Targe (from Old Franconian targa 'shield', Proto-Germanic *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. More specifically, a targe was 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.From the late 16th century, until the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the Scottish Highlander's main means of defence in battle was his targe. In February 1596 the clan leader John Grant of Freuchie was able to muster 500 men including 40 armed "according to the Highland custom" with bows, helmets, swords, and targes. After the disastrous defeat of the Jacobites at 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.
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