Research help for info on 14th cen helm.

[Thorsteinn]

So that nasty flu going about has made my brain no go. I'm looking at this helm and flat forgetting where it is from and when. I am starting to fall a bit in love with it. Can anyone helm me? Got any other thoughts on it?

It's a form of klappavisor bacinet and the smith is Jiri Klepac. Here's the pic.

[Jon Blair]

IIRC, it's a German style helmet last quarter of the 14th century.

[Sir Rodney]

IIRC, it's a German style helmet last quarter of the 14th century.

I second that thought.   

[Ian]

That particular visor is a copy of the visor in the Museo Stibbert in Florence Italy.  I tend to associate that narrow shaped visor on a klappvisor style bascinet with Italian artwork of the turn of the 14th/15th century but I admittedly haven't really looked elsewhere for them.




Detail from a Fresco in Palazzo Trinci, 1410

[Sir Nate]

I have a question for you Ian. With this style of bascinet, would knights carry the visor on their side while wearing a great helm, or would they simply not wear a greathelm at all and only have the bascinet with visor. Or would some knights not enter the battlefield at all on horseback and choose to only wear the klapvisor if entering the field on foot. 

[Lord Dane]

I have a question for you Ian. With this style of bascinet, would knights carry the visor on their side while wearing a great helm, or would they simply not wear a greathelm at all and only have the bascinet with visor. Or would some knights not enter the battlefield at all on horseback and choose to only wear the klapvisor if entering the field on foot.

Nate, you would not wear a Great Helm with a klappvisor style.  The bascinet replaced the need for a Great Helm. It was the all in one helm. They did early on (early 14th century) wear a GreatHelm over a bascinet but that was before they added the visor attachments for facial protection that could be easily removed or lifted for better visibility, breathing, etc.  GreatHelm just got worn for tournaments until it faded out as a style of the time.  It was easier to fight in bascinet no matter if on foot or mounted because you had better forward visibility in a fight with a liftable visor.