Description provided by the armourphotographer:
The shown knightly "great helm" was found in Bolzano, South Tyrol, dates to around 1300 and together with other arms and armours is on display at castelsantangelo until October 4 in the exhibition "PANOPLIAE – Armi, ingegno e potere a Castel Sant'Angelo." Between about 1230 and 1390, the great helm, also called "heaume", "Topfhelm" or "pot helm" was part of the European knights equipment. It is this type of helmet that is mostly associated with the medieval knight. The great helm gave good protection, but was not very comfortable to wear. The earlier examples were worn over a special padding and combined with a mail coif, sometimes in conjunction with a close-fitting iron cap, while the later were made in a modified design to be worn over a close fitting open-faced bascinet, which provided the option to choose between better protection and better sight and comfort. When not worn, the great helm could be hung over the shoulder, beeing attached to a special weapon chain. Therefore the late version of the great helm has a pointed lower front edge in which are located one or two openings for attaching a weapon-chain, which at the other end was attached to a chest plate of the armor. In generally a great helm is constructed of several plates riveted together. Often there are two front-plates and two backplates and one top-plate, but some are made from even three plates only. The sight is given by a slight gap, between the upper and lower front plate, which forms the vision slit, typically separated in two by a central bar which is part of the lower plate and reaches up to the forehead plate, being attached there by a rivet. Pierced breath holes in the lower front are delivering ventilation. Only just under twenty of these helmets have been found until now. Picture 16 shows a detail from "The Crucifixion of Christ" (Kaufmann Crucifixion) around 1340 (Inv: Ident. No. 1833), Bohemian or Austrian gemaeldegalerie Berlin. Pictures 17 and 18 are showing frescoes from sangimignano_musei Palazzo Comunale.
