Roman shield

[Matthew Amt]

Ave!

Your Massacre sounds like a hoot! If you mean the little rectangular shields in that scene, they are roughly the same size as those used by "Thracian" style gladiators (though everything else in that scene is pretty much fantasy). But of course the real ones would generally be brightly painted wood, not brown plastic. I'm not sure if there is a specific word for that small rectangular shield, though the Latin word for shield in general is "scutum". Curved shields do tend to cover the body a little better, and there can be a certain amount of weapon deflection. They are also a little easier to hold than a flat shield, since the curvature puts much of the weight *behind* the handle, meaning the shield leans back against the arm rather than tipping forwards awkwardly (known as "tabling"). Not as much of an issue with a small shield, but the Roman military scutum was larger. Here's my Legio XX page on shields:

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/scutum.html

Have fun!

Matthew