Pelte
Pelte ( ancient Greek πέλτη , Doric πέλτα pelta ) denotes an ancient shield (protective weapon) ; it owes a Greek military unit its name: the peltasts . The pelte is from the 4th century BC. BC, but there is no agreement about its place of origin. Many researchers suspect Greece , where Pelten were also used later, but Thrace is also possible, since the Pelte is found in Thracian and Scythian art. Also used Persian units it as a shield.
The pelte was usually woven from twigs, its edge reinforced with leather and the entire shield covered with fur. She often had a leather strap to carry on her back. The shape of the pelte was not uniform; the Greek writer Xenophon describes it in the early 4th century BC. BC as round, Greek vase paintings also show oval shields. The Greek philosopher Aristotle mentions them in the 4th century BC. BC as a very light shield and therefore well suited for lightly armed infantry and spear throwers .
The crescent-shaped pelte (pelta lunata) is mentioned by Virgil as a weapon of the Amazons . Pliny , who knows the pelta Amazonica , also testifies to a special form of the Amazon shield . A modern reception of this crescent-shaped shield shape begins with the heraldry of the Italian Renaissance , today the shield can be found in the coat of arms of Khakassia .
literature
- Alfred Richard Neumann: Pelte, -astai. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 4, Stuttgart 1972, Col. 609 f.
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ Virgil, Aeneid 1,490.
- ↑ Pliny, Naturalis historia 12.23.
- ^ Ernst Alfred Stückelberg : The coat of arms in art and trade. Cott, Zurich 1901, p. 70 ( digitized version ).