Buckler

A buckler (French bouclier 'shield', from Old French bocle, boucle 'boss') is a small shield, 15 to 45 cm (6 in to 18 in) in diameter, gripped in the fist. It was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Its size made it poor protection against missile weapons (e.g., arrows) but useful in deflecting the blow of an opponent's sword or mace. There are two major forms of medievally documented bucklers. The first is a simple round shield with the fist positioned directly behind the boss with a variety of shapes of face and depths of rim. These could also have projections from the top and bottom as in Hans Talhoffer's Fechtbücher or serrated rings around the boss as in one example in the Wallace Collection. The second major form is a corrugated rectangle as suggested by Achille Marozzo in his Opera Nova.

MS I.33, considered the earliest extant armed-combat manual, (around 1300) contains an early description of a system of combat with buckler and sword.

Buckler (disambiguation)

A buckler is a small shield used as a companion weapon

It may also refer to:

Heineken brands

Heineken International is a group which owns a worldwide portfolio of over 170 beer brands, mainly pale lager, though some other beer styles are produced. As of 2006, Heineken owns over 125 breweries in more than 70 countries and employs approximately 57,557 people.

The two largest brands are Heineken and Tecate; though the portfolio includes Amstel, Fosters (in Europe and Vietnam), Sagres, Cruzcampo, Skopsko, Affligem, Żywiec, Starobrno, Zagorka, and Birra Moretti.

Heineken

Heineken Lager Beer is the flagship product of the company. It is a 5% abv pale lager that was first made in 1868. It is brewed by 40 breweries in 39 countries around the world. In 2006 2.58 billion litres of Heineken was produced. Since 1975 most Heineken beer is brewed in the Heineken brewery in Zoeterwoude, Netherlands.

Other beers produced under the Heineken brand name include:

Buckler

Buckler is a low alcohol (0.5% abv) pale lager. It was launched in the summer of 1988, and is distributed worldwide. There was a recall in 2004 due to a fault in the pasteurising process. Buckler is no longer available in the Netherlands (Heinekens' home market) after the brand's image declined following Dutch comedian Youp van 't Hek mocking the brand (and its consumers) in a show in 1989.