I'm talking like Kite shields. I've recently started playing Dark Souls, and I noticed how the player wielded a shield, most noticeably with kite shields that the grip is perpendicular to the shield and not parallel like i thought all shields were. Meaning that when the character held the shield the point or bottom of his shield would be at his elbow/bicep. is that historically accurate? did people hold shields like that? has my entire childhood of playing pretend as a knight been a lie????
I'll answer based on the Norman shield (11th century AD), which is a type of kite shield. You can see images of them here (numbers 7 and 8) and here (colorized).
Notice the first shield on the second picture. The arm-straps are perpendicular to the length of the shield, which would imply that it would be used with the arm standing longitudinal to the shield. It would be something like this (I drew these pictures, so no source on them). While resting, the vertex would be pointing upwards, without limiting the knight's movement (pictures A1 and A2 - front; A3 and A4 - side). While striking a defensive position, with the arm retracted to the torso, the vertex would be pointing downwards diagonally, offering little cover to the legs, but limiting the possibility of hitting the horse with it. These Bayeux Tapestry images (first and second)show exactly this.
The use of these shield by unmounted troops would be great to form shieldwalls, with the vertex of the kite covering the legs of the soldier. Back to this image, the bottom red shield, having the diagonal straps would allow a stronger and stabler defensive position. Check for yourself, try these positions (again, pictures by me; A - straps parallel to the shield length; B - straps diagonal to the shield length; C - straps perpendicular to the shield length; and corresponding arm position to keep it vertical/perpendicular to the ground, so it could cover your legs) and see which would be more easy to maintain during the battle (as an infantryman). I find it easier to maintain the B position, and it seems to be the stronger one too.
