Kite shield

[3] It is often speculated that the shield was developed for mounted cavalry, and that its dimensions correlate to the approximate space between a horse's neck and its rider's thigh.

[3] This is seen as an improvement over more common circular shields, such as bucklers, which afforded poor protection to the horseman's left flank, especially when charging with a lance.

[2] Kite shields were depicted primarily on eleventh century illustrations, largely in Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire, but also in the Caucasus, the Fatimid Caliphate, and among the Kievan Rus'.

[2] Around the mid to late twelfth century, traditional kite shields were largely replaced by a variant in which the top was flat, rather than rounded.

[3] Records from Byzantium in the 1200s suggests the shield frame accounted for most of the wood and iron; its body was constructed out of hide, parchment, or hardened leather, similar to the material used on drum faces.