What were SHIELDS FOR? If arrows and spears go through them, what is their point?

Recent tests by me with the pilum and Tod with the warbow arrows suggest that various types of shield don't fully protect against these missiles. So what is the point of shields, which were so common through ancient and medieval warfare?

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[NephilBlade]

Obviously the shields were to display the logos of your sponsors.

[moreparrotsmoredereks]

If Game of Thrones taught me anything, shields are intended to be swung behind your body as a counterweight while you strike

[hjorturerlend]

Also worth noting that most historical bows were not 160 pound longbows or 1000 pound crossbows nor most javelins pila.

[LazyLifeIFreak]

Its all about layers, even if the missile goes through the shield it'll have lost a signifiant portion of its kinetic energy. Now the missile has to penetrate the body armour (if used) and even the under layer of garments or gambison with less energy. What could've been a major wound could be reduced to a minor wound or even totally negated.

[angelagonzalez]

Even when the shield is pierced, it's going to slow down the missile signiffenely. It might not be lethal anymore by the time it went through

[eirikronaldfossheim]

They obviously don't protect you against Shadow Legends..

[thomasjackson]

"Checking out their... Equipment." *rotates screen on scantily clad champion* Sneaky Matt

[Gilbertmk]

It's like modern body armor. Yes there are rounds that will penetrate body armor depending on the level you're wearing but it doesn't mean it isn't worth wearing.

[JosefGustovc]

Shields do work.

At Poitiers for example the French men at arms were imperivous to the English arrows because they were "well pavised". As you said shields come in a variety of constructions.

Some are just wood boards and covedred in painted linen, yes, but a lot, and I mean a lot, of surviving originals are covered in rawhide, often both inside and outside, which increase massively their stopping power. Some even in their gesso cover have crushed iron ore or glass, put over the rawhide, which would make them even sturdier.

And these are hand held shields, not siege stuff like the large pavises.

They seem to be far more common at least in survivals, than the ones that are just poplar boards and painted linen. It seems that the norm, for hand held shields, be it infantry, cavalry, siege, is that they are covered in some rawhide and then covered in gesso, and maybe the gesso itself is "reinforced" by hardening mediums such as iron ore or glass.

Those are the kind of shieds that we should be testing, really :D.

[neutralfellow]

Also, often ignored, center grip shields give into impact quite a bit when hit anywhere with a bit distance from the boss, which messes with the penetration quite a bit.
Tests often do not simulate this, I believe yours did not as well, and show rather results of strap wielded shields which are more fixed in this regard.

[GojiraGhoul]

“What were shields actually for?”
Answer: Depends on the context.

[thomasjackson]

Keep in mind that earlier period shields (scutums or Gallic shields) may not have been designed with arrows particularly in mind at first: slings were very prevalent in warfare in the days of both the Greek and Roman Empires, especially when you take Carthage's Balearic slinger mercenaries into account. Just an interesting thought.

[aiyahuntacheimumbi]

2:26 "Sometimes it's fun to just look at your champions, and eh.... You know... Check out their equipment." 😂

[mikefule]

Most of the tests I have seen involve a missile fired/thrown at a static shield from exactly in front. In reality, a shield was not just a passive barrier. It could be turned to an angle to deflect missiles or blows, and it could be moved up down or sideways to parry. A blow from a weapon hitting the shield edge on woudl react differently from one hitting the shield face on. Also, it obscures the target that the enemy is aiming for, and it can hide the position of the sword hand the person using the shield. Think about most shields as dynamic objects used actively to close one line, deflect or parry attacks, and conceal the weapon hand, and they make more sense.

[blakexu]

Shields make good sleds for dragging equipment & corpses I'm told.

[johnrollex]

Shields are for protecting you against Raid Shadow legends.

[adrianelliott]

A shield won't always be struck by a perpendicular projectile. Having a shield angled would probably deflect quite a few projectiles and still cover the body quite well.

[CrowandTalbot]

"sometimes it's just fun to look at your champions and look at their equipment"
lack thereof?

[HistoricalWeapons]

Arrows can go through shields but generally speaking you are safer with a shield

[tonylekas]

Protection from sling stones? Seems to me that was enough reason to carry a shield in battle for most of history.