I’m Roland Warzecha — professional illustrator and swordsman. The name Dimicator comes from the Latin for “sword fighter.” I share cutting-edge research into historical martial arts, focusing in particular on Viking and high medieval sword-and-shield combat. My work is carried out in collaboration with museums, fellow martial artists, and scholars around the world.
Shields: Saxon, Frankish & Bucklers
Shields up!
Hello shield bearers,
today I would like to bring to your attention a Late Saxon burial near Hamburg, as well as the formidable work of Markus Zwittmeier who recently completed his reconstruction of a Frankish shield of the Carolingian era.
Plus, if you feel like waving a shield yourself and testing your mettle, you are welcome to join the Berlin Buckler Bouts in May. Find more info at the end of this newsletter.
A Late Saxon Shield Boss
Since 2006, the Archaeological Museum Hamburg has repeatedly conducted excavations at a Saxon burial ground at Elstorf near Harburg. One of the graves contained a complete weapon set consisting of spear, shield and sax. You can find the excavator’s report here (in German).
In 2017, my friend Arthur von Eschen and myself had the opportunity to take a close look at the shield boss, and I have edited a video to share with you.
| Go to video |
Frankish Shield Reconstruction
Markus Zwittmeier is an avid researcher and expert of Carolingian military. He runs a highly informative German language blog named Tribur, the name of which is adopted from a former Imperial Palace in his neighbourhood. He provides numerous well-researched posts on this and related subjects.
Now his readers have encouraged him to highlight some topics in video, too, so he has recently created a video channel. Fortunately, Markus devoted two videos to the making of a Frankish shield of the early 9th century. Even if you do not speak German, I am sure you will find the presented source material and the step-by-step documentation of the making process useful and interesting. You can also read about it in his blog here and here.
| Go to playlist |
Alternative Construction
I agree with Markus that the typical swirl pattern on shields as seen in numerous period depiction likely is derived from a constructional feature of domed round shields. I was wondering if, in addition to facings, shield board segments may have been cut as swirl segments too. This way all parts would have the same size and would be evenly strong. I shared my thoughts in a post which contains many images.
| Go to post |
Berlin Buckler Bouts 19
As a practitioner of sword & shield fighting, you are most welcome to sign up for an action-packed weekend of fencing with sword & buckler and other forms of shield at the Berlin Buckler Bouts on the weekend of 13/14 May 2023. Meet practitioners from around the globe for dedicated sparring in a devoted and cheerful atmosphere. Find info on the event and registration attached to my respective post. See you from behind a shield!
| Go to post |
So, that's it for today. Take care, and keep your blade well-honed and your shield boss polished.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please recommend it to your friends. They can sign up here. If you wish to read more, find hundreds of related posts on my Patreon. Also, if you feel like dropping a coin into my tip jar, you can do so here. Thank you for your time and your interest.
Yours,
Roland
You are receiving this newsletter because you have signed up for it, or because you have previously expressed your interest in my work and events. If you prefer to not receive further emails, you can unsubscribe below.
Dimicator
I’m Roland Warzecha — professional illustrator and swordsman. The name Dimicator comes from the Latin for “sword fighter.” I share cutting-edge research into historical martial arts, focusing in particular on Viking and high medieval sword-and-shield combat. My work is carried out in collaboration with museums, fellow martial artists, and scholars around the world.
A Kingdom for a Horse! It could be worse: it could be raining! Hello history enthusiasts, My fellow illustrator Oliver Wünsch and I are still busy exploring new AI-assisted opportunities for visual storytelling. We feel it is the best way to spend our time now that traditional illustration work has largely vanished, thanks to generative AI. The good news—at least for us—is that our particular application of AI still requires artistic skill as well as archaeological and historical expertise....
Viking Houses Need Maintenance Danes in the house: very hyggelig Hello fellow medieval military enthusiasts and time travellers, I hope this message finds you in good health and high spirits, swinging swords as one ought to. If you are doing so in preparation for the first Dimicator venture of the year in Hedeby on the weekend of 18/19 April, make sure to sign up swiftly. No Danish Viking venture without sufficient sausage supplies The museum has notified me that, due to maintenance and...
A Shield Mystery The remains of the Trelleborg Viking shield on display in Trelleborg Viking Fortress Hello fellow shield enthusiasts and (pre-)history aficionados, First of all, my very best wishes for the New Year. May the edge of your sword never dull, and may your shield protect you as you step into realms unknown in 2026. Iron Age bog finds from Thorsberg and Nydam will be on display in Kalkriese this year Recent discussions with archaeologist Ingo Petri raise intriguing questions about...