Tudor burgonet with falling buffe, 1.3 mm

Product description

The burgonet helmet (sometimes also called a Burgundian sallet) was a combat helmet from the Renaissance. It developed from the sallet around the beginning of the 16th century and became extremely popular throughout Europe. Burgonets were worn by the aristocracy, demi-lancers, cavalrymen, and cuirassiers. This particular burgonet is based on the cavalry helmets worn around the time of the Tudor dynasty. Helmets like these were used across Europe, including during the Eighty Years’ War. This type of helmet is characteristic of those worn by the well-known Border Reivers (cavalrymen of the Anglo-Scottish borders), who also referred to it as the “steel bonnet.”

The crest on this helmet is influenced by the all’antica style that emerged in Italy during the first half of the 16th century. During the Renaissance, there was a renewed fascination with classical antiquity, which had a significant impact on the development of plate armor. The steel crest is based on stylized helmet crests of Roman legionaries, linking the wearer to this glorious past. The helmet also shows influences from the Greenwich style.

From the late 15th to early 16th century, a new type of bevor emerged. This bevor consisted of multiple lames with an integrated visor and is also called the “falling buffe” because the visor can be fully lowered. When the bevor is in the lowered position, it provides an optimal field of vision, while in the raised position it forms an almost fully closed visor, similar to that of a closed sallet. This type of bevor was typically paired with later kettle hats, sallets, or burgonets.

This burgonet is hand-crafted from 1.3 mm thick steel. It fits head circumferences up to 62 cm and comes complete with a gorget/bevor.