Just arrived today, from Jeff Wasson. I threw it on right out of the box, so I hadn't yet tightened the lining for optimal height. It sits low in the pictures above. The main inspiration was this image from 1410-14. The visor was based on Churburg 16.
The aventail lining and attachment of the aventail to the helmet are based on the effigy of Philip the Bold in Dijon. Several surviving great bascinets have similar pairs of holes around the lower edge of the helmet, the earliest being H. 24 in the Musée de l`Armée in Paris, dated to ca. 1400 and illustrated in Claude Blair's European Armour.
3 comments:
This is probably an extremely ignorant question, but why are the ventilation holes only on one side?
It's a good question. I enjoy getting it at living history shows. If it doesn't get asked, I often ask the visitors can figure out why. The answer reveals the subtlety of armor design.
Two mounted men-at-arms attacking each other will normally pass shield side to shield side, so the wearer's left is the side of the visor exposed to the opponent's lance point. Having no holes lessens the chance of the point lodging in one.
That is such an obvious thing. It crossed my mind, but I discounted it because I was thinking of later period jousting harness with the bolt on accessories.
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