Arbalist Helmets from 11th century to 16th century

Hi there my friends !!

Thought I'd post a few pictures of interest for you guys. These are made as authentic as can be, also have the same weight and material consistency as were the originals.


11th century Chapel-de-Fer


11-16 century Kettle hat



12-16 century Sallet

Did you make these, William? They are beautiful!

Lightly.



Edit:

Well, of COURSE you made them, duh....
Anyway, I found the first one the most attractive shape. Looked like you had leather draped on the inside, I presume, to protect the lower face from the mail did a blow get struck.

Thanks for showing these off, nice!

Hi Lightly,

I will explain certain aspects of these Helmets for the benefit of everyone.

The first one is the Chapel-de fer, that is French for Steel Hat. This type was used all through the 14th century, in fact it was still worn by the armies of Joan of Ark. The chain mail (MAILLE) you see underneath is separate from the hat. The maille head piece is called a Coif. Yes this had leather lining all around the face opening (no armour ever touched the body directly) as one has to bear in mind that in those days they feared infections and if a ring had to break loose and penetrate the body that meant infection and death.
This type of hat had quite a large brim and it was so designed to protect the shoulders during a siege. Remember the crossbowmen used to try and get as close as possible to the besieged walls so as to get a better shot. The inside of the Helmet is leather lined as well, 6 equidistant pieces of leather were attached at the bottom by rivets and met at the top where they could be adjusted to suit the wearer.

The Second one is called the Kettle Hat ( the name was derived from actually using it as a kettle when needed) This Helm has mostly similar characteristics to the first, only the brim is somewhat smaller. This type of helmet was usually worn by the English and remained in service right down to the 16th century. in the 15th century the English used to paint them in bright colors so as to deter rust and act as identification from a distance ( unlike today's modern low visibility markings) From this helmet the famous British bomber hat was originated, in fact the shape is almost the same.

The third one is the Sallet. This shape was actually designed by the Germans. It offered a high degree of protection to the sides and the back of the head (still was penetrated by a crossbow though) As for those who do not know most all of the medieval helmets were made in such manner as described :
The thickest part of any helmet was the top part, that is from the hairline upwards and as the helmet flaired down to cover the ears and the back the material got thinner. They used make the thickest part of (armour and helmets) for the most vulnerable part of the
body. Same goes for the Curass ( breast plate) and the Arrass ( back plate) The thickest part of the breast plate was the left side to protect the heart whereas the Back plate was only around gauge 16-17 thick. This Helmet was also leather lined from the inside.
The sallet has seen many a great battles like Agincourt, Poiters etc. This helmet however was worn by the English, Germans and the French, but varied slightly from country to country (e.g. the Germans had the back much longer and laminated). However this was the true arbalist helmet as only the crossbowmen wore it. Please notice the shape of the second WW German military helmet. and later the US army, they are almost identical to the Sallet, as this shape never got discarded but improved.
These helmets used to be painted by the wearer as well. for the same reasons mentioned above.

Yes Lightly I made these and many many more of every period from 300BC - 17TH Century. Well hope you enjoy the historical information I've given my friends.

Here is the Kettle Hat from the inside

William...I'm speechless wonderfull presentation!

Interesting how the bottom trim of the chainmaile is done in a different color metal...nice touch. I've been researching the different ring patterns in jewelry and armour..very interesting topic....how are your rings held together? do you simply bend them shut or do you also solder/braze/weld them closed?

By the way...what steel/wire did you use to make these helmets/mail coif? and what metal are the rivets holding everything together?

All in all it is a pleasure to have such craftsmen as you with us.

All Best!

Ivo

Hi Ivo,

Thank you for the compliment, I knew that they'll be of interest to all.
Let me start by answering some of your questions. The rings are butted, just closed together here, however I cut them with a fine hacksaw so that the ring ends will set snug and clean together. I have weaved riveted mail and believe me it is long,laborious and tedious work. I have made 7 full hauberks (full siuts) of butted maille and that's close to a million rings, now if that's not THE LORD OF THE RINGS I don't know what is !!!!! ha ha ha

The Maille Coif in the pictures is made of 14 gauge galvanized mild steel, quite appropriate for reenactment combat. The helmets are made of 14-16 gauge dark mild steel. The rivets are mild steel.
By the way I am soon launching my new historicalarmouries website as the first one which had cost me $2000 is inactive now, because the darn webmaster ran away with the renewal money and cannot have access to it anymore. I will let you guys know when it is ready. You will be able to see that I have manufactured almost anything medieval like: swords,daggers,armour harnesses,bronze helmets,pikes,shields,gauntlets even horse spurs. and you know what I am not appreciated in my country Our stupid government has no place for man like me.
Anyway I am quite worried at the moment as I cannot come to grips with either buying a pair of limbs or making them, Excalibur keeps telling me that they don't accept PayPal,they don't accept visa card just because I am from europe. No Kiddin !!!
Master Robin gave me an address of a company but they only sell Carbon fiber laminates and I have no idea how to work these. have no idea what length or width the limbs should be etc. any help will be greatly appreciated Ivo. I did see the Russian guy pictures but cannot understand how on earth the epoxy gives him all that time to cut the carbon material and place it in the mold without hardening.

Hi William Tell,

Are you talking to Bill Troubridge himself or one of his staff? If not then I suggest you do. Bill is a fine upstanding fellow who like us loves crossbows first. He will sell you a pair or more of "seconds" which are only blemished on the paint finish, which is not that important. And I wouldn't hesitate to send a money order or personal cheque to Bill either, if indeed they aren't structured to take Visa or PayPal. Sounds odd to me, and you might just be getting the run-around from someone who is only interested in large orders. If you have any more trouble, let me know and I will fire off an e-mail to Bill. Excalibur does have their own forum too you know.

Pavise

Huh, that's what really got me pissed off, cause I know what a nice and helpful person Bill Troubridge is. He is one of us a true crossbow lover.
I have been communicating with a guy named Peter Balfour. With all due respect to this fella, he seems to be taking me for a ride, somehow. After 3 days he replied to tell me that they do not accept Paypal, ok I can buy that, then he asked for my address to calculate the freight and I asked if they accept visa card and took 5 days just to tell me that they don't accept credit cards from Europe. now I asked him what do they accept and still hasn't replied. He'd probably tell me that they don't ship to Europe for all I know, LOL.
My friend I truly appreciate your help and concern. I just don't know how to contact Bill direct though. If anyone can order a pair for me. I will send him a check or pay him by visa card (in advance) whichever he prefers that's including the freight of course.
I have been Trying so darn hard to find a pair of limbs and almost gave up believe me.

Thanks once again my brother in arms.

William

Those are some nice looking helmets.
I really like the helmet suspension, that is something that unfortunately gets over looked. Well the SCA's rule set may be partly to blame.
Can't wait till your site gets up and running again and I can look at some of your other projects

Hi Basilisk !

Pleased to meet you my friend. Yes the inner suspension lining is something of the utmost importance, as it would be stupid to wear an uncomfortable helmet, just like wearing an uncomfortable shoes.
All that you see from my work I do it for a living my friend. In fact I am every so often commissioned by the local museum authority to create certain pieces for display along with originals. Last piece of work I did was on an original 1520 English Armet helmet. I recreated the missing chin piece ( Barbozza) and then this helmet was loaned to a museum in Switzerland.

Here you are my friends I'm sure Ivo won't object to these pictures. The illustrations below are copied from a highly reliable rare book written somewhere between the 17-18 century by a man and his wife by the name of Funcken.

Cavalry Harness 1545 Great helm 1340



Hundskul 1460





Enjoy friends

William Tell wrote:I'm sure Ivo won't object to these pictures.

No objections there. Given the crossbowman helmets were made by you and if you think they are authentic reproductions(sorry, not my line of expertise ), then why not make a topic in "Medieval Reproductions" forum and rename this one Arbalist Armour(or something along the lines)? What do you say...sounds good?

The illustrations in that book thou probably completely different, but they still remind me of my books back home...I have a whole encyclopedia/library back in Ukraine that I need to get back...lots of cool stuff on the subject of armour there.

Thanks, for the opportunity. I will try and start something soon yea! Oh of course Ivo, the helmets are faithful reproductions. You see I get into a lot of studying and research before I manufacture any medieval piece.

At last here is the link to my website and you shall be able to see more there.

http://www.historicalarmouries.webs.com/


Enjoy my friends, I am so happy and proud to be a member of this forum.