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prettygoodwordpavisade (pav-ai-SAYD) - n., (mil.) a row of pavises used as a defensive screen by soldiers; a defensive screen of any kind of shield, esp. (naut.) a row of shields hung on the side of a ship for protection and to discourage boarding; (naut.) a screen of canvas erected around the sides of a ship to conceal the crew.
A pavise (or pavis) is a large convex shield with a prominent central ridge used to protect the entire body, named after the Italian city of Pavia. Soldiers, especially crossbowmen would line up with overlapping edges (staking the shields into the ground to hold them) to form a defensive screen, which they would hide behind while reloading. The term expanded to cover a similar screen using any kind of shield, and to include line-screens at sea as well as land. Used in English since the early 17th century.
---L.
A pavise (or pavis) is a large convex shield with a prominent central ridge used to protect the entire body, named after the Italian city of Pavia. Soldiers, especially crossbowmen would line up with overlapping edges (staking the shields into the ground to hold them) to form a defensive screen, which they would hide behind while reloading. The term expanded to cover a similar screen using any kind of shield, and to include line-screens at sea as well as land. Used in English since the early 17th century.
---L.
