armor.pdf

Armor of a wealthy 7 th century Northern European Warrior

The armor often found in rich 7 th century graves usually includes a helmet, shield,

and various components of body armor including (but not limited to) mail and splinted

leg and arm armor. These artifacts can be supplemented by artistic representations of

armor from the 7 th century which provide evidence for less stable armor components

made from cloth or leather. Finally, the placement of buckles and strap ends can provide

additional evidence for armor construction and wear.

Helmets : The most common design for helmets in the 7 th century was based on a

close fitting skullcap of spangen type construction (Figure 1) and are undoubtedly

descendants based on earlier Roman designs. Such helmets were formed by constructing

a framework of bands; one that encircled the head just above the eyes, one that crossed

over the top of the head from front to back, and one that crossed over the head from side

to side. Such a design leaves four large openings of nearly equal size. However, there are

several examples of framework consisting of three bands crossing over the top of the

head leaving six openings of nearly equal size. It should be noted that one such six

banded helmet was quite small and is thought to have belonged to a child. In another

example, the skullcap of the helm was formed from a single sheet of iron with no bands

at all (Bruce-Mitford, 1978). Finally, on the Ulltuna helm, the skullcap is formed entirely

of latticework (Figure 1).

The gaps between the banded framework were covered in a variety of methods.

For the previously mentioned three banded child’s helmet, sheets of horn were riveted to

the framework to fill the gaps (MacGregor, 1985) (Figure 2). On several Scandinavian

helms from Valsgard and Vendel the openings were covered using a latticework of iron

bands (Figure 1) (Arwidsson, 1942; Arwidsson, 1954; Tweddle, 1992). Although no

evidence of fabric or leather remains in these examples, it is obvious that a brightly

colored helmet lining visible through the gaps in the lattice would have had rich and

beautiful results. Solid plates appear to have been used to cover the gaps on the helm

from Coppergate (Tweddle, 1992). On at least one of the helms from Valsgard, two

separate plates were used to cover the gap (Figure 1).

Additional protection of the face and neck was provided by plates, bars or mail

suspended from the skullcap. On most of the helms from Valsgard and Vendel, an

additional plate was riveted to the front of the helmet such that it protected the upper

cheeks nose and eyes. Eyeholes cut in this plate give the helmet a “goggles” like

appearance (Figure 1) and such are often referred to as eyeglass or eye goggle helms. In

the case of the helm from Sutton Hoo, this plate was extended to cover the whole face. A

more open, but full face plate was present on the helm from Uppland Sweden (Tweddle,

1992). The Coppergate and Pioneer helm only have a nasal for protecting the face. It is

of interest to note that both these are the only good examples of early true Anglo-saxon

helms (although fragments of the Benty Grange helm appear similar). To protect the

sides of the face, cheek plates suspended from hinges were present on the helm from

Sutton Hoo, Coppergate and the “Pioneer helm” (Figure 3). The back of the neck was

protected by metal slats hung off the back of the helm from Uppland and a full

Romanesque flanged plate was riveted to the back of the Sutton Hoo helm

(Bruce-Mitford, 1978). On several helms including the helm from Valsgard 7 and 8, and

the helm from Coppergate, mail was hung around some or all of the metal plates. The

mail was suspended on a wire fed through a notched bronze tube in the case of the

Coppergate helm (Figure 4). On most of the Vendel and Valsgard helms, the mail was

suspended by linking them through holes punched along the rim of the skullcap and

goggles ) (Arwidsson, 1942; Arwidsson, 1954). The mail in all examples were either

welded or riveted (or a combination of both) (Figure 5). The rivets for the mail were

almost always of bronze. For a good discussion of techniques for early production of

welded and riveted links, see Tweddle, 1992.

Most of the helms found had some form of crest. In the case of the Scandinavian

helms, a hollow bronze zoomorphic crest (often with heads at both ends) that started at

the back of the skullcap and extended down over the nose was common (Arwidsson,

1942; Arwidsson, 1954; Bruce-Mitford, 1978). In the case of the Sutton Hoo helm, the

crest was made of iron and decorated with inlaid silver wire (Bruce-Mitford, 1978). Most

of the other Anglo-Saxon helms had a bronze or iron boar mounted on the top of the

helm. Most helms were also decorated with large bronze eyebrows and bronze

decorations that ran down to the end of the nasal or goggles. In the case of the

Coppergate helm, there were bronze bands that decorated the skullcap which had runic

inscriptions that read “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, (and) God;

and to (or with) all we say Amen. Oshere“ (Oshere is a well-documented Old-English

name) (Tweedle, 1992). Gold and garnet cloisonné work also decorated the eyebrows of

the Sutton Hoo and several of the other Scandinavian helms (see figure 1M). It is also of

interest to note that the zoomorphic terminals on the eyebrows of the Sutton Hoo helm

were made of brass (30% zinc 70% copper) rather than the more common bronze (10%

tin 90% copper) (Bruce-Mitford, 1978).

A B C

Figure 1. Reproductions and restorations of various 6-7 th century helms: A) Roman

Cavalry Helm (6 th century German); B) Helm from Vendel 14 (7 th century Swedish); C)

Pioneer Helm (7 th century Anglo Saxon); D) Ulltuna helm (7 th century Swedish); E)

Sutton Hoo Helm (7 th century Anglo Saxon); F) Coppergate Helm (7 th century Anglo

Saxon); G) Lombard Helm (7 th century Italian); H) Frankish Princes Helm (6 th century

France); I) Uppland Helm (7 th century Swedish); J) Valsgard 6 Helm (7 th century

Swedish); K) Ostrogoth Helm (7 th century Italian); L) Valsgard 5 Helm (7 th century

Swedish); M) Valsgard 7 Helm (7 th century Swedish); N) Valsgard 8 Helm (7 th century

Swedish); O) Vendel I (7 th century Swedish) P) The Benty Grange Helm (7 th century

Anglo-Saxon) ) (Tweedle, 1992; Arwidsson 1942 & 1954;

www.geocities.com/Area51/Rampart/8771/spangenhelms.html)

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