SCUTUM

(Lat.) The shield of the Roman heavy armed legionaries: was made of wood, defended with plates of iron, and covered with leather. It was either oval (ovatum), or of semi-cylindrical shape (called imbricatum). Polybius appears to make the latter sort 4 feet long, and it is evident that it covered a great part of the body. In the centre was a bo of bra or iron, projecting from the shield. From this cla ical word is derived the modern term esquire, through the middle ages: Lat. scutiger, shield-bearer. [s. 1110]