Prince Charlie's Targe is a notable 18th-century

targe Targe (from Old Franconian ' 'shield', Proto-Germanic ' 'border') was a general word for shield in late Old English. Its diminutive, ''target'', came to mean an object to be aimed at in the 18th century. The term refers to various types of shi ...

, a type of shield. The most prominent example is a highly decorated targe in the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

. The silver decorations include

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

's head in the centre and various arms and crests around the edge. The initial targe was presented to Charles by James Drummond, 3rd Duke of Perth circa 1740. The targe is said to have been recovered by government forces following the Battle of Culloden and was later presented to the presented to the Duke of Cumberland. In 2016, the targe was exhibited at Perth Museum. This targe is said to have been one of thirteen made for Prince Charles Edward Stuart, also known as the "Young Pretender". It is stated that Charles gave them away as trophies to his supporters during the 1745 Jacobite rising. The shield measures just 20 inches across. It is made out of tooled leather stretched across a wooden frame. One of these targes can be seen in

Warwick Castle Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-an ...

and is thought to be the only one in England."Treasures of Britain" by Drive Publications Limited, for the Automobile Association. P.477

References

{{reflist Jacobite rising of 1745 Charles Edward Stuart Individual shields