After the Middle Ages, the world was plunged into a two hundred year period of incredible creativity and growth called “The Renaissance.” This creative force of time produced some wonderful masterpieces. It also brought us some really wacky and weird ideas. One of these ideas was the lantern shield.
The Lantern Shield originated in 16th century Italy. It was a time of the late Renaissance in which creativity was at its maximum and many things were created. One of the basic principles of creativity is that of fusion where things are added to make something new. The Lantern shield is a good example of this fusion taken too far. Try to create something that has defensive features, offensive features, and even a bit of psychological warfare!
What is a lantern shield?
It is a small shield in the shape of a buckler and generally one foot in diameter. And this basic shield was turned into a true Swiss Army knife of a weapon by adding a variety of other things, like a gauntlet with jagged blades. These serrated blades were theoretically used to break an opponent’s blade. There was also a long blade attached to the shield that ran parallel to the user’s shield arm. This could be used to push an opponent. The shield also used to have spikes protruding from it that could be used as piercing weapons. But the most unusual thing about this weapon, and what gives it its name, is the flashlight. It had a hook in the middle of the shield where a lantern could be attached, and often there was a leather flap that covered this lantern. The theory was that if attacked, the savage could open the lid and the light from the lantern would dazzle and confuse the attacker. It was a bit of psychological warfare thrown into the mix.
Using the Lantern Shield
It is generally believed that the lantern shield was not used for combat purposes for walking around Italian cities at night. It was more protection against ruffians and thieves than against combatants in battle.
How effective was it as a weapon?
The Lantern Shield’s effectiveness in actual combat is questionable, but in the context of walking through a dangerous city at night, it warrants some interesting takeaways. First of all, it was probably very sinister looking and any thief was probably inclined to move on to the next victim. And if a combat situation were to arise, the entire contraption would probably be reasonably effective in avoiding injury in the same way a porcupine does! The addition of the lantern was also a strong deterrent against attack because any night robbers would simply avoid lighting and exposure. So, as an actual weapon, it probably wasn’t very good, but as an unearthed, it was probably reasonably effective. Any thief or ruffian who saw someone carrying this thing would probably move on to the next victim.
