MarkQuinn 说:
It's true that the pavise crossbowmen might have worn a shield on their back which protected them from arrows as they loaded their weapons (thank you Total War for that tidbit) but I dare anyone to find a period source pic showing an infantry soldier with a shield on his back and another at his arm. And if you do find one, then find another --- because there's no way it was as commonplace as we're lead to believe in the SP campain.
Actually, its not true. It was a cool idea that Total War had, and I smiled at the ingenuity the first time I played that game and saw the crossbowmen doing it, but reloading by turning around with a shield on your back isn't a bit of ingenuity that anyone in the actual time period ever had.
Pavise (which were a product of the XIVth century, not really the 1100s) were made to stand in front of you, like a portable wall. Fancy ones had a spike on the bottom, or a wooden or metal stand that folded out from the inside, but more usually they had two straps that would hold it to a stake driven in the ground. That's why a pavise has that funny big groove down the middle of it. That's where the stake goes. (They were often carried and held by a second person, too, but that's a different subject.)
So why weren't our ancestors smart enough to wear them on their backs while they reloaded? Well, there aren't any contemporary accounts that discuss this specifically, but my educated opinion is that it's because a pavise is usually made out of hide, and while they'll stop a bolt or arrow quite well, there's a good chance they'll do it
after the projectile has gone a few inches through the shield. Not exactly what you want happening when your shield is pressed firmly against your back! Also, there's the matter of how your crossbow might need to be reloaded. A lot of methods would probably get you shot squarely in the ass, even with a big shield on your back.
So rest easy, MarkQuinn, nobody is going to find you a contemporary picture of a European from around 1100 carrying more than one shield, because a picture like that has never been made. I've never seen a depiction of it happening anywhere else, either, and give how crazy some things in the Orient were, that's saying something about how stupid it is!
Shik's awesome picture of the Chinese guy, by the way, is actually carrying two
weapons. Although used to block, those light shields have sharp metal blades on the bottom of them. That's what the silver tails are. Told you things in the Orient get crazy! ^_^
Oh, and on the subject of wearing weapons on your back... Has anyone else here ever tried slinging a two-handed sword or axe across your back, and then
drawing it? Not gonna happen.