Types of Medieval Helmets: A Field Guide from Spangenhelm to Armet

The Spangenhelm is the oldest medieval helmet form. It was built from a central band of steel running over the crown, with curved plates — the spangen — riveted between the bands to form a rounded or conical skull. Cheek pieces and a nasal guard were often added.

It dates to late antiquity and was the common helmet of the early medieval period, worn by Vikings, Normans and Crusaders alike. It is light, cheap, and covers the skull without enclosing the face. Its weakness is the riveted construction itself — a strong blow can shear a rivet and open the frame.

A nasal helm is a conical or rounded steel cap with a single bar extending down from the brow to protect the nose and the centre of the face. It left the sides of the face and the neck open but was the standard helmet of the Norman and early Crusading period.

The Bayeux Tapestry shows it on nearly every mounted Norman soldier. It is simple, effective against downward cuts, and light enough to wear for hours — but a thrust to the cheek or a horizontal cut to the neck finds nothing in its way.

The great helm of the 1200s was a flat-topped or slightly rounded cylinder of steel plates riveted together, with narrow slits for the eyes and breathing holes for the mouth. It enclosed the entire head and rested on the shoulders.

It was the helmet of the Crusader knight and the tournament. It offered total face protection, but it was hot, heavy, restricted vision and hearing, and could not be quickly removed. A knight wearing a great helm fought in a tunnel of his own breath.

The bascinet was a close-fitting, pointed skull of steel that sat directly on the head and was padded within. It was the most common helmet of the 1300s, worn either with a mail coif or with a hinged visor — the famous pig-faced or houndskull visor — that could be raised for air and lowered for combat.

The bascinet was a revolution: it was lighter than the great helm, it moved with the head, and a visor that opened meant the knight could see and breathe when not fighting. Nearly every knight at Crecy and Poitiers wore one.

The sallet of the 1400s was a streamlined steel helmet shaped like a swept-back shell, extending over the back of the neck and tapering to a tail. The face was left open or covered by a movable visor, and the chin and throat were protected by a separate bevor worn beneath.

The sallet was practical. It gave the wearer good vision and hearing, weighed less than an armet, and was worn by everyone from knights to archers. It is the helmet of the Wars of the Roses and the archetype of the medieval infantry helmet.

The armet was the most sophisticated helmet of the late medieval period. It fully enclosed the head with a two-piece visor that opened outward on side hinges, a chin piece that locked the whole shut, and a narrow vision slit. It was the helmet of the fully armoured knight of the late 1400s.

Unlike the great helm, the armet was close-fitting and moved with the head. Unlike the sallet, it fully enclosed the face. It was also the most expensive and the most restrictive — but for a man whose whole body was already armoured, total face protection was worth the cost.

The kettle hat was a wide-brimmed steel cap — essentially a metal sun hat. It was cheap, open-faced, and offered excellent protection against downward strikes and projectiles while leaving vision and hearing unobstructed.

It was the helmet of the common soldier throughout the medieval period and beyond. Its brim deflects arrows and stones from above, and the open face lets the wearer see and shout. The kettle hat outlived every other medieval helmet form and survives today in the modern combat helmet.