Do you have any resources on building early period Norse helms starting with a premade helm top?

Greetings!

I don’t have any, but I reached out to some armorer-friends, and they suggested the following:

There is an SCA Armor Facebook group [Link] which you may find helpful.

A lot depends on what you’re starting with and what tools/skills you have.

Some armorers also make kits – pre-cut pieces that you assemble and fit [Example].

Hope that helps get you started. <3

Helms

What type of helm should I look for as a 14th century English fighter or 12ty century Norman for heavy fighting?

Anonymous

I had to reach out to some martial types for this answer.

Master Sir Edwin AtteBridge says, “Twelfth century, the famous “norman” conical helm with nasal that we’re all officially wearing in the SCA. 14th century generally bascinet, although kettle hat is also appropriate (but less popular because of SCA handicaps). Inbetween, slowly-evovling “barrel” or “bucket” helms. Basically they took the norman design, started adding a faceplate and covering more of the head, simplifying the construction while they were at it, and when they were done realized that the pointed top they had started with was a better design and went back to an improved version of it. The 13th century is full of dead ends like that.”

Norman Conical Helm

Wikipedia entry: [link] –

be sure to look at the Notes and External Links

Bascinet

“Spotlight: The 14th Century Bascinet”
by Alexi Goranov
MyArmory.com: [link]

Wikipedia entry: [link] – be sure to look at the Notes and External Links

image

Image from the Wallace Collection: [link]Visored bascinet
Unknown Artist / Maker
Milan, Italyc. 1390 – c. 1410
Low-carbon steel, air-cooled, copper alloy and leather
Height: 26 cm
Width: 37.4 cm, beak to back of skull
Weight: 2.005 kg, without visor
Weight: 0.82 kg, visor
Weight: 1.24 kg, aventail
Label: Royal Archaeological Society label marked 25 in ink
A69European Armoury I

This tumblr has made my afternoon far more interesting and entertaining – thank you for making it! I have been trying to find a comprehensive history on mail (maille). I have found plenty of resources on different weaves, but I am looking for something that is more about the evolution, the application, etc. of maille in society. Have you come across any resources or references that you could possibly pass on?

Greetings!

I’m so glad that you’re enjoying my tumblr. 🙂

Here are some items that may help you in your search for a comprehensive history of mail/maille/chainmail:

A Critical Inquiry into Ancient Armour, as it existed in Europe, but particularly in England, from the Norman Conquest to the Reign of King Charles IIby Samuel R. Meyrick (1824). 3 vols.
Worldcat [Link]I’ll point out that a contemporary review of Meyrick’s work was not favorable. You can read it here: [Google Books]

A glossary of the construction, decoration, and use of arms and armor in all countries and in all times: together with some closely related subjects, by George Cameron Stone (1999).
Worldcat [Link]You can see a preview on Google Books – it appears that each entry is rather comprehensive, so this is potentially very good.
Publisher’s Description: Widely considered the classic book in the field, George Cameron Stone’s A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times is an indispensable resource and reference tool for anyone interested in arms and armor. Originally published in 1934, it remains an essential guide to the field. To describe the worldwide range and variety of weaponry, Stone drew upon the more than 4,000 items in his private collection of Eastern arms and armor, as well as the European arms collection of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a variety of other sources. Since the author subsequently bequeathed his entire collection to the Metropolitan Museum, this volume serves as an abbreviated visual reference to that institution’s Arms and Armor collection.
By profession a metallurgist, the author focused on techniques of manufacture and workmanship to derive his method of codifying the typology of weapons, relying on an alphabetized dictionary format to avoid the confusions he found in a field without standardized nomenclature. This “glossary” format makes it easy for anyone to locate material on the astonishing variety of weapons covered. These include arquebuses, blunderbusses, flintlocks, wheel locks, matchlocks, and other antique guns; German armor; French rapiers; Roman short swords; Turkish crossbows; all the Japanese bladed weapons (katana, wakizashi, naginata, etc.); the East Asian kris in its countless permutations; and many more.
Illustrated with 875 detailed figures, incorporating thousands of individual photographs and drawings, the book was written from the unique viewpoint of an expert who devoted a lifetime to the field. Hard to locate today (original editions are worth hundreds of dollars), Stone’s Glossary represents a peerless resource for scholars, experts, collectors, students, hobbyists, and institutions — any student of the long history and development of weapons and armor around the world.
Worldcat [Link]

British and foreign arms and armour,by Charles Henry Ashdown (1909)
Archive.org (read online): [Link]Wordlcat: [Link]

Hope these help!