Targe 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 . The design was first developed in Spain . 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 early 17th century , until the Battle of Culloden in 1746 , the Scottish Highlander ' s main means of defence in battle was his targe . After the disastrous defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden , the carrying of the targe had been banned , and many had been 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 . Ancient Egyptian bronze shield . Describing a sword battle between two infantry combatants " Trok " and " Nefer " . " Trok caught the first blow on the circle of bronze . Nefer jumped back just as Trok cut at him over the top of the targe . " Structure of the Scottish targe . Targes are generally , but not always , 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 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 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 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 . 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 . Although all the old targes show signs of handles and arm straps , of various designs including centre - grips , there is very little evidence to indicate that there was any guige strap for carrying the targe over the shoulder . 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 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 . The nearest that one might come to finding a " clan " design is four identical targes from the family armoury at Castle Grant . It appears more likely that targe designs were individual to their owner . During the 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 .