The lantern shield is a small

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

combined with a

lantern A lantern is a source of lighting, often portable. It typically features a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle, a oil lamp, wick in oil, or a thermoluminescence, thermoluminescent Gas mantle, mesh, and often a ...

used during the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

(15th and 16th century Italy) especially for night time

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

s. A number of specimens survive. Their defining feature is a small circular shield – a

buckler A buckler (French ''bouclier'' 'shield', from Old French ''bocle, boucle'' ' boss') is a small shield, up to 45 cm (up to 18 in) in diameter, gripped in the fist with a central handle behind the boss. It became more common as a companio ...

– combined with a lantern, or a hook from which to hang a lantern, intended to blind the opponent at night or in duels fought at dawn. Some more elaborate examples might incorporate gauntlets, spikes, sword blades, and also a mechanism to alternatively darken or release the light of the lantern. The most peculiar example is the one now kept at the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

in Vienna, made in the 1540s. Swordsmen dueling at dawn are reported to have carried lanterns during the 16th and 17th centuries, and fencing manuals of the period integrated the lantern into their lessons, using it to parry blows and blind the opponent. The manuals sometimes show the combatants carrying the lantern in the left hand wrapped behind the back. accessed 7/25/2009 It is believed that the lantern shield was never actually used in combat, but rather for patrolling Italian city streets at night. The lantern halberd and lantern pistol are other weapons with an integrated lantern. The lantern pistol is an 18th or 19th century flintlock pistol shield and there are two known versions.

References

External links

"Lantern shield with integrated lantern, sword and spikes." (myarmoury.com)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lantern Shield Shields Renaissance-era weapons Types of lamp

See also

References

External links