SA0250 CRUSADES HELMET BUCKET SHAPE WITH CHAIN STRIP

CRUSADES HELMET BUCKET SHAPE WITH CHAIN STRIP
The great helm or heaume, also called pot helm, bucket helm and barrel helm, is
a helmet of the High Middle Ages which arose in the late twelfth century in the
context of the Crusades and remained in use until the fourteenth century. They
were used by knights and heavy infantry in most European armies between about
1220 to 1540 AD. In its simplest form, the great helm was a flat-topped cylinder of
steel that completely covered the head and had only very small openings for the
eyes and mouth. Later designs gained more of a curved design, particularly on the
top, to deflect or lessen the impact of blows.The great helm ultimately evolved
from the nasal helmet, which had been produced in a flat-topped variant with a
square profile by about 1180.From this type of helmet an intermediate type,
called an ‘enclosed helmet’ or ‘primitive great helm’, developed near the end of
the 12th century. In this helmet the expansion of the nasal produced a full faceplate, pierced for sight and breathing. This helmet was largely superseded by the
true great helm by c. 1240.A later variant with a more conical top is known as a
‘sugarloaf helm’. In Spanish they are called yelmo de Zaragoza, referring to
Zaragoza where they were introduced for the first time in the Iberian peninsula.
Although the great helm offered vastly superior protection than previous helmets,