Helms
From Karate, Kungfu, Wrestling, Mixed Fighting Information Source
The Helm or the Helmet is a type of head covering made from a hard material, such as leather, metal, or plastic, worn by knights and military personnel during wars and battles.
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Armet
It is a close-fitted, visored helmet that appears to have originated in Italy sometime before 1450 and remained in use through 15th and 16th centuries. The armet was lighter and more protective than the bascinet it surplanted and made use of a new innovation of hinged cheek pieces. This way, the helmet could be closed around the head, and the weight taken up by the gorget and the shoulders. The armet was supplanted by the close-helmet, in turn.
Bascinet
- See main article Bascinet
A basin-shaped helmet, that evolved out of the small steel skull-cap worn beneath the great helm. The bascinet was initially open-faced, but as it supplanted the helm as the primary defense, a variety of hinged visors were developed. Bascinets were in use from the mid-14th through the mid-15th centuries, and were still occassionally used by foot soldiers into the early 16th century.
Bevor
Also called a baviere or beavor, The bevor was a 15th century piece of armour that protected the lower part of the face when worn with a sallet. It could be afixed to the helmet of the breatsplate, and was often hinged, so that it could be lowered when not in use.
Burgonet
This helmet was popular throughout England and Scotland during the 16th century. It provided protection to the neck as well as the head and face. It boasted a fully articulated visor that was secured by leather straps, that could be adjusted to allow for better airflow and visibility.
Great Helm
- See main article Great Helm
The first helmet in the Middle Ages to encompass the entire head, usually made of four or five iron plats riveted together, and worn over a mail coif, and sometimes a small steel skull-cap. Great helms first appeared in the last decade of the 12th century, and became wide-spread in the 13th and early 14th centuries. They remained the dominant form of tournament helmet into the Renaissance, becoming progressively heavier and more massive. After 1420, the helms came down to the shoulders and were bolted to the chest and back.
Kettle hat
A plain iron hat with a broad brim, nearly identical to the civil defense helmets of the 20th century, or those of English “doughboys” in the First World War. The kettle-hat was common defense from the 12th through 15th centuries.
Morion
- See main article Morion
A late form of helmet with a strongly curved brim and high “comb” on top. Associated in popular imagination with the Spanish Conquistadores, the style actually developed after Spain’s initial conquests in the Americas.
Salade/Sallet
- See main article Sallet
It is a helmet of the 15th and 16th centuries, often with a small, hinged visor, and a long, articulated tail, to protect the back of the neck. Variants existed for both footsoldiers and men-at-arms.
Cabasset
- see main article Cabasset
The cabasset is an open-faced helmet characterized by its almond shaped top (often called pear shaped) and the curious little point projecting from the apex of the helmet. The cabasset was most popular among infantry soldiers and pikemen during the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe.
Casque
Similar in shape to a burgonet, a Casque was a light, open helmet. Casques were popularized as parade and ceremonial helmets, or embossed with grotesques (macabre looking faces, horns, and embellishments added to give the wearer a more fearsome appearance. The two most famous kinds were horned Casques of the Scandanavians and Britons, and the conical casques worn by the Assyrians, Germanic tribes, Gauls, and Normans.
Chapel De Fer
This was generally a domed helmet, made in three or more pieces, with a wide brow around the outside. During the 14th century it was widely used by English and French men-at-arms and bachelier knights who could not afford a bascinet. Squires and other retainers probably also wore them, and they were often the helmet of choice amongst archers, since if an archer were to lower his head when a salvo of arrows was expected, the whole face would be momentarily covered.
Spangen Helm
The Spangen Helm was a type of scull cap recognized mainly by it's use by the vikings, and normans. It consisted of four triangular plates held together by riveting them to crossing straps. The face was open with the exception of a bar, or nasal, covering the nose.
Others
- Camail - A curtain of mail, hanging from the bottom of the helmet, as a defense for the chin, neck, throat and shoulders.
- Close-helmets - A form of close-fitting, full helmet, of the 16th and 17th centuries. The close helm clearly derived from the armet, which it supplanted.
- Coif - A hood of fabric or mail, worn under the helmet.
