Medieval Crusader Helmet

[PropBlast]

I was luck enough to win the following bust from Ebay the other day (Boneaparte's Crusader bust) that is now long OOP. However my question is concerning the helmet as I know its a flat type of medieval knight helmet yet despite exhaustive Google searches I cannot find a flat type helmet with a nose guard. I also noticed that the helmet requires a chin strap to make it stay on the wearers head. Can anyone help me with these historical details?

 

[arj]

Try as one might to get true historical details on Google, the system appears to be geared solely to the sale of replicas.
It must be down to the way the programmers write their algorithms.
You have to get quite creative with your words, and their order, to get around its very linear AI system.
Anyway, I managed to find this YouTube clip which might be of some use to you:-



The period you're looking for is from somewhere around the middle of the clip.

Granted, he is using replicas, but he does appear to know his subject.
The beginning shows a conical helmet with a strap attached, and while the inside is not shown, you can deduce the attachment method. The same helmet is used later in the clip.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[Mirofsoft]

Not a crusader.. it's a tambourine man, look in his hands

 

[PropBlast]

Not a crusader.. it's a tambourine man, look in his hands

 

[Historex Rob]

I believe helmets of this style were worn during the 3rd Crusade (1189-1192).

 

[PropBlast]

Thanks HistorexRob. I noticed Romeo Models 54mm Crusader (depicted during the 3rd Crusade) also has this style of helmet so you were spot on.

 

[Helm]

They were fairly common if the illustrations of the time are to believed, a sort of halfway house between the old Norman style nasal helmets and the emerging great helms. Here's a link to a leather one, but the principle is the same for metal https://ironshepherdslivinghistory.co.uk/blog/posts/2020/making-a-norman-flat-top-helmet/ Later the nasal became a visor affair and finally the great helm proper came about.
Steve

 

[David Spencer]

I'm late to the party, but Christopher Gravett and Graham Turner portray it as in the top right of the photo (Osprey's "English Medieval Knight 1200-1300").

 

[PropBlast]

I'm late to the party, but Christopher Gravett and Graham Turner portray it as in the top right of the photo (Osprey's "English Medieval Knight 1200-1300").

What type of helmet do they call it?

 

[David Spencer]

They don’t seem to give it a name.
Just a cylindrical style flat topped helmet.

 

[DEL]

I doubt if there is any definitive name for it. It is simply one of many types of pot helmet with a flat top.
The shape and design would have been quick to form and relatively easy to repair unlike the conical and round top version. More likely to be worn by the more cash strapped crusader, where the construction of a simple plate fitted to a strip that could be bent to fit an individual head. I wonder if the smiths had a helmet while you wait service...You can't get quicker than a pothelm fitter...
As Helm mentions probably the precursor to the great helm. Both it and the conical versions still existed in various styles well into the late middle ages with more sophisticated designs appearing through the years.
D.

 

[Helm]

They don’t seem to give it a name.
Just a cylindrical style flat topped helmet.

Helmet Officers, Crusaders for the use of

 

[NRG]

It’s always good to go back to original sources. For example this illustration showing the martyrdom of St Thomas a Becket from a late 12th century psalter, shows various helmet types in current use including a flat topped cylindrical helm being worn alongside the earlier rounded form.

 

[NRG]

Please see attached. I appreciate that these are modern reconstructions and not flat topped helms they do give a great idea of how straps were attached and tied under the chin.