Triangle sign
The heater shield (also V-sign English . Shield Heater or Heater-shaped shield ) is a high medieval shield type , the mid-13th century from the dragon shield developed and played a prominent role in heraldry.
There was an increasing reduction in the area of the dragon's shield. On the one hand, this can be traced back to a striving for weight reduction; This was how greaves and the helmet came out . These innovations made the enormous size of the dragon shields (50–75% of the wearer's body height) superfluous. The triangular shield covers the area from the shoulder to around the knee, thus providing freedom of movement and viewing. Due to its large width, it protects almost the entire upper body.
Triangular shields were made of thin wood and covered with leather. Some, like the surviving copy of Edward of Woodstock in his tomb in Canterbury Cathedral , were covered with additional layers of gesso , linen and / or parchment . The shackles were either two vertical or crossed leather straps that were nailed through the front of the shield. Between the arm and the shield there was padding made of a wide variety of materials to cushion the impact of a blow.
From the smaller heater shield the rider the concave developed in the 15th century Reitertartsche that eventually to a small integral armored plate ( Stechtartsche ) on the left breast of the tournament armor ( Gestechrüstung ) was.
heraldry
In heraldry , this form of the coat of arms is called the old French form ("French shield ").
literature
- Karl Eyth: Decorative painting with special consideration of the commercial side , EA Seemann, 1896, Vol. 1, pp. 383–384
- Georg Scheibelreiter: Heraldry (Oldenbourg historical auxiliary sciences) Vol. 1 . Oldenbourg, 2006, ISBN 3-7029-0479-4 , ISSN 2075-3020 , pp. 26 (222 p., Limited preview in Google Book search).
