clipeus
Illustration — Clipeus of Iupiter-Ammon, conserved at the Museu Nacional Arqueològic de Tarragona • Illustration — A Victorian depiction of a hoplite with a clipeus In the military of classical antiquity, a clipeus (lang; Ancient Greek: ἀσπίς) was a large shield worn by the Greek hoplites and Romans as a piece of defensive armor, which they carried upon the arm, to protect them from the blows of their enemies. It was round in shape and in the middle was a bolt of iron, or of some other metal, with a sharp point. The clipeus was similar to the earlier aspis.
clipeus
Ángel M. Felicísimo · Clípeo · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Field
- shield
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Clipeus of Iupiter-Ammon, conserved at the Museu Nacional Arqueològic de Tarragona • Illustration — A Victorian depiction of a hoplite with a clipeus In the military of classical antiquity, a clipeus (lang; Ancient Greek: ἀσπίς) was a large shield worn by the Greek hoplites and Romans as a piece of defensive armor, which they carried upon the arm, to protect them from the blows of their enemies. It was round in shape and in the middle was a bolt of iron, or of some other metal, with a sharp point. The clipeus was similar to the earlier aspis.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for clipeus. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
gnd · 7556851-2 · wikidata · Q1101789 · wikipedia · Clipeus
In this article
In art
In art
• Illustration — An Imago clipeata on a sarcophagus at the Villa la Pietra near Florence Pliny the Elder also describes the custom of having a bust of an ancestor painted on a clipeus, and hung in a temple or other public place. From this tradition, round bas-reliefs in a medallion on sarcophagi and in other forms are known as imago clipeata or "clipeus portraits", a term usually restricted to Roman art.
Roman use
Roman use
The clipeus was used by Romans during the Roman Kingdom and early republic but was replaced by the legionary scutum, a convex rectangular shield, in the later Roman Republic. However, the scutum disappeared during the Crisis of the Third Century. All troops adopted the auxiliary oval (and sometimes round or hexagonal) shield (parma or clipeus). From examples found at Dura-Europos and Nydam Mose, shields were of vertical plank construction, the planks glued, and faced inside and out with painted leather. The edges of the shield were bound with stitched rawhide, which shrank as it dried, improving structural cohesion. It was also lighter than the edging of copper alloy used in earlier Roman shields. The clipeus virtutis, Latin for "shield of bravery", was awarded to Augustus for his "courage, clemency, justice and piety" by the senate and displayed in the Curia Julia.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 7556851-2, Clipeus.
Unverified · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
reference work
- “Clipeus”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1101789: clipeus
Unverified · Wikidata
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 7556851-2, Clipeus.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
Connections
Knowledge graph
Connections
Each connection was recorded deliberately, with the basis for it kept on the internal record.
Broader subject
1- shieldTerminology
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Militaria
6,095 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Claridge Hi-Tec/Goncz PistolTerminology
- claw of ArchimedesTerminology
- Claymore mineTerminology
- clip pointTerminology
- Close Quarters Battle ReceiverTerminology
- close-in weapon systemTerminology
- cluster munitionTerminology
- CM-102Terminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with clipeus?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.