Weird Weapons: Caged Buckler! - Sword trapper.
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- Опубликовано: 9 сен 2024
- Targa, a kind of buckler shield are small easily portable civilian shields for those moments when you find yourself in a sword fight. But by the 1540's some had a secret weapon attached.....
I have made a reproduction of a very particular Targa from the Wallace Collection so Matt and I mess around with it to find out what its all about.
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I think when the conclusion is that a "weird weapon" is really good, then it's be interesting to have an overview from Todd on the manurfacturing process, how long it took him to make it, how technical/complicated it was, and how modern tools helped.
There clearly has to be a reason they weren't more prevalent.
I'm thinking this is a great dueling weapon but not quite as good if the conflict is larger than one versus one. Chances are at the end of a successful application of this weapon it disarms the opponent but winds up with a sword jammed into it and is thus itself useless for any subsequent opponent who has perhaps skewered your friend.
I suspect those catching bits would start wearing out and braking after a bit of use.
HI Zig,
Thanks for bringing this up. I think the bars were about a third of the job, so actually a $10 shield becomes a $15 shield, so yes more, but it is really not very hard. However another really good point was made in a reply that I had not considered or at least articulated. If you have the bars you stand a great chance of trapping an opponent's blade, but that of course removes your shield from the fight as well. No everyone would want that or be prepared for that as the price of immediate winning of the first round/opponent.
So to answer my own question; perhaps it is too good at trapping blades and most people would be happy with the effective utility of a regular targa, where there is no risk of losing the shield to the fight.
Ultimately personal preference; some are happy with the all or nothing nature of an immediate win followed by a lack of shield, others, probably most others, were happy that the first interaction may not be as biased in their favour, but bolstered with the better defence of still having a shield.
@@tods_workshop it kinda depends on if you're expecting to need to defend yourself against one, or multiple people. Tangling an enemy to win a fight is great until they have a friend
@@Cnhaddock That makes me curious if there are ways of arranging the cages so as to somewhat reduce the chance of trapping a blade, or even having a bit more control over whether a blade gets trapped. Say for example keeping the central hook and outer ring cage, but removing the inner ring cage. Keep most of the value for single combat but make it less risky in larger fights.
Either way, you definitely don't want a caged shield on the battlefield. Especially when with wooden shields with different rim materials you had some decent control over the level of bite enemy weapons would have against your shield to render it annoying but not debilitating.
"A civilian thing. You wear them about town"
Man, things were rough back then. I almost never get in a swordfight when I go shopping.
Considering the recent news reports, I can see these making a comeback.
Might consider this next time I visit London tho
@@billpark8988 for realz, i was just thinking of getting a coat with shoulder guards i think they are called pauldrons?
To be clear, it seem to have been specifically popular among the english in battle, especially for archers, somewhat in France and germany too.
sadly ;-(
Excellent! Great bit of kit as always, Tod. About the upside-down hook: I think I might want to hang it that way on my belt so that I can grab it quicker with a more natural hand position, pull it up, then flip it into action the right way up. The alternative means that I don't have to flip it after drawing it up off my belt, but grabbing it in the first place is slower and more awkward.
shielding and poking supremacy in the ancient and medieval world confirmed once more…
You should ride a bike in armor about it. You know, like you said you would.
Agreed. Also I imagine the hook would allow sword catching should slashes be employed to mitigate the thrusts getting stuck.
Also, wearing it that way conceals the front of the shield from potential aggressors.....leading to a nasty surprise.
This was always my first thought about bucklers! After all, theoretically it seems that it is easier and faster to grab it in your hand if the handle is outside, under the hanging hand. But 99% of bucklers were not worn in this way, as far as we know from medieval images. So the question arises - why? Maybe the handle protruding outwards was constantly catching, for example, a door frame?
"Almost like punching his tip" straight up destroyed me. Never change, Matt Easton.
Definitely made me chuckle. 😁😁
I really need a "Matt Easton out of context" compilation.
Just opened the comments to see if anyone else lost it from that
Should have said fisting.
lmao was about to comment the same
A guard want to light other people with a lantern rather than blind himself. The buckler is perfect for screening off the lantern's light.
Excellent point
With no street lighting to speak of it would be difficult to see your opponent at all if they're waving a lantern in your face😂
but also, if you have to be holding a lantern, if your not also holding your buckler and you get attacked you'd have to get rid of the lantern out of your hand and then grab your buckler. In towns made largely out of wood and thatch just dropping a lite lantern on the ground wouldn't be ideal, also if your a guard and you break your lantern you'll probably have to pay for it. Thats going to make freeing up your off hand very slow and personally risky. Specially given that a lot of the time you might want to put your guard up you wont actually end up getting attacked. So just for practicalitie’s sake holding both at once just makes sense. And if your buckler already has a hook on the front put their to help control weapons in a fight why they heck wouldn't you just hang the lantern right there
I give this caged buckler a 10/10.
It is by the far the best buckler I have seen for practical use.
it's very smart
I loved it
My first thought, looks like a sun chip. I love it, got to have one.
A lantern on the front of the buckler shields your eyes from light and keeps you shadow from your opponent.
This is my conjecture as well. I am protected by the extended buckler, I can see due to the light, I am blinding the opponent at night, I remain in the shadow, and I am not blinding myself by having a light source in front of me. And except the first point, all the rest are still useful when simply patrolling at night and not engaging in a fight. Lanterns were a thing (so shining just in the front) and there are fencing instructions for when using a lantern. So I can easily see this as a possibility.
Ah, very clever
I dunno. Watching him move it around, I don't think a normal lantern would stay on. I don't know what kind/shape lanterns were back then.
@@brianj.841 It is a speculation. You wouldn't be able to use the targe freely in that case, after all. But at night, that may not have been a concern. It could also be that it is just a belt clip, regardless of lack of art depictions. Or just a cheap way to add an extra bar to trap things in. Last, when we think of these things, we should also be prepared to accept two or all of the above as a possible explanation.
I recall an old Lindybeige video: you want the light on what you're looking at, not in your face.
These collabs are always awesome. This shield really does seem ingenious, and it's making me think the whole "blade catching" style of weapons/shields/implements weren't just cheap gimmicks.
I agree, they were certainly serious, if rare
I think serious personally, but it’s a dueling feature not a battle one.
I’m thinking of the rapier and the sai, both of which we know were used, but to my knowledge never saw open combat.
Certainly I wouldn’t want to have a sword, pointing the wrong way, stuck on to me in anyway during an extended fight.
Another super video from Tod and Matt. It was nice to see Tod expressing some concern for his lovely creation; I'm always a bit saddened when he makes some lovely armour and then bodges it full of holes.
I love the fencers' trousers; strong MC Maul energy, "Can't touch this!" Nick and Jordan look so cool standing around in their get-up. It must be impossible not to swagger when dressed like that.
I know nothing about these martial arts, but I propose something about the hook:
A swordsman fighting against someone with this caged buckler might recognize that jabs are going to ensnare his sword. Therefore, he might switch to slashing more.
By having that ‘front handle’ with an open side, the person with the caged buckler can then try to angle the buckler and ‘swipe’ against the travel of the blade. Thereby hooking a blade even when it was used for slashing (by a swordsman who slashes to try to avoid ensnarement)
Truly great to see people who have such passion about their interests!
"Oh hen's teeth!" LMAO!
Mr. Estrogen level cursing
my standard re-enactment curse
The rest of the cage seems to be for passive trapping. So I think the theory that the hook could be for active trapping and intentionally trying to hook the blade rather than hoping it gets caught is likely.
Yup, Matt even describes the move when he's talking about the opponent disengaging, just doesn't bring it up in the moment.
to me it feels like the hook was a means of carrying, hook it on your sword belt, and then they found the hook practical for parrying
@@kevinmorrice They addressed that idea.
@@RainMakeR_Workshop They did. I personally think it was for both. First I don't think this type of shield would be a day to day carry. Too big for day to day, too small for war. I suspect it would be for security forces, body guards, town guard etc. From that perspective I feel like a quick draw from the belt, hanging lanterns, capturing blades all become equally important. So it wasn't put there for either or......but all of the above. Having the hook go upward or downward really doesn't change much other than the ability to hang a lantern I suppose.
It would make sense that you'd want to carry a caged buckler with the grip out. Just as those bars are great for catching blades, they'd also catch everything and everyone in town as you passed them.
Some corrections:
1. The usage wasn't considered very different, the material for sword and targa is very similar to material for sword & large buckler. Manciolino conflates the two completely, Marozzo even has a section (sword and shield vs polearms) where he conflates the large buckler, targa and rotella, even though the latter is strapped to the arm.
2. Targhe were probably not usually iron. Just as with the Rotella, there's a strong survivorship bias towards pretty metal examples. Wooden ones were in all likelyhood extremely common.
3. Bucklers were absolutely "military" and "battlefield", the evidence is overwhelming.
The Anonimo Bolognese has advice for what to do when your tip gets stuck in a Targa: Push against his targa with your own and yank hard with your sword hand. He also tells you to aggressively drive the targa into the opponent's blade when he thrusts in order to get it stuck at one point.
It should also be noted that these trappers existed on all sorts of shields, they weren't exclusive to the targa, and not all targhe had them.
What is the evidence that targhe were usually wooden? That's a genuine question, as I'm no expert, and it flies in the face of my admittedly limited knowledge. All the period art I can recall appears to depict metal targhe, and my understanding is that sheet metal manufacturing costs had dropped enough by then that a steel targa would've been quite affordable for most.
History and economics aside, laminated wood seems suboptimal for a small, sharp-cornered shield. Less distance between rim and hand means the wood must be thicker to provide adequate protection, and sharper corners/edges means less resistance to delamination. That means a smaller shield will be heavier for its size, worse at trapping weapons, less resistant to abuse/weathering, and more likely to fail unexpectedly, particularly if subjected to moisture.
OTOH, a steel face can be made _thinner_ as it gets smaller and will remain far more resistant to weapons and weather regardless of its roundness. It just seems like a better material for something like a targa, at least if it's meant for everyday carry, military campaigning, etc.
@@irrelevantfish1978 First of all, the material of a shield isn't clearly determinable in most historical art. For example in the woodblocks and copperplates you see in fencing manuals, there's absolutely no way to determine what material they're meant to be out of. Even in more detailed paintings, it's going to be nearly impossible to tell. All it takes is some paint or a textile covering to obscure the actual material the shield is made of.
The simple fact is that there's a remarkable amount of surviving wooden examples. Looking for "antique targa buckler" on google will yield a lot of them. Since metal shields survive better, we just have way too many surviving wooden ones around today to say that they were usually iron.
Their construction was of course not all wood: Most have at least some iron reinforcement, for example on the edges, sometimes recessed a bit so that a cut would bite into the wood before being stopped by metal, possibly getting the blade stuck in the process.
I've also seen some that have a metal plate between the grip and the inside face, presumably to protect the hand if a tip penetrates all the way through.
I think in a sense, the trappers in this video might be a way to emulate the blade catching characteristics of a wooden shield in a metal one.
@@irrelevantfish1978 While I'm not sure about their popularity, there certainly were wooden targhe, like the ones in the Art Institute of Chicago (1982.2548, 1982.2549), although there's also one somewhere in Italy. Thus wood was seen at least by some as a practical material for this purpose.
Yes discussing this over the w/e with some guys, they had seen a wooden one, but couldn't remember where
@F1ghteR41 There's a big difference between _some_ targhe being wooden, and _most_ being wooden.
The upside down question - my first thought is: One is for if you wear it on the right or left side of your body.
Hanging it upside down feels like it would be more comfortable if it's hanging from my dominant side. If I were to draw it from my shield arm side, then the right side up feels like it would be most beneficial.
Brilliant! It either glances off like a standard buckler, or becomes medieval superglue! I can't see any downsides other than losing it to another weapon in a drawn out melee
Thanks and that downside may be exactly the point
try carrying two@@tods_workshop
Don't forget lanterns get hot. Having an air gap makes sense.
Maybe the Hook on the Targe was to catch an opponents shield to draw it down so you can stab the person more easily. And that would explain why some hooks pointed upwards and some downwards because maybe some fighters wanted to press the opponents shield down and some wanted to push it upwards just out of the way. Dont know.
Given that the hook on the wooden _targa_ in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago (1982.2549) is located near the bottom edge, it seems to me that at least for some pieces your hypothesis might be true.
Thank you for the reference
The hook protrudes away from The buckler More then the rest of the blade catching components which could also give you the ability to possibly catch somebody's crossguard in a blind which might give you the ability to twist their sword out of their hand
I'm always here for more Medieval Cinematic Universe crossovers.
Punching Jordans tip would definitely be a way to end the fight 😂😂
I spoke to Jordan yesterday - it seems he would be fine for that
That's what the manuscript meant when it said "End him rightly."
'Oh hen's teeth!' Has to be the most British expletive I have heard.
A minced-oath version of 'hell's teeth', I guess!
A wonderful reproduction and great video as usual.
On the possible origins of the Targa, Nicoletto Giganti in his second treatise mentions that the Targa was adopted from the greeks, tho I am not aware if that is verifiable.
Calling bucklers purely civilian is something I would contest, as there is an abundance of iconography showing military and battle scenes of soldiers armed with bucklers, just looking at the buckler tag on manusciptminiatures.
If I remember correctly they were often popular with troops who had two-handed primary weapons like bows, crossbows, or polearms. Thus they would pair well with their backup weapon.
@@adambielen8996 that's exactly my thoughts
So many ingenious and refined things coming from Medieval and Renaissance Italy.
Its fame is well deserved.
first off love the collaboration Tod and Matt. but i have to tip my hat to the gents that do the sparing Nick and Jordan you guys are legends. thank you to all who have helped in this series!
Agreed - they were great
Tod and Matt's faces in the thumbnail are _supreme_
Best thumbnail ever
Thanks and we loved pulling the faces
I'd love to see what Seki-sensei would do with this.
I'd like to hear from a blacksmith on the cost and difficulty of manufacturing these versus a standard buckler. If they're meant for civilian use, there probably wasn't a huge market for expensive bucklers the way there might be for larger military shields.
It might also be that these would have become very popular, but came around just before the continental ban on civilian bucklers that forced people to switch to cape fighting, main gauches, etc.
not hard to make
I love the weird weapons segments. I think I would definitely prefer the caged targe over a round buckler. That thing looks awesome!
The targa is so interesting. It seems like it would give a skilled fighter the advantage of catching opponents off-guard too. Even if the blade only catches a little bit, I'm sure that would still disrupt the opponent's momentum and throw off their rhythm. For just that split second, they would be wondering how badly their blade is stuck, and they wouldn't have full control of their weapon. Even just that small break might give a skilled fighter with a targa just enough of an opening to make their move.
"Hen's teeth..." such an elegant way of swearing 😆😆😆
That is a very interesting device. Tod and Matt together is a total history lesson in and by itself. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Swordbreaker Buckler!
This is the best thing ever. Perfect advenrurer shield
The hook is actually to hold your hat when you go inside a bar. Back when we used to go on a bender wee'd pop our targe on our on the hip and just pop our hats onto the hook to keep em outta the muck. Also that hook is great for grabbing fabric and keeps your hand safe from them chopping your fingers off.
Hat hook - love it and as plausible as anything else
I'm from a Japanese martial arts background. We have a very similar weapon called a Jutte which is a club with an upward facing hook.
I have a suspicion that you are holding the targa upside down. The use of the Targa is to ward off strikes and the hook is to catch a warded strike, hence it should face up. The cage is just icing.
Historical depictions of Targa show them being held with the wider side up
With the handle being a single pivot point, a thrust into the targa, off center, could turn the targa left or right, allowing the blade too easily pass through the bars around the targa giving a good chance of capturing the blade. Brilliant concept.
It's been my understanding that, by this period, having bars on all shapes of bucklers wasn't unusual. I seem to recall a lot of them in The Book of the Buckler.
Will check it out_ just bought it thanks
I loved that reveal reaction, "Ahh it's one of those!", cause this buckler really is "one of those" haha
That is FANTASTIC! Like you guys, I have been into weapons and armor for almost 30 years now. I'm always surprised when I see something in the world of weapons that I have never seen before. And this one is really good! Usually they are bit goofy or gimmicky.
From personal experience, (there was a year where I spent over a month in period arms and armor), Hook ON weapons and armor are generally TERRIBLE for carrying the item. They poke you, they are not secure, they jostle around. Any time you can use a tie, or a piece of leather for attachment, was always better. Matt's assumption about lantern hanging is actually pretty plausible for an upward hook. I still think the downward hook would be used offensively to initiate a blade entrapment, much like beating an opponents blade before an attack. (edit: I wrote this before watching the rest of the video. Turns out my assumption was right)
Great work again guys. It's always a treat when Tod and Matt work together. RUclips magic I tells ya.
I absolutely love this series!! Always great to see what kind of weird and wonderful weapons Tod can cook up from history and see Captain Context show us how they were possibly used. 👍👍
With all the machete play going on around the country, you may wanna consider making a bunch of cheap but functional versions of this for sale on your website. ;)
Modern problems require medieval solutions.
wow! pretty nice! add to that the surprise factor to an enemy that has never seen that shield before, and getting absolutely his blade well-trapped in the shield
I so love these weird weapon video's - so different to anything else online
Thank you and we love making them
I feel like this is the buckler I'd want to carry.
I mean
Just the idea of something carried as a convenient civilian defensive tool going toe-to-toe with a polearm successfully is extremely impressive.
I do wonder, if tou used this as the core of a Gou Rang hooked shield if youd have the "ultimate" small shield (though there would be added weight).
Would be absolutely awesome for a fantasy character at the very least.
Im picturing what high budget animation in an anime could do with this thing catching and twisting opponents swords about. Would be epic.
If nothing else it shows the ingenuity of whoever came up with the idea in the first place.
Looks super effective! Maybe build a more basic version for proper testing?
If these shields are so good, then why are they not talked about more in the various manuals and treatises? My guess would be that they were too expensive, and thus inaccessible to the majority of people. You can tell by Tod's hesitancy to damage the shield (when he has previously demonstrated an almost giddy excitement when destructively testing other items), that a good amount of effort went into making that shield. As such, were shields of this kind just too costly, to make and repair, to be common? When cheaper shields are "good enough", is there any real reason for the average person to buy something more expensive? Obviously, there were some people that thought they were worth the investment, but not enough to make it commonplace.
It's also because these shields are only good in duels, because in an actual war you don't want to have to ditch your shield after blocking an attack once because some enemy's sword or spear is now stuck on it.
I would also assume that wearing a caged one is way more annoying than standard buckler. The times that anyone actually needed their weapons were rare and so the comfort of buckler that doesn't get caught into everything might overweight the potential advantage it gives.
One time use.
Yeah, this is extremely sophisticated. Regular buckles can be made of just a sheet of steel pounding into a dishing anvil and then rivet a bar to it. The bars and hooks would require more work. Also, the point trapping you can kinda do, not as good, with a buckler made out of wood , or wood and leather, or wood and iron bands. The slipperiness only really applies to steel
Also by the time someone probably came up with this the buckles was probably being fazed out of use
I'm surprised these weren't more common in the past, seeing how incredibly effective they are at controlling an opponent's weapon.
Has me curious as to why. Is it just a matter of cost?
Not much more I think
Brilliant piece of equipment! Thank you so much for your research, hard work recreating it and great fun in sharing this awesome piece of history! 👏 Cheers from the USA 🍻
Thanks
man i think i now have a new fav shield, he buckler has always held a special place for me, but this, this is royalty in terms of bucklers i feel haha
hook looks like it would be usefull to protect against attacks from "low right" where it might be a little blocked from view by the shield itself.
When these two get together it's guaranteed awesomeness
maybe the hook on the front was an armor hook, so you could get yourself a safe grip into an opponent's armor and keep them close enough to get in some quick stabs while not being able to swing their own weapon effectively. Would like to see it tried out.
Fantastic video as usual, Tod. I really enjoyed your Main Gauche advert. Your metalwork is always a pleasure to see.
Never seen this buckler design before... but it just makes sense!
Another fantastic colab!
I’ve always thought those looked cool. Thank you for making all the finest things and testing them! So grateful for yall.
My three favorite youtube channels come together!
This targa is super effective. No wonder porsche named it's most famous car after it
The ending shot made me wonder if Todd had to be firm with Matt in order to get the buckler back.
Really looked like he wanted to keep it.
I know it may sound silly but, what if the hook is simply a replacement for an otherwise occupied hand? You can hook a door handle and pull it open. Hook a strap on a pauldron to try to drag someone to the ground. Try to hook the edge of the enemy shield. Anything really.
You guys are so interesting and make us smarter than 99% of the other RUclips videos will do. Thank you!
If it's something to wear around like a sidearm, I wonder if maybe they never caught on because they were a pain to wear. I can just imagine the bars and the hook catching onto everything, especially if you're in a crowd and it's rubbing against other people's clothes.
you generally kept it under your walking cloak. We all had cloaks for walking about town.
10:53 - _The forbidden technique_
Oh my god, I would *love* to see what Seki Sensei would make of, and do, with this!
Targa! My favorite new piece of medieval weaponry!
The front hook would also make it really easy to hang this on your belt etc. So it could have both active defense use, and passive "easier to have this with me" use.
I wonder if there are any examples of targas which have hooks ponting both up and down connected to the shield from middle. It would be relatively easy to create even that kind of hook, which upper part could be then used for carrying lantern and lower part for hanging it on belt. Having hooks on both directions means that it would be twice as versatile for catching the blade of one's adversary.
My initial thought about the center hook is that it is there to encourage any centrally aimed thrust would be directed either left or right rather than ending as a direct forward impact that can be pulled straight back from. Hope that makes sense
@ Tod's Workshop: That hook on the front of the Buckler is most likely for actively hooking and trapping an opponent's blade somewhere along its mid-length. The other bars on it are for deflecting the weapon or trapping its point.
This goes straight into my warhammer fantasy roleplay campaign with a 10% chance on disarm
I love how buckler can be everything you need them to. Want to hook blades add hooks. Want a blade catcher add a cage. Want things to slide make it glober. Want thing to slide into the middel make it like a cone. Want to stab add spikes or points. Want to slice add edges. Like you can just make them into whatever you need.
From here it looks like the hook would catch equally well if pointed up or down. I think that having the hook pointing up makes more sense for the lantern hanging option.
Ha! Guy in the back at the beginning turned away from the group to adjust himself but didn't realize he turned toward the camera. GG fella, I am sorry my brain is like this. LOL
Anyway, now I got that out of my system that is an awesome little shield! Great work as always Tod, the quality of your craftsmanship and ability to make fun educational videos never fails to impress.
Cheers!
What a lovely shield! I'd love to get one like that to hang on my wall, and one to put on my arm.
That face is priceless.
My thought on the up or down for the front spike is a design change for the lantern holding; by walking around with your buckler upside down, with the lantern hooked on, if danger approaches, merely turning the buckler around drops the lantern and readies the shield.
'Ah it's one of these!' Is my default response when I don't know what the hell it is.
Stocatta made a video about a very awkward buckler with essentially a giant funnel to accomplish the same thing, thrust trapping . Besides not getting in the way of basket hilted swords, this seems like a much more elegant way to counter thrusting than with a large funnel
This is the content youtube hema community needs. The nerd fights over how historically accurate certain swords have become little booring. Love the original content.
It almost has a steampunk look. A really good design. Kind of makes me think of filling a net role with the tangling ability.
"He's square" Jordan is a legend
I feel the hook could be used to bend or break the weapon, with someone well trained in its use.
Really enjoying this "weird weapons" series!
Downward hook looks easier to use to actively trap a blade, you bash the shield downward on the balde.
Upward hook is more awkward to use to trap a blade by actively trying, but you get to hang stuff on it .
Other possibility: the blacksmith were told to put a hook in the middle and some put it downwards, some upwards, and people would buy them and just think "nice, it has a hook on it, just like I wanted".
There's something so charming and quaint about Todd calling them films. Great stuff guys. Always fun to watch.
Thanks, but just a language difference really. Because logically they are not videos either - they should now be 'digis' or something
I can see Tod doing a version 2.0 of this with the hook the other way and a thumb rest, plus including a lantern.
"If you already have all these, why would you have this [extra] hook?" - that hook is the only one usable for actual active hooking, while the rest is usable only in reaction to an attack, and most likely a thrust. Unless you fancy trying to punch the tips of blades with your buckler, that extra hook is a fantastic addition.
3:28 I think it looks like it’s used to trap a sword slashing instead of stabbing at you. You turn it with the swing and catch the blade.
had no idea this existed, learning something new is always fun
This is absolutely awesome! I see something incredibly useful and practical, and i think the only reason these weren't more commonplace is cost and difficulty of manufacture. But i gotta say, i see nothing but benefits here!
I could see this buckler being a hooked on piece of armor. Like a shoulder pad or chest plate or something that just fits into place.
Another point about hanging a lantern on a shield is that it blocks about half the light. In an ambush, you might be able to make it difficult for the enemy to see your body, whilst illuminating them all over without blinding yourself.
Hook facing upward would be great at catching downward slashes, whereas cage itself is more for thrusts and short cuts.
Two thoughts on the hook: one,it might be partly to catch an opponent's slash, just hoping that it gets caught under there. Up or down might be user preference or it's possible that some of the artifacts might be reassembled incorrectly. The second thought is that it might help with the catch on a thrust, going over the hook, under the bar, and then caught on the targa, so that it has three points of contact much sooner than just relying on the curve of the targa. This forces the blade to bend much more easily to be even more stuck.
Love love love these weird weapon videos; and the straightforward and fun way you two present them! If this were the history channel, it'd be 3 times a long with so much "epic music" and syrupy speculative voiceover it'd make my teeth itch.
Maybe you could make caged lantern shields and then dual weild them.
Wonderful to see how your scepticism rapidly turns into enthusiasm 👍.
Weird but functional!
Uses the leverage of the stab to tighten the jam. To the harder they stab the harder it wedges. Nice.
I think the observation is that this buckler is ideal for duels or protection against a single opponent (re: Italian design), wherein you can bind a single weapon and win the fight. In any prolonged fight with multiple opponents, you'll soon be dropping your buckler and be little better off for having brought it.