flowers,” 15th century Hand pavise for foot combat, Nuremburg, late 15th century Hand pavise, Nuremburg, late 15th century Hand pavise, Germany, late 15th century Targe with a cross from a German chivalric order, 15th century Bohemian Gothic hand-pavise decorated with gold and silver leaf, c. 1485-1490 Front and back of the funerary targe of King Matthias I of Hungary, d. 1490; made in Vienna Shield with the Imhoff heraldry, Nuremburg, 16th century TOURNAMENT SHIELDS/JOUSTING TARGES/ECRANCHES Tournament shield, early 15th century Renntartsche of Caspar von Ow, first half of the 15th century Knight's targe with the Deggendorf heraldry, first half of the 15th century Knight's targe with the Deggendorf heraldry, 15th century Shield of the Fürer von Haimendorf, 15th century Tournament or cavalry shield with a woman in afeathered turban hodling a scroll inscribed “fahr mit Freuden” (go with joy), 15th century Targe, Germany, mid-15th century Bouched shield with arms of Daggendorf for heavy cavalry, Saxony, mid-15th century Tournament shield, Bohemia, c. 1450 Tournament shield with an elaborate coat of arms (the Gottsmann family of Franconia?) and a female figure holding a banderole inscribed in German with the motto “Hab Mych als Ich Bin”; Germany, c. 1450 Tournament or cavalry shield with the letters AGVF and small shields with the arms of the Ketzel and Koller families of Nuremburg, c. 1450-1500 Tournament or cavalry shield with foliate scrolls and teh arms of the Ketzel and Igelbrecht families of Nuremburg, c. 1450-1500 Shield (renntartsche) intended for use or as a prize in the joust known as the Rennzeug; floral design with an inscribed banderole; made in Germany c. 1485 Renntartsche of Landgrave Wilhelm III von Hessen, c. 1490 Wooden jousting targe with the coat of arms of the Tanzel and Rindscheit families and an owl with the inscription “wie wol ich bin der vogel has noch den erfret mich das,” Hungarian, c. 1500 HUNGARIAN-STYLE SHIELDS Hungarian-style shield with the double-bladed sword of the Prophet Muhammad and the Crucifix and instruments of the Passion, first half of the 16th century Front and back of a Hungarian-style shield with the arm of the Prophet holding a saber, 16th century Front and back of a Hungarian-style shield decorated with stripes and a crescent, 16th century Hungarian-style shield decorated with dots, 16th century (also side view, border detail, corner detail, and back) Hungarian-style shield POLYCHROME PARADE OR PAGEANT SHIELDS Shield with a griffin, Florence, c. 1380-1450 Henry V’s funeral shield, 1422 David with the Head of Goliath, painted by Andrea del Castagno, 1450-1455 Parade shield, Flanders or Burgundy, late 15th century Parade shield with the story of Hippodamia, northern Italy, early 16th century Parade shield painted with a representation of the storming of New Carthage, attributed to Girolamo di Tommaso da Treviso, c. 1535 Pageant shield with a battle scene (possibly from the life of the Roman general Scipio) in grisaille/sgraffito on gold leaf, attributed to Girolamo da Treviso, c. 1535 Tin shield with the heraldry of the Volckamer, Harsdorffer, and Tucher, Nuremburg, c. 1550-1580 Round parade shield with Ottoman-inspired motifs, perhaps used by the bodyguard of Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau, prince-archbishop of Salzburg; Venice, late 16th century Parade shield for bodyguard of Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Wolf von Raitenau of Salzburg, Venice, 1590 Into Battle: The Conservation of a Venetian Shield Pageant shield (Europa and the bull), Milan, late 16th century (Hermitage Digital Collection) Pageant shield with an inscription and an allegorical scene, made in Italy c. 1590 A shield with the head of Medusa painted by Caravaggio, 1598-1599, commissioned by Cardinal Del Monte to present to Ferdinand I de’ Medici A footman's shield, Holland, c. 1615 RONDACHES Shield with a spiked umbo, German, 1570

Painted Shields

This linkspage collects polychromatic painted shields from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, categorized by the form (and, to some extent, function) of the shield. It focuses on shields that were made for actual use, but includes parade shields and a few funerary shields as well.

Additional links available on shields in general, and on making shields for SCA and related styles of combat.

WAR SHIELDS

War-shield with the heraldry of the Herren von Brienz, Switzerland, c. 1190
Shield with the heraldry of the Schenck family of Schweinsburg, 14th century

PAVISES

Several more photos & discussion in this thread on MyArmoury.com and this Flickr set.

Pavise from Erfurt, c. 1300
Pavise from Erfurt, first half of the 14th century
Back and front of a pavise with the heraldry of Erfurt, 14th-15th century

With many a proude pavis,
Gailly paynted and stuffed wele.

The Siege of Calais

Pavis with St. George and the dragon, Bohemia, c. 1430-1440 (Hermitage Digital Collection)
Pavise, c. 1440
Pavise, 1441
Pavise, 1441

Alle so they hadde pavysse bore as a dore i-made with a staffe foldynge uppe and downe to sette the pavys where the lykyd, and loupys with schyttyng wyndowys to schute owte at, they stondyng by hynde [t]^e pavys, and the pavys as fulle of iij^dnayle aftyr ordyr as they myght stonde. And whenn hyr schotte was spende and done they caste the pavysse by-fore hem, thenn there myght noo man come unto them ovyr the pavysse for the naylys that stode up-ryghte, but yf he wolde myschyffe hym sylfe.

Gregory’s Chronicle

Archer's shield, Austrian? Bohemian?, mid-15th century
A Swiss (Winterthur) pavise, “painted with the arms of the League of St George and the Town of Winterthur,” mid-15th century
Pavise with the Arms of the League of Saint George and Winterthur, mid-15th century
Pavise painted with the coat of arms of the town of Wimpfen am Neckar (Baden-Württemberg), made in southern Germany, 1450-1500
Burgundian pavise, c. 1480
A Bohemian pavise, “with a border and a cross-band, both containing inscriptions in Gothic minuscule script, that on the latter a prayer in Bohemian, 'Maria Nomoz' (Maria help!), and framing two panels, the upper one with a scene of St. George and the Dragon with the Princess in a landscape with a castellated town in the background, and the lower one with branches bearing flowers,” c. 1480
Pavise with a wild-man and the heraldry of Maximilian I, Vienna, 1493
Shield with the cross of St. George (?) and the heraldry of Sixt von Schinen, second half of the 15th century
A German (Klausen) pavise, “painted light red with floral scrolls and with a white fess, representing the Austrian Bindenschild, at the top two shields, one on either side, painted respectively with the red cross of St. George on a white ground, and a six-pointed yellow (for gold) star on a green field,” mid-15th century
A German (Klausen) pavise, “decorated with the Austrian Bindenschild superimposed with scrolling foliage, and the upper portion with the heraldic arms in an escutcheon,” mid-15th century
Standing pavise, Klausen, c. 1480-1490
Pavise, Klausen
Pavise, Bohemia, c. 1480-1500
Bohemian pavise decorated with the arms of the city of Ravensburg, c. 1490
Two shields, one from the end of the 15th century, the other from the 16th century, from the Bavarian Armory Museum
A so-called pavise

HAND PAVISES/TARGES

Shield, 1441
Shield of Wimpfen, 15th century
Pavise with David and Goliath, Bohemia, mid to late 15th century
Shield with the Imhoff, Scheurl, and Harstorfer heraldry, second half of the 15th century
Front and back of a targe with St. George fighting the dragon, made in Germany in the second half of the 15th century
Shield with the arms of Volckamer of Nuremburg, featuring a heraldic lion and quatrefoils which stood in low relief by means of molded paper, c. 1475-1500
Infantry shield on which “Saint George can be seen wearing a gothic armour, stabbing a dragon with his sword; the knight-saint is framed by scrolls of acanthus and buds of flowers,” 15th century
Hand pavise for foot combat, Nuremburg, late 15th century
Hand pavise, Nuremburg, late 15th century
Hand pavise, Germany, late 15th century
Targe with a cross from a German chivalric order, 15th century
Bohemian Gothic hand-pavise decorated with gold and silver leaf, c. 1485-1490
Front and back of the funerary targe of King Matthias I of Hungary, d. 1490; made in Vienna
Shield with the Imhoff heraldry, Nuremburg, 16th century

TOURNAMENT SHIELDS/JOUSTING TARGES/ECRANCHES

Tournament shield, early 15th century
Renntartsche of Caspar von Ow, first half of the 15th century
Knight's targe with the Deggendorf heraldry, first half of the 15th century
Knight's targe with the Deggendorf heraldry, 15th century
Shield of the Fürer von Haimendorf, 15th century
Tournament or cavalry shield with a woman in afeathered turban hodling a scroll inscribed “fahr mit Freuden” (go with joy), 15th century
Targe, Germany, mid-15th century
Bouched shield with arms of Daggendorf for heavy cavalry, Saxony, mid-15th century
Tournament shield, Bohemia, c. 1450
Tournament shield with an elaborate coat of arms (the Gottsmann family of Franconia?) and a female figure holding a banderole inscribed in German with the motto “Hab Mych als Ich Bin”; Germany, c. 1450
Tournament or cavalry shield with the letters AGVF and small shields with the arms of the Ketzel and Koller families of Nuremburg, c. 1450-1500
Tournament or cavalry shield with foliate scrolls and teh arms of the Ketzel and Igelbrecht families of Nuremburg, c. 1450-1500
Shield (renntartsche) intended for use or as a prize in the joust known as the Rennzeug; floral design with an inscribed banderole; made in Germany c. 1485
Renntartsche of Landgrave Wilhelm III von Hessen, c. 1490
Wooden jousting targe with the coat of arms of the Tanzel and Rindscheit families and an owl with the inscription “wie wol ich bin der vogel has noch den erfret mich das,” Hungarian, c. 1500

HUNGARIAN-STYLE SHIELDS

Hungarian-style shield with the double-bladed sword of the Prophet Muhammad and the Crucifix and instruments of the Passion, first half of the 16th century
Front and back of a Hungarian-style shield with the arm of the Prophet holding a saber, 16th century
Front and back of a Hungarian-style shield decorated with stripes and a crescent, 16th century
Hungarian-style shield decorated with dots, 16th century (also side view, border detail, corner detail, and back)
Hungarian-style shield

POLYCHROME PARADE OR PAGEANT SHIELDS

Shield with a griffin, Florence, c. 1380-1450
Henry V’s funeral shield, 1422
David with the Head of Goliath, painted by Andrea del Castagno, 1450-1455
Parade shield, Flanders or Burgundy, late 15th century
Parade shield with the story of Hippodamia, northern Italy, early 16th century
Parade shield painted with a representation of the storming of New Carthage, attributed to Girolamo di Tommaso da Treviso, c. 1535
Pageant shield with a battle scene (possibly from the life of the Roman general Scipio) in grisaille/sgraffito on gold leaf, attributed to Girolamo da Treviso, c. 1535
Tin shield with the heraldry of the Volckamer, Harsdorffer, and Tucher, Nuremburg, c. 1550-1580
Round parade shield with Ottoman-inspired motifs, perhaps used by the bodyguard of Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau, prince-archbishop of Salzburg; Venice, late 16th century
Parade shield for bodyguard of Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Wolf von Raitenau of Salzburg, Venice, 1590
Into Battle: The Conservation of a Venetian Shield
Pageant shield (Europa and the bull), Milan, late 16th century (Hermitage Digital Collection)
Pageant shield with an inscription and an allegorical scene, made in Italy c. 1590
A shield with the head of Medusa painted by Caravaggio, 1598-1599, commissioned by Cardinal Del Monte to present to Ferdinand I de’ Medici
A footman's shield, Holland, c. 1615

RONDACHES

Shield with a spiked umbo, German, 1570