CUIRBOILLE & STEEL BUCKLER
From RA MS I.33
Authentic! Lightweight! Durable!

Many of the wards in RA MS I.33 require the adept and quick use of a buckler. Our exclusive cuirboille (boiled leather) and steel buckler combines durability with lightness to make the ideal fighting shield.

Bucklers or small shields were often used in the Middle Ages by civilians along with a single-handed sword. Europe's oldest known fighting treatise, RA I.33 ("one" thirty three) features many illustrations of these bucklers, and ours was designed based on these examples.

The use of cuirboille or boiled leather was common in the 13th and 14th century for all kinds of armour. Although no cuirboille bucklers survive, it is plausible that such a common material might have been used for bucklers.

Regardless of the history, our buckler has received rave reviews by Western martial artists, fencers, reenactors, LARP and SCA combatants.

Our fine example is 10" in diameter, with 1/4" thick leather and a deep, clean and  hand-made boss. The handle is also special, forged and featuring knife-handle construction of the period. On the production examples the leather has been dyed a pleasant, deep black before the hardening process begins.

Used in combination with the Hanwei single-handed "practical" sword and our I.33-style gloves and shoes, you can get pretty close to the right equipment to practice medieval sword and buckler.

For Fencers, the "high tech" cuirboille, really the medieval equivalent of plastic, with give a competitive edge as the buckler's speed can finally match that of the opponent's rapier. And without sacrificing authenticity!