The Rotella was a common type of Italian shield, used through the 15th century and into the 16th, seen prominently in manual fencing manuals of the time, not to mention in period artwork. While many later rotella’s where made of steel, a huge number, particularly earlier, were wooden. An excellent source of extant examples come from the Battle of Giornico 1478, where a Swiss force captured many from the Milanese force they defeated, and are still held in Lucerne.
This example is based off of those finds, with the same approximate diameter and strap arrangment.
As with all of my shields, the construction is all done by hand, with a 12mm ply base. The shields are faced and backed with linen covered in gesso ready for painting. Straps are from 3-4mm leather, fastened with clinched nails.
Statistics:
Diameter - 60cm
Weight - 2.8kg
The Rotella was a common type of Italian shield, used through the 15th century and into the 16th, seen prominently in manual fencing manuals of the time, not to mention in period artwork. While many later rotella’s where made of steel, a huge number, particularly earlier, were wooden. An excellent source of extant examples come from the Battle of Giornico 1478, where a Swiss force captured many from the Milanese force they defeated, and are still held in Lucerne.
This example is based off of those finds, with the same approximate diameter and strap arrangment.
As with all of my shields, the construction is all done by hand, with a 12mm ply base. The shields are faced and backed with linen covered in gesso ready for painting. Straps are from 3-4mm leather, fastened with clinched nails.
Statistics:
Diameter - 60cm
Weight - 2.8kg
