"Frankish Shields" Topic

Is the size of early Frankish shields subject to the same degree of academic debate as early Saxon shields, or are their dimensions settled?

None of the serious re-enactor sites I follow or academic papers have anything at all on Frankish shield sizes. No information, no debate, nada.

That said, there were some pretty close relations between the South-Eastern Saxons in Kent and the Merovingians, so their military gear might have been somewhat similar, while the more North-Eastern Saxons (Mercia et all) were more closely aligned with Danish/German cultural items, at least based on grave finds.

You couldn't go far wrong with shields from 2 ft six to three feet for the insntry, round or oval with a boss. There is a school of thought that Early Franks had smaller shields and were mobile fighters, its possible, but there is not much evidence for it. Infantry caught by Byzantine cavalry in 554 form an effective foulkon like formation ( OK a shieldwall) that resists missiles and its easier to do that if the shields are fairly large.
It may be that cavalry had rather smaller shields. That is based on German metalwork and the depiction of Anglo Saxon and Visigoths mounted warriors.

There is also the possibility that within a 'unit' there is some difference in shield type according to function. Anglo Saxon burial finds could possibly be interpreted as the older and better off men having a heavy spear plus throwing spear and largeish shield, whereas younger men had two throwing/thrusting spears and smaller shields indicating some difference in tactical use.

You couldn't go far wrong with shields from 2 ft six to three feet for the insntry, round or oval with a boss. There is a school of thought that Early Franks had smaller shields and were mobile fighters, its possible, but there is not much evidence for it. Infantry caught by Byzantine cavalry in 554 form an effective foulkon like formation ( OK a shieldwall) that resists missiles and its easier to do that if the shields are fairly large.
It may be that cavalry had rather smaller shields. That is based on German metalwork and the depiction of Anglo Saxon and Visigoths mounted warriors.

There is also the possibility that within a 'unit' there is some difference in shield type according to function. Anglo Saxon burial finds could possibly be interpreted as the older and better off men having a heavy spear plus throwing spear and largeish shield, whereas younger men had two throwing/thrusting spears and smaller shields indicating some difference in tactical use.

From further east, but could give a rough idea of the shield. This is thought to date from around 700.

Pliezhausen disc, showing the small shield that may be appropriate for Frankish mounted.

I'm primarily interested in infantry shields.

Presuming the theorists are correct, I'm just wondering if the Anglo-Saxons were unique amongst the Germanic peoples in using small shields, and if so, why. Could it be that their coastal origins and historic proclivity for amphibious raiding produced a need for smaller shields that were lighter, occupied less space on board their ships, and were easier to handle in the conditions of surprise rapid assault operations?

And did the continental Saxons share their preference for smaller shields?

HM, those arguments about ship board shields do jot hold for the Vikings .
It would also be true that at any one time the vast majority of Saxons would not be using ships so whybwould there be a land battle tactic that derived from naval use especially as the shield is mostly used when you get out and then fight on land. As I said there is a sort of correlation between shield suze and status in A/S graves in Britain and this might reflect tacticalnuseage with perhaps a phalanx of spearmen with lighter types operating round them , throwing soears and then packing in at the back to give suppirt by throwing stuff overhead when battle is joined. Small shields generally correlate wuth mobility and the ability to dodge around.

Breaking news: perusing my antiquarian copy of WRG's 'Armies of the Dark Ages', by Ian Heath, I noticed that illustration no. 45, 6th-7h Century Merovingian Frank, looks identical to the Frankish warriors in Barker's 'Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome', and in the accompanying caption there's a reference to a passage from the c.570 writings of Agathias of Myrna, in which he asserts that 'the shield was hung at the left hip'. Heath speculates that this '… could mean it was slung from a shoulder-strap or alternatively implies that it was small'.

So is it not possible that many middle-era German tribes in addition to the Saxons used small shields?

Well these same Franks form a foulkon or testudo that effectively keeps out the missiles of Narses mounted bodyguard. That implies something more than a small shield. The reference to hanging by the hip could just mean that they hung on the right side by a strap, it would be the same for a shield three feet wide as for one two feet wide. Indeed a smaller sheild could be better slung at the shoulder.
Why not just choose what you think best, because there is no conclusive evidence either way. Its not as if we are overstuffed with references to the Franks in battle.