A Complete Guide to HeraldryFox-Davies, Arthur Charles
History
A Complete Guide to Heraldry
Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles
Heraldry -- Great Britain
It is doubtful if any actual helm previous to the fourteenth century
exists, and there are very few of that period remaining. In that of the
Black Prince at Canterbury (Fig. 271) the lower, or cylindrical, portion is
composed of a front and back piece, riveted together at the sides, and this
was most likely the usual form of construction; but in the helm of Sir
Richard Pembridge (Figs. 580 and 581) the three pieces (cylinder, conical
piece, and top piece) of which it is formed are fixed with nails, and are
so welded together that no trace of a join is visible. The edges of the
metal, turned outwards round the ocularium, are very thick, and the bottom
edge is rolled inwards over a thick wire, so as not to cut the surcoat.
There are many twin holes in the helmet for the aiglets, by which the crest
and lambrequin were attached, and in front, near the bottom, are two +
shaped holes for the T bolt, which was fixed by a chain to the cuirass.
The helm of Sir Richard Hawberk (Figs. 582 and 583), who died in 1417, is
made of five pieces, and is very thick and heavy. It is much more like the
later form adapted for jousting, and was probably only for use in the
tilt-yard; but, although more firmly fixed to the cuirass than the earlier
helm, it did not fit closely down to it, as all later helms did.
Singularly few examples of the pot-helmet actually exist. The "Linz"
example (Figs. 584 and 585), which is now in the {309} Francisco-Carolinum
Museum at Linz, was dredged out of the Traun, and is unfortunately very
much corroded by rust. The fastening-place for the crest, however, is well
preserved. The example belongs to the first half of the fourteenth century.
[Illustration: FIG. 580.]
[Illustration: FIG. 581.]
[Illustration: FIG. 582.]
[Illustration: FIG. 583.]
The so-called "Pranker-Helm" (Fig. 586), from the chapter of Seckau, now in
the collection of armour in the Historical Court Museum at Vienna, and
belonging to the middle of the fourteenth century, could only have been
used for tournaments. It is made of four strong hammered sheets of iron 1-2
millimetres thick, with other strengthening plates laid on. The helmet by
itself weighs 5 kilogrammes 357 grammes. {310}
[Illustration: FIGS. 584 and 585.--The "Linz" Pot-Helmet.]
[Illustration: FIG. 587.]
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