Culloden targe

Product description

This targe is based on originals that were used during the last Jacobite uprising of 1745–1746. The original is now part of the collection of the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow, Scotland.

The targe was a formidable weapon and not an isolated development. The wars of the Jacobites should be seen in a broader European context, as part of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) or, more broadly, the conflicts that arose between Catholic and Protestant Europe. The royal House of Stuart was Catholic and had deep alliances with France, Spain, and Italy. The targe developed from the Spanish and Italian rotella shields, which were very popular during the Renaissance. In some cases, these shields were also equipped with the characteristic spikes in the center of the shield.

However, the targe was considerably cheaper and more durable for use in the wet climate of the Scottish Highlands. After the Disarming Act following the Battle of Culloden in 1746, many targes were destroyed. The targes that survive today therefore mostly belonged to aristocrats or were captured by the English.