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{{short description|Type of shield, 13th to 16th centuries}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2013}}
[[File:Highland targe.jpg|thumb|A Highland targe exhibited in the [[National Museum of Scotland]]]]
FromThe '''targe''' (from [[Frankish language|Old Franconian]] ''{{lang|frk|targa}}'' 'shield', [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''{{lang|gem-x-proto|targo}}'' 'border') is a type of shield that was used by [[Scottish Highlands|Scottish Highlanders]] in the early 17thmodern period. From the late 16th century, until the [[Battle of Culloden]] in 1746, the [[Scottish Highlands|Scottish Highlander]]'s main means of defence in battle was his targe. In February 1596, the clan leader [[John Grant of Freuchie (d. 1622)|John Grant of Freuchie]] was able to muster 500 men, including 40 armed "according to the Highland custom" with bows, helmets, swords, and targes.<ref>[[David Masson]], ''Register of the Privy Council, Addenda 1545-1625'', vol. 14 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 376-7.</ref> After the disastrous defeat of the [[Jacobitism|Jacobites]] at [[Culloden, Highland|Culloden]], the carrying of the targe had been banned by the [[Disarming Act]], and many were destroyed, or put to other uses. Those that remain have intricate patterns, and are decorated, indicating that they would have originally belonged to important people.▼
'''Targe''' (from [[Frankish language|Old Franconian]] *''{{lang|frk|targa}}'' "shield", [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''{{lang|gem-x-proto|targo}}'' "border") was a general word for [[shield]] in late [[Old English]]. Its diminutive, ''target'', came to mean an object to be aimed at in the 18th century.▼
 
The term refers to various types of shields used by infantry troops from the 13th to 16th centuries, or earlier.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heath |first1=Ian |title=Armies of Feudal Europe 1066–1300 |year=1989 |publisher=Wargames Research Group |isbn=978-0-9044-1743-2 }}</ref> More specifically, a targe wasis a concave shield fitted with [[enarmes]] on the inside, one adjustable by a buckle, to be attached to the forearm, and the other fixed as a grip for the left hand. These shields were mostly made of iron or iron-plated wood. From the 15th century, the term could also refer to special shields used for [[jousting]]. A fair number were created wholly for show.<ref name="walker">{{cite book |last=Walker |first=Paul F |title=The History of Armour 1100–1700 |year=2013 |publisher=Crowood Press |isbn=978-1-8479-7452-5 |page=121}}</ref>
 
==Etymology==
▲From the early 17th century, until the [[Battle of Culloden]] in 1746, the [[Scottish Highlands|Scottish Highlander]]'s main means of defence in battle was his targe. After the disastrous defeat of the [[Jacobitism|Jacobites]] at [[Culloden, Highland|Culloden]], the carrying of the targe had been banned, and many were destroyed, or put to other uses. Those that remain have intricate patterns, and are decorated, indicating that they would have originally belonged to important people.
▲'''Targe''' (from [[Frankish language|Old Franconian]] *''{{lang|frk|targa}}'' "'shield"', [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''{{lang|gem-x-proto|targo}}'' "'border"') was a general word for [[shield]] in late [[Old English]].{{fact|date=January 2024}} Its diminutive, ''target'', came to mean an object to be aimed at in the 18th century.{{fact|date=January 2024}}
 
The term refers to various types of shields used by infantry troops from the 13th to 16th centuries, or earlier.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heath |first1=Ian |title=Armies of Feudal Europe 1066–1300 |year=1989 |publisher=Wargames Research Group |isbn=978-0-9044-1743-2 }}</ref> From the 15th century, the term could also refer to special shields used for [[jousting]]. A fair number were created wholly for show.<ref name="walker">{{cite book |last=Walker |first=Paul F |title=The History of Armour 1100–1700 |year=2013 |publisher=Crowood Press |isbn=978-1-8479-7452-5 |page=121}}</ref>
== Structure of the Scottish targe ==▼
[[File:Charles Edward Stuart's targe.JPG|thumb|left|[[Charles Edward Stuart]]'s highly decorated targe]]▼
[[Image:Targe-shield.jpg|thumb|Scottish reenactor with a targe.]]▼
 
▲== Structure of the Scottish targe ==
Targes are generally [[round shield]]s between 18 in and 21 in (45–55 cm) in diameter. The inside of the targe was formed from two very thin layers of flat wooden boards, with the [[Wood grain|grain]] of each layer at right angles to the other. They were fixed together with small wooden pegs, forming [[plywood]]. The front was covered with a tough cowhide, which was often decorated with embossed [[Celtic art|Celtic style]] patterns. This was fixed to the wood with many brass, or in some cases, silver, nails, and occasionally brass plates were also fixed to the face for strength and decoration. Some targes had center [[shield boss|bosses]] of brass, and a few of these could accept a long steel spike, which screwed into a small "puddle" of lead that was fixed to the wood, under the boss. When not in use, the spike could be unscrewed and placed in a sheath on the back of the targe. A Highlander was usually armed with a [[broadsword]] or dagger in one hand and a spiked targe on his other arm for close combat.▼
▲[[File:Charles Edward Stuart's targe.JPG|thumb|left|[[Charles Edward Stuart]]'s [[Prince Charlie's Targe|highly decorated targe]] (1745)]]
▲[[ImageFile:Targe-shield.jpg|thumb|upright|Scottish reenactor withwielding a targe.]]
 
▲Targes are generally [[round shield]]s between 18 in and 21 in (45–55 cm) in diameter. The inside of the targe was formed from two very thin layers of flat wooden boards, with the [[Wood grain|grain]] of each layer at right angles to the other. They were fixed together with small wooden pegs, forming [[plywood]]. The front was covered with a tough cowhide, which was often decorated with embossed [[Celtic art|Celtic style]] patterns. This was fixed to the wood with many brass, or in some cases, silver, nails, and occasionally brass plates were also fixed to the face for strength and decoration. SomeTarges targesgenerally had center [[shieldShield boss|bosses]] of brass,. andA aHighlander fewwas ofusually thesearmed could acceptwith a long[[broadsword]] steelor spike,dagger whichin screwedone intohand aand smalltarge "puddle"on ofhis leadother thatarm wasfor fixedclose tocombat. theIt wood,was underalso thecommon boss.for Whena notdirk in use, the spike couldto be unscrewed and placedheld in a sheath on the back of the targe. A Highlander was usually armedhand, with athe [[broadsword]]blade orextending daggerbelow in one hand and a spikedthe targe on his other arm for close combat.
The back of the targe was commonly covered in deerskin, and a very few had some packing of straw etc. behind this. Some targes, usually those actually used in battle, had their backs covered in a piece of red cloth taken from the uniform of a government soldier (a "Redcoat") that the owner had killed in battle. {{Citation needed|date=January 2015}} Although all the old targes show signs of handles and arm straps, of various designs including centre-grips,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_illustration.jsp?item_id=9592 |title=Targes from Yetholm, Scottish Borders and County Limerick |publisher=Am Baile |date= |accessdate=2014-04-09}}</ref> there is very little evidence to indicate that there was any [[guige]] strap for carrying the targe over the shoulder.▼
 
▲The back of the targe was commonly covered in deerskin, and a very few had some packing of straw etc. behind this. Some targes, usually those actually used in battle, had their backs covered in a piece of red cloth taken from the uniform of a government soldier (a "Redcoat") that the owner had killed in battle. {{Citation needed|date=January 2015}} Although all the old targes show signs of handles and arm straps, of various designs including centre-grips,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_illustration.jsp?item_id=9592 |title=Targes from Yetholm, Scottish Borders and County Limerick |publisher=Am Baile |date= |accessdateaccess-date=2014-04-09 }}</ref> there is very little evidence to indicate that there was any [[guige]] strap for carrying the targe over the shoulder.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}
The face of a targe typically used two general patterns – concentric circles, or a centre boss with subsidiary bosses around this. There are a few notable exceptions, such as a targe in [[Perth Museum and Art Gallery|Perth Museum]] in Scotland that is of a star design. Although some targe designs appear to have been more popular than others, there is very little to indicate that there ever were "clan" designs (though every clansman would have had a heraldic [[coat of arms]]). The nearest that one might come to finding a "clan" design is four identical targes from the family armoury at [[Clan Grant|Castle Grant]]. It appears more likely that targe designs were individual to their owner. During the [[Jacobite rising of 1745|1745/46 Jacobite uprising]], a William Lindsay, a shieldwright in Perth made hundreds of targes for [[Charles Edward Stuart]]'s army. He made a distinction in price between an "officer's targe" and an ordinary targe.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}
 
== See also ==
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==External links==
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/94328122@N06/sets/72157643764021113/ Highland targes of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries] log-in required
 
[[Category:Medieval shields]]
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