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Great helm liners
Leganoth:
--- Quote from: James Barker on 2011-11-08, 20:21:26 ---I know I am coming to this thread rather late but I think I have the answer on the liners for you. I do not beleive early great helmets were themselves padded, instead the wearer had a padded coif under the maille, or a padded roll attached to the coif on the outside, a skull cap with padding above or under the maille coif layer, or a small bascinet helmet that was padded under the great helm.
Skull caps are seen in the 12th century straight through the GH era. The bascinet is a 14th century helmet. The padded roll is seen in 12th and 13th century effigies.
If you look here you can see both the small helmet and padded roll options http://www.themcs.org/armour/14th%20century%20armour.htm
If you look at this Maciejowski bible image (1250) you see the point is back the the knight in front has a skull cap under the maille.
Effigies of early crusaders show the padded roll I mention:
--- End quote ---
Found this but still not sure if it would fill the helm http://steel-mastery.com/en/padded-armour/padded-hoods-and-caps/linen/flax-liner-for-great-helm
Sir Gerard de Rodes:
All of the above are fantastic solutions to your lining or padding problem, and all will work.
The most common and simplest being the leather liner or spider, similar in shape and function to Sir Brians liner although much cruder.
As James has suggested, the great helm would always have been worn over, at least, a maille coif and more often than not a cervellier (secret or small skull cap) as well.
Earlier great helms, and flat topped pot helms, were worn over a mail coif that was fitted over a flat topped arming or padded coif.
I think, if worn under a maille coif, the coif and ring from Steel Mastery, once the ring was adjusted to fit your helm and attached to the coif, would give the right, flat topped effect.
If you intend to use the helm for full contact fighting then I would deffinitely go with fitted, high density, soft foam (such as pipe lagging or refrigeration insulating material) shaped and fitted in such a way that it feels like a motorcycle helmet when it`s on. To draw the eye away from the modern materials, the foam should be covered with soft linnen or cotton. Thus giving a much more comfortable surface against your face and head.
As with most armour items there will always be a certain amount of tinkering and tailoring to make them work well. You will also find you try a few different solutions before finding the one that is suitable or comfortable for you.
Good luck.
G.
James Barker:
--- Quote from: Leganoth on 2011-11-08, 23:00:20 ---Found this but still not sure if it would fill the helm http://steel-mastery.com/en/padded-armour/padded-hoods-and-caps/linen/flax-liner-for-great-helm
--- End quote ---
From a historical standpoint I have my doubts about this arrangement of a padded hood with the ring on it. If you want to make just the ring you just need fabric and something to stuff it with (I used raw cotton for my hat like this shape). General rule is to add about 10 inches to the ring length so when you stuff it, it still fits your head. So if you have a 24 inch head make a 34 inch long ring; you can always cut it down if it is too big.
Sir William:
Without that ring on it, it looks like it could be something you'd find in a great helm; I've always been of the mind that one would wear a coif, half helm or bascinet and then the great helm over all of that.
Sir Brian:
*Bump*
I bumped this for Sir Nathan who asked about my mounting method of my crest(s). Since it also has some other great posts about liners I thought it was worth a revisit to the top of the topic listing. 8)
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