Quote Originally posted by spmetla:
Guess the Kite shield is better overall, and better for use in less professional armies.

Probaly explains why the Romans switched to Kite shields, easier to use and their armies were become less professional.

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Except the Romans did no such thing!!

They changed from a roughly rectangular curved Scuta (the classic one) about 1st C AD to a flat oval one by the 5th.

Some Byzantine infantry used kite shield 500 years later, but many retained either large circular curved Scuta (the Skutatoi oddly enough!) or small buckler like shields for psiloi.

Kite shields weer useful for cavalry because they protected teh leg on the "off" side. In France the cavalry dismounted to fight fairly often and no doubt used their normal shields - I imagine the infantry simply copied them!