History of the Helmet: Early European Helmets
My throne is a saddle, my glory is on the field,
My crown is my helmet, the whole world is my power.
“Shahnameh. Ferdowsi Abulqasim
My crown is my helmet, the whole world is my power.
“Shahnameh. Ferdowsi Abulqasim
History armor and weapons. For centuries, nay, millennia, some weaponsmiths sought effective means of attack, while others, correspondingly, sought means of defense. Protecting the head was crucial, as a blow to it could render a person unconscious almost instantly. Even in the ancient world, such head protection was developed—a helmet covering the head, made from a variety of materials, including metal, wood, and leather.
For head protection, thick fur caps, woven wicker hats (including basket-shaped ones), wooden helmet-masks with animal faces, and, of course, bronze, copper, and iron helmets were used. Armorers achieved a high level of perfection in their manufacture, creating virtually all the basic components of helmets that were later worn in the Middle Ages. Their shapes became established: primarily hemispherical and sphero-conical, tapering to a point at the top. Helmets were equipped with nape guards, cheek guards, and face masks, and were also fitted with nasal guards and visors. Helmet decorations also came into fashion at this time, often allowing warriors to distinguish their own from those of other warriors.
A bronze helmet with two long-legged horses, executed using the chasing technique with carved details; small engraved lions are on the cheekpieces. Height 24 cm. Found on the island of Crete. Late 5th century BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
At the same time, the low technological level of post-Roman Europe prevented the full use of this legacy. Thus, the first helmets worn by warriors in the barbarian kingdoms of the 5th and 6th centuries were very simple. Typically, they were a fairly low, cone-shaped cap made from a series of plates riveted together. An aventail of chainmail or leather covered with metal scales could be suspended from the back and sides, in a manner typical of many armors of the time. The shortage of metal forced craftsmen to innovate and create composite helmets consisting of four copper or horn plates, mounted on a frame of crisscrossing strips on the cranium, and a rim strip to which they were attached.
One such helmet is the so-called "boar helmet" (so named because of the boar figurine adorning its crown) – an Anglo-Saxon helmet from Benty Grange dating to around the 7th century CE. It was discovered by Thomas Bateman in 1848 in a burial mound near Benty Grange farm in west Derbyshire. The iron bands are decorated in places with silver. Between them are curved horn plates; the boar figurine is forged from iron, but is equipped with bronze eyes. Weston Park Museum, Sheffield
In the miniatures of the "Golden Psalter" from the monastery of St. Gallen in Switzerland, we see warriors from the late 8th century wearing helmets with wide brims and long backplates. The brims are turned up high at the front, forming a protrusion. Common warriors wear helmets without crests, while noblemen wear them with leaf-shaped crests, as was common in Roman times. Similar helmet depictions are found in miniatures in the "Bible" from St. Paul's Cathedral (Rome) from the 9th century, as well as in the "Gospel of Lothair" and the "First Bible" of Charles the Bald.
"The Brothers of the Abbey of St. Martin in Tours Present the Bible to King Charles." Miniature on folio 423. To the left and right of the king, seated on his throne, stand warriors wearing crested helmets with brims. "The First Bible of Charles the Bald" or "The Bible of Vivian." National Library of France, Paris
Although the quality of armor and weapons manufacturing in Europe declined sharply after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, it remained high in Byzantium, which remained at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, like the last remnant of civilization in the turbulent sea of the barbarian world. This is evidenced by the discovery of distinctive four-piece helmets, known as "spanhelms."
Before us is one of the best-preserved helmets of this type, believed to have been made in Byzantium for local military leaders in the service of the Byzantine Empire or closely associated with it. Its splendor lies not only in the gilding of the entire surface but also in the rich array of images adorning each element. The bowl depicts human figures, animals, and various religious symbols. For example, the birds pecking grapes depicted on the rim of the helmet are believed to symbolize Christians' yearning for Christ. In its original form, this helmet typically had cheekpieces and a nape. Such helmets have been found in France, Germany, Italy, the Balkans, and other parts of Europe, as well as, in one case, in Libya. They were typically found as grave goods in the graves of Ostrogoths and other Germanic chieftains. The forty-four complete and fragmentary examples of this type that have been found to date are very similar in design and decoration. Apparently, all of them were made in Byzantine workshops from the mid-5th to the late 6th century. Height 19,4 cm. Weight 2102 g. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Another Byzantine spangenhelm helmet, 6th–7th centuries. They have been found around the world, from Sweden to Germany, from the Balkans to Libya. This particular helmet was found in the Saône River near Trévoux, France. The quality of the helmets and their locations suggest that they were diplomatic gifts to foreign rulers, possibly sent to them either by the Byzantine court or by the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy. Originally, all helmets had metal cheekpieces, chainmail neck protection, and often a nasal guard. As on this helmet, decoration typically consisted of patterns stamped into its surface. Height: 21,8 cm. Weight: 907 g. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Some local forms of helmet development are particularly interesting, particularly the Scandinavian helmets of the Vendel period (550–793)—the final period of the Great Migration. At this time, Scandinavia still retained the traditional patriarchal structure of Germanic society. It maintained active contacts with Central Europe, exporting furs and slaves, and in exchange received art objects and new elements of equipment, such as stirrups.
Having gained access to iron ore deposits, the Sveian kings had armies armed with expensive weapons, including cavalry. This means that the horsemen of the Vendel period had helmets, chainmail, round shields with bosses, swords of a design typical of the Migration Period, and spears. All of this is found in ship burials, so archaeologists were, one might say, fortunate. They were especially fortunate with helmets, because, unlike those from the later "Viking Age," so many have been found that they have even been assigned serial numbers—"Vendel 1," "2," "3," and "14"—that is, the generally accepted names for these helmets correspond to the burial numbers in which they were found. These helmets are hemispherical in shape, and many are composed of interwoven metal strips, with a nasal plate and embellishments in the form of chased eyebrows.
The Ultuna Helmet. Found in the town of Ultuna near Uppsala, it weighs 1,8 kg, of which 452 g is the crest. The helmet's dome is similar to many other helmets, particularly the Valsgårde 5 helmet, which lacks eye openings and brow finials. What's unusual about this helmet is that both halves, on either side of the crest, are constructed as a latticework of diagonally positioned iron strips. The neck and cheeks were intended to be covered by five iron strips, suspended on hinges, only one of which has survived. The crest, a D-shaped bronze tube with a longitudinal "ridge," is traditionally adorned with animal heads at both ends. Similar crests have been noted to be typical of Vendel helmets from the late 7th to the first half of the 8th centuries. National Historical Museum, Stockholm.
"Ultuna Helmet." Side view
The Vendel 1 iron helmet, dating to the 7th century, was found in Ship Burial No. 1 in Vendel, Uppland, Sweden. National Historical Museum, Stockholm
The Valsgårde 8 helmet had a chainmail aventail around the entire perimeter, suggesting that chainmail was well-known and even well-known in Scandinavia during the Vendel period. National Historical Museum, Stockholm
Most helmets are longer than they are wide, indicating they were made for dolichocephalic people, who therefore inhabited Scandinavia during this era. Ultimately, it should be noted that these and similar helmets could have provided good protection against sword blows. The presence of latticed openings would hardly have weakened their protective capabilities, but wearers of such helmets should have been wary of spear strikes!
But the most typical "Vendel helmet" was found not in Scandinavia, but in England, at Sutton Hoo, a burial mound necropolis east of Woodbridge in the English county of Suffolk. There, in 1938-1939, perhaps the most significant archaeological discoveries in English history were made, as an intact burial ship belonging to an Anglo-Saxon king from around the sixth or seventh century was discovered there, in which the famous "Sutton Hoo helmet" was found. However, archaeologists had a hard time recovering it. The helmet was excavated in numerous small pieces, so three years of work were required to reconstruct it, and it was not put on display until 1945. It was then reconstructed again in 1970-1971, so it took a long time for the helmet to acquire its present appearance!
An examination of the helmet fragments revealed that its dome was most likely forged in one piece. However, a pair of cheek pieces and a forged back piece were hinged to it. An iron mask depicting the face of a mustachioed man was riveted to the front. It was connected to the helmet's dome in three places—at the very center and at the edges. The mask is 12 cm wide. The nose and mustache are false, bronze. The nose is protruding, with two breathing holes at the bottom. The entire mask is covered with tinned bronze plates, which form a beard at the bottom. The mask, including the eye openings, is framed by a U-shaped tube riveted over its bronze decorative plates.
The Sutton Hoo Helmet. The latest reconstruction (1970–1971). British Museum, London
The brow fins are triangular in cross-section and inlaid with silver wire. At the base, also inlaid, they were decorated with a line of rectangular garnets. At their ends are animal heads—thought to be boars—made of gilded bronze. Most intriguingly, the helmet's mask and brow fins are crafted to form the figure of a flying dragon. The mask's nose serves as its body, the wings are the brow fins, and the upper lip serves as its tail. The dragon's head is made of gilded bronze.
By the 10th century, the influence of classical antiquity on military affairs had noticeably weakened, metalworking technology had improved, and helmets had become an important attribute of mounted warriors. However, in the miniatures from Aurelius Prudentius's Psychomachia manuscript, circa 1000, they appear tall and pointed, and also made of several parts.
Illustration depicting horsemen in chainmail and helmets with aventails. "Psychomachy," 10th century. British Library, London.
Significant improvements to the helmet appeared around the mid-10th century, as evidenced by the similarly dressed Anglo-Saxons and Normans depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry (actually a 70-meter-long embroidery of colored thread on linen). They typically wear a hauberk—a hooded chainmail shirt over which is worn a conical, brightly colored helmet.
Among the earliest examples of this style is the helmet of St. Wenceslas, composed of several parts, with an iron nasal attached to the front. This helmet style, originating from the East, was retained by the Arabs, Persians, and Turkic peoples until the 17th century. In the 11th century, a similar conical helmet, also with a nasal, was used in northern countries and Italy. A similar helmet, made of copper, riveted from two halves and decorated with bronze and gilding, was once found in Poland.
Helmet of Saint Wenceslas, Prince of Bohemia (c. 907–929). Cathedral of St. Vitus, Wenceslas, and Adalbert in Prague
This shape of European helmets persisted until the 12th and even the 13th centuries. However, by the late 11th century, blacksmiths had already mastered the art of making one-piece helmets, crafted from a single sheet of metal. This demonstrates the rapid development of blacksmithing during that era. The process was as follows: a round piece of red-hot iron was taken and first hammered into a concave shape with a heavy hammer. Then, it was finished to the desired shape with hand hammers on an anvil and the seam was forged.
At the same time, the 12th century saw the appearance of a multitude of helmets of rather bizarre shapes: egg-shaped, conical, hemispherical, and even cylindrical, like a saucepan, with a flat or even flared crown. But it was the very first helmet form, called (albeit inaccurately) the "Norman helmet," that endured the longest. Incidentally, it was precisely these helmets that the European crusaders wore on their First Crusade and captured Jerusalem in 1099.
This "Viennese helmet" can be dated to the mid-10th century. At that time, along with a large almond-shaped shield and knee-length chainmail, a helmet with a nasal guard constituted the protective armor of warriors in the High Middle Ages. It was worn over a chainmail hood, under which was a quilted liner, similar to a modern child's bonnet. The nasal guard deflected direct blows to the face, but offered little protection from side blows. Incidentally, it had a hook at the end that allowed the chainmail hood to be hooked from the front and pulled up, covering the lower part of the face. Unfortunately, very few such helmets have survived, making the "Viennese helmet," along with the helmet of St. Wenceslas, a very significant artifact. It was discovered in 1864 near Olomouc in Moravia. Imperial Armory of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. New Hofburg Palace
Then, practical experience from the First (1095-1099) and Second (1147-1149) Crusades demonstrated that the old helmet offered poor protection against arrows. As a result, large-capacity helmets appeared, covering the entire head, with the crown resting on a chainmail hood. The face in such a helmet was completely protected by a face mask with eyeholes or a single narrow slit. Numerous small breathing holes were also pierced. This is how the "pot helmet" emerged, more resembling an inverted bucket than a cooking pot with convex hemispherical walls. They remained in knightly use for quite a long time, namely from the mid-12th to the 14th centuries, although, of course, they were constantly evolving and changing.
*It's ironic that Britain acquired this treasure thanks to a woman named Edith Mary Pretty, whose house, literally 500 yards away, was home to 18 burial mounds. She was wealthy and passionate; in her youth, she had participated in archaeological excavations and was fascinated with spiritualism, so it wasn't surprising that she decided to excavate them. She approached the staff at the local Ipswich Museum, but couldn't decide where to start—the large mound, clearly already plundered, or the three smaller ones, still untouched.
They decided to excavate the small mound first, but its burial site had long since been looted. However, when they began excavating the larger mound in May 1939, the results exceeded even their wildest expectations. A ship, albeit almost completely rotted, was discovered inside the mound. It was later discovered that the closest analogues to such a burial site were the Vendel and Old Uppsala burial grounds in Sweden, but these were all located in England.
According to English law, the finds belong to the land, but Mary was so generous that she declared her bequest to the British Museum as her posthumous gift. As a token of gratitude, Prime Minister Winston Churchill offered Pretty the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, but she also declined. After her death in 1942, the treasures from the Great Mound were transferred to the British Museum collection in accordance with her will, and lesser items found in the mounds and their surroundings during subsequent excavations were displayed in the Ipswich Museum.
To be continued ...
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