of close helmets which served a double purpose, and were used both in the joust and in the field.
We must again pause in what we intended should be a brief discourse on the more ordinary close helmets of the XVIth century, and break our narrative in order to note how the requirements of the tilt yard influenced the construction of the ordinary XVIth century head-piece. Our first example (Fig. 1203) is a close helmet of German origin dating from about 1570, on which may be observed screws for the attachment of the tilting pieces. At the date assigned to this helmet a number of suits of armour were made which could either be used as war harnesses, or by the addition of certain pieces as tilting suits. The screw found on the front of the mezeil of this helmet was for the purpose of securing it to the haute pièce or a large guard, which was fixed to the breastplate and covered the left side of the jouster from about the level of the elbow up to that of the eyes. When the helmet was screwed to this piece the wearer could not turn his head in any direction; but the existence of the rim at the bottom of this helmet shows that it was also intended to be worn without the haute pièce. When the haute pièce was screwed to it the visor could not be raised; so a small door was made on the right side of the mezeil—the side which was not covered by the haute pièce—by opening which the wearer could breathe more freely.
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Fig. 1203. Helmet
German, about 1570. Collection: Baron de Cosson
It has been suggested, we believe by Sir Samuel Meyrick, that it was through this door flying open that Henry II of France received his fatal blow; but the late Mr. W. Burges has disposed of that fiction.
The door in the helmet under discussion is secured by a spring catch
