Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 2).djvu/16

CHAPTER XII

THE ARMET HEAD-PIECE FROM THE EARLY YEARS OF THE XVTH CENTURY
TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE NEXT CENTURY

The armet—The first close helmet which was modelled to the outline of the head, and actually
enclosed it—Armour collectors used not to group the armet as a separate family of
XVth century head defences—What may have been the origin of its name—The
armet's earliest portrayal in contemporary sculpture and the mention of it by XVth
century writers—The advantages of such a head-piece—The armet as we describe it to-day,
divided into three distinct classes, the Italian, English-Teutonic, and the Spanish—The
accessories of the armet; the buffe or grande bavière—The armet head-piece possibly in
use in Italy as early as A.D. 1400—Extant examples of a very little later date—The
oldest complete example known to the present writer—Others of the same type but
less complete—Very early examples that have an English provenance—Their association
with the war gear of England—Examples of the armet head-piece in use in various
countries to be seen in national and private collections in this country—Armets in
English churches, various types—Certain eccentricities of German form, and head-pieces
made by great artist craftsmen of that country—The crest upon the armet, the strange
and unheraldic fashion of its portrayal in Italian XVth century pictorial and medallic
art—The decadence of funeral cresting, especially in England, as met with upon
helmets of the armet type 71


CHAPTER XIII

THE HELM OF THE XVTH CENTURY

The use of the helm as a head-piece at the commencement of the XVth century: its
almost complete disuse in the field—Some extant examples: That which might have
been worn by King Henry V: Those of Sir Nicholas Hawberk, who died in 1407, and
Sir Reginald Braybrook, who died in 1405—A speculation on others that may exist—The
use of the helm for tournament purposes solely: A connecting link—An English
series that belong to the third quarter of the XVth century: the helm of Sir John
Fogge; the helm in the Pyx Chapel, Abbey Church of Westminster: the helm that is
associated with the name of King Henry VI, and a helm in the possession of Captain
H. Lindsay—Germanic-English helms of a little later date: the Brocas helm: the
Meyrick-Ressman helm—The purely German helm: the example in the Wallace Collection,
with its association on its accompanying tournament harness—Similar helms
in the National Germanic Museum of Nuremberg: in the Musée d'Artillerie of Paris,
and a splendid example in the collection of Prince Ernest of Windisch-Graetz:
examples in other national museums, to which we have not individually referred: some
helms of the same character in private collections—The reference to a family of
English made helms that belong to the opening years of the XVIth century: those
known to the present writer: the Wallace helm: the Haseley helm: the Bargello
helm: and the helm in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, associated with the name of