The bucket helmet, calotte or also known as the early great helm, was a type of West-European helmet from the late 12th century and early 13th century. This helmet was the predecessor of the later great helm. The closed bucket helmet covered almost the entire head. The face was completely protected and the sides and back of the head were covered deeper than with nasal helmets. This helmet emerged at the end of the 12th century and was quickly replaced by the true great helm, which was developed around the middle of the 13th century. The main difference with the great helm is that the closed helmet had a much deeper front section than the depth of the helmet at the back and sides.
History
The Nasal Helmet
This type of helmet probably developed from the nasal helmet. Around 1180, there was already a variant of the nasal helmet that had a flat top and a square shape. The closed helmet was created by adding a plate for the face, with holes to see and breathe through, and by extending the back and sides of the flat helmet further downward.
Early bucket helmet
This created a cylindrical shaped helmet. From illustrations of that time, it appears that the face was first shielded, probably as an extension of the existing nasal piece that the nasal helmet was equipped with. .
Some German illustrations from around 1180 show a metal rod running from the nose across the mouth. If such a rod had been extended and bent back toward the eyebrows, it would have already formed almost a complete face plate.
Closed helmet
One of the earliest depictions of a fully developed closed helmet, equipped with a fan-like crest on top, appears on the second Great Seal of Richard I of England, dated 1198.
The helmet probably emerged because knights needed more face protection due to the enormous force of lances during charges in dense formations (the so-called conrois, used in the 12th century). Another possibility is that the helmet was developed in response to a greater threat from archers, especially in the 12th and 13th centuries.
The closed helmet was worn exclusively by members of the knightly class and aristocracy. Many soldiers, including knights, found the disadvantage that this helmet made it harder to see and hear. Therefore, other, more open helmets – such as nasal helmets – continued to be used until the middle of the 13th century.
How to wear
The closed helmet was worn over a mail coif, with extra soft padding underneath around the head. This padding ensured that blows landed less hard and made the helmet more comfortable.
Internal links
- Great helm: West-European pot helmet from the Middle Ages
- Nasal helmet: West-European helmet with metal nasal guard
- Cervelliere: hemispherical steel helmet from the Middle Ages
- Mail coif: Medieval head and neck armor
Sources:
- Visual Source: The Codex Manesse (ca. 1300) and the seals of Richard the Lionheart, which show the early transition from nasal helmet to the closed pot helmet with 'bucket' structure.
