Quote Originally Posted by Ulstan
Also somewhat counter-intuitively, good plate armor could turn arrows that would go right through wooden shields. The 'shields = missile defence only while armor = melee defence only' paradigm is a false one that must be dispelled :)
Honestly, I'm quite surprised that people would consider shields useless in melee. Might as well say swords are useless in melee as well, and that armor is there solely to handicap you and give the other fellow a fighting chance. I've used the lighter modern riot shields (about the size of a Medieval shield) a little in crowd control practice and I have to say that they are indispensible. When some bloke shoves at you, you'll be glad to shove back with it.