ArabArcher35 said:
Roman Scutii were about 45 lbs., and this is NOT an exaggeration.
Yes, it is. The heaviest shield I know of, a 52"x 25" scuta, weighed 22 lbs. Another of similar size weighs 20. There are others as light as 12. Given the manner in which these shields were carried (almost like a briefcase) their weight was less of a problem. 45lbs, double the weight of the heaviest, is rediculous. That would be a shield made from wood 1" thick.
10 lbs for a shield is not unreasonable, it gives you something solid that will take hits. After the advent of the lance, or in most cultures one thinks of as roughly "medieval" and using wooden shields, this -give or take about 3 lbs either way) was about what you could expect a shield to weigh. Strapped on the arm with the greater part of the weight at the elbow, not the hand, the weight is quite acceptable.
.
The Anglo-Saxons, for some reason, used
amazingly thin shields, like 1/4" thick at the center, tapering out. 0_0 Apparently they used their shields to actively "parry" and turn aside blades -almost like counter-cutting, but with a shield- rather than "blocking" or soaking up hits. I can't concieve of shields so thin surviving even the length of a battle, otherwise.