I've done a lot of longsword versus shield, from both sides of the fight. I think you got a lot of good advice here, but there is one basic tactic which I did not see mentioned which I think is the most important.
Strike first and take initiative if possible, at his head or his feet, and be aware that he will counter immediately. Be ready for this with an immediate hanging guard counter. A hangen will very often parry a quick counterstrike from a S&S fighter, if you anticipate it and shift into it quickly enough.
Once you have parried his blow, aim your counter at his exposed right arm or right side, (I tend to go for the arm or the face) and / or take a traversing step to open him up further, you can even go through and strike across their back or their leg.
I have found this basic rule of thumb makes a huge difference in equalizing the fight between longsword and sword and shield.
By the way, I did a lot of research into shields once, and I can say pretty definitively that Celtic, Roman and Viking shields at least, tended to be between 1/4 and 3/8 inch thick. A half inch shield would be very unusual at least with Vikings or Romans (though not with the SCA!!!). They would often have a layer of linen or sometimes leather over the face, a steel or brass boss, and sometimes a rawhide covered rim.
However, while of comparatively light construction, these shields were often (at least 30% of the recovered shields I know of) made of Linden or Lime wood, which though light and fairly soft is very fibrous, and apparently excellent at stopping arrows, or thrusts from spears or swords, unlike say Oak which would split.
There is useful practical test data on some of the Viking and Roman re-enactment sites, including practical tests such as
trying javelins (and pilum) arrows, spears and other weapons against reconstructed shields.
Jeanry
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