Crossbowmen
They represent French soldiers at the defence of Rouen, 1419, shooting from behind the shelter of shields propped up in front of them.
Crossbowmen
The centre figure is winding up his windlass crossbow behind the shelter of a shield. From Manuscript, Froissarts ' Chronicles.' The larger shields, which were carried before the knights (by their pages) when on the march, and which were propped up in front of them as a protection from arrows in a battle or a siege, were known as pavises or mantlets.