A Complete Guide to HeraldryFox-Davies, Arthur Charles
History
A Complete Guide to Heraldry
Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles
Heraldry -- Great Britain
The custom of wearing the large helm over the bascinet being clumsy and
troublesome, many kinds of visor were invented, so as to dispense with the
large helm, except for jousting, two of which are represented in Figs. 575
and 579. In the first a plate shaped somewhat to the nose was attached to
the part of the camail which covered the mouth. This plate, and the mail
mouth-guard, when not in use, hung downwards towards the breast; but when
in use it was drawn up and attached to a staple or locket on the front of
the bascinet. This fashion, however, does not appear to have been adopted
in England, but was peculiar to Germany, Austria, &c. None of these
contrivances seem to have been very satisfactory, but towards the end of
the fourteenth century the large and salient beaked visor was invented
(Fig. 587). It was fixed to hinges at the sides of the bascinet with pins,
and was removable at will. A high collar of steel was next added as a
substitute for the camail. This form of helmet remained in use during the
first half of the fifteenth century, and the large helm, which was only
used for jousting, took a different form, or rather several different
forms, which may be divided into three kinds. In this connection it should
be remembered that the heavy jousting helmet to which the crest had
relation was probably never used in actual warfare. The first was called a
bascinet, and was used for combats on foot. It had an almost spherical
crown-piece, and came right down to the cuirass, to which it was firmly
fixed, and was, like all large helms of the fifteenth century, large enough
for the wearer to move his head about freely inside. The helm of Sir Giles
Capel (Fig. 588) is a good specimen of this class; it has a visor of great
thickness, in which are a great number of holes, thus enabling the wearer
to see in every direction. The "barbute," or ovoid bascinet, with a
chin-piece riveted to it, was somewhat like this helm, and is often seen on
the brasses of {311} 1430-1450; the chin-piece retaining the name of
"barbute," after the bascinet had gone out of fashion.
[Illustration: FIG. 586.--Pranker-Helm.]
[Illustration: FIG. 591.--German Tilting Armour, 1480, from the Collection
in the Museum at Vienna.]
[Illustration: FIG. 592.--Tilting-Helmet of Sir John Gostwick, 1541.]
[Illustration: FIG. 588.]
The second kind of large helm used in the fifteenth century was the
"jousting-helm," which was of great strength, and firmly fixed to the
cuirass. One from the Brocas Collection (Figs. 589 and 590, date about
1500) is perhaps the grandest helm in existence. It is formed of three
pieces of different thicknesses (the front piece being the thickest), which
are fixed together with strong iron rivets with salient heads and thin
brass caps soldered to them. The arrangements for fixing it in front and
behind are very complete and curious.
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