Close-Helmet for the Tournament
Not on view
This helmet seems to have been designed for foot combat at the barriers, a sport in which pairs of contestants wearing armor only to the waist (hitting below the belt was forbidden) fought with pikes or swords over a separating wooden barrier. A brow reinforce was originally riveted to the visor. The long threaded bolt projecting from the upper bevor is a later working-life addition apparently intended to affix a reinforce (buffe) for mounted use in the tourney. The bowl and bevor retain their original linen-covered padded linings and shock-absorbing suspension straps between the bowl and the lining.
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