medieval templar heater shield hand forged customiThe knights shield, or heater shield, developed around the end of the 12th century from the Norman kite shield. Heater shields owe their name to Victorian historians, who associated the shields shape with a Victorian flat iron. These shields were considerably smaller than the earlier Norman kite shields, offering less protection to the left leg but being much more maneuverable. At the beginning of the 13th century, heater shields were used alongside