A shield is a defensive element.
From the Latin scutum , shield is a term with various uses and meanings. The concept is used to name the defensive weaponry that is embraced and used to protect oneself from some type of attack .
The shield is considered one of the defense weapons with the greatest history, since evidence of its use was found in the 3rd millennium BC . Its use was very frequent until the 17th century , a time when firearms began to become widespread and shields lost their usefulness.
If the person carries the shield on his left arm, he can freely use his right arm to launch a counterattack. The shield was essential in hand-to-hand combat and was adapted to various technological advances, reinforcing its materials to resist blows from different weapons.
Historical shields
Among the types of shields that have most marked History are, for example, the aspis, which were the ones used by members of the Greek infantry until the 4th century BC and which were characterized by their circular shape and for being made from of wood and bronze; the bucklers, made of wood or steel , which were used until the 17th century; or the scutum.
The latter are some of the most significant shields of all time as they were the symbol of the heavy infantry of the Roman Empire. They were characterized by being oval or rectangular, by adapting better to the shapes of the soldiers' bodies and by having as their central axis a wooden core that was then covered by what were metal sheets.
Police use and the concept as defense
Currently the shields are used by police forces dedicated to preventing and deterring riots . The officers on the front line carry the shields and protect the rest of the force from possible throwing of objects by protesters.
By extension, the notion of shield is also used as a synonym for defense, protection or safeguard . For example: "Ironic humor is a shield to prevent people from picking on me," "Stop using your little son as a shield and listen to my reasons," "The kidnapper used the hostage as a human shield."
Shields have great importance in heraldry.
Shields in heraldry
In heraldry , the shield (also known as the coat of arms ) is the place or object in which the representation of the coat of arms of a family, a State , a community or a corporation is materialized: «The Argentine shield includes the figure of the sun» , «My son collects images of football club shields» .
In this last mentioned field we find the fact that the aforementioned shields can be classified based on the elements that make them up. Thus, for example, there is what is known as a banded shield, which is characterized by the fact that it is divided by a band.
There is also the so-called satin, which is one that does not have any type of decorations; the curtain that is identified by being divided by two lines; the sash that is covered by three colored and three metal sashes; or the interlocking. The latter is the one that is made up of two parts, one of which appears mounted on the other.