Speaking as a Viking reenactor the primary role of the nasal on the spangenhelm is to keep your own shield from bouncing back into your face during the crush of the shieldwall. Saved my teeth more than once in our competitive free fights. As for head and neck protection, that is where maille coifs and aventails come in. That said you sacrifice hearing and weight. Combat is all about tradeoffs. And correct on the nasal not impeding vision. It is between your eyes and you don't even notice it.
@@SEAZNDragon It does provide some protection to the nose area but if hit hard enough, the nose will definitely break, which can also impair vision depending on where the break occurs.
Yeah, nose being broken is not fatal, typically but in the heat of battle, it can stun you for a moment...just long enough maybe for your guard to be dropped and of course, THAT can become a fatal situation. But hell, I broke my nose when I was 12 and did not even know it was broken. I just thought it was bruised and it formed into a deviated septum and my nose still works fine..it just looks big and ugly now lol.
@@monkeytennis8861 there's a difference between cosplaying and reenacting. Nobody is gonna say Russel Crowe is cosplaying for his reenacting of a Roman gladiator. Only an idiot would say that. Don't be an idiot. It's literally in the word. Reenact. Act. Actor... all those extras in battle in historical epic movies are quite literally guys like OP.
Ranking the Sallet at D seems downright criminal. The Sallet is part of the rest of the armor, ranking it alone without taking into account how it integrate into the system is not very fair.
Sallets were worn by just about everyone on the field at the time when they were popular, so ranking it alone is fair, but ranking it low is not. It's an excellent ''campaign'' helmet, you can wear it around all day and it won't get in your way while giving you good all round protection. The only piece of armour I'd say should at least be mentioned when talking about sallets is the bevor, but even that was not always worn, nor does it have to be.
Yeah, I think it's just comment bait. They were really versatile and successful helmets worn in multiple different ways over a long period of time by everybody from common soldiers to knights.
I agree with your comment I also have to disagree with the Crusader helmet being 10/10 protection. The flat top makes it weak to maces and hammers where the top will divot inside and against your skull as it gets hit. It exacerbates head trauma. A classic curved top directs the energy outward and lessens the chance of the top caving in
I know this is a History Hit programme, and matt is a HH presenter. However, this really should have been done by someone like Dr Toby Capwell. The man jousts AND does it in a Sallet and Bevor. So he would be the person to ask about comfort and visibility.
The ranking is a bit random and capricious. There is a category to the judging process that has been completely forgotten: Function. You can't compare a mass produced helmet whose function was to protect infantry in a general role functionality, with a helmet, which was part of a system like a full armour, designed with a specific function in the battlefield.
My personal list with some added context notes. S: closed helm A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm D: frogmouth, horned helmet. *Sallet -standard configuration bevor: A -without bevor: B *Kettle hat -without throat or face protection: B -with an added bevor or aventail: A *Greathelm -earlier flat top model: C -later sugarloaf top model: A
Why did you make this video with someone who's an expert on certain parts of history, but clearly not on arms and armor? Not at all the quality standards I'm used to from you. And I know you have contacts with the Royal Armouries etc. 2:208:30 While true in isolation, you can't just ignore they were pretty much universally worn with a mail coif or aventail covering those areas. 5:30 Obviously they would have been secured with straps or strings, as was done on later as well as earlier (i.e. Roman) helmets with "flaps". 11:00 Well, with an asterisk for the flat-top ones. 13:05 It doesn't. With it, too, you used an aventail or (later on) a gorget 13:25 to cover your neck. 15:00 Technically true, I suppose, but you sort of imply that the barbute was a descendant of the kettle hat, which it was not. They're "cousins". 16:50 So now we both acknowledge separate neck and chin protection, and openly handwave it, despite a bevor being standard equipment when wearing a sallet into battle with full plate armor. 17:40 Completely ignoring that it often had a visor that could be raised, let alone that people were flipping it back for increased visibility. 17:50 Sallets are well-known to be one of the most comfortable helmets. Not to mention that, as you pointed out earlier, they all came with padding, anyway. And your constant "I think" and "I'd imagine" in regards to comfort in particular make it abundantly clear that you've never worn, let alone exercised with, a helmet other than your greathelm, and that one merely as a novelty item. 18:00 Giving arguably the most popular helmet in history a D rating because it looks bad to you... 18:50 How on Earth can you ever justify rating closed helmets/armets lower than greathelms?! 20:20 While true that it was specialized for jousting, the very period illustration shown on screen here depicts specimens with breath holes. 20:50 It arguably deserves an 11 by comparison. ...The morion and Henry VIII's novelty jousting helmet are the only ratings devoid of nonsense.
The “joke” at the beginning falls flat too because horned helmets like that one do appear a lot in iconography from the Iron Age and early medieval period, and especially the Norse and Germanic peoples. I feel like there’s been a huge overcorrection on the horned helmets issue that ends up in creating a new trope that it was never worn. There’s obviously the Waterloo helmet, but that’s largely thought to be a non combat helmet, there are depictions of horned Gallic helmets on the Roman arch of orange in France, the Gundestrup cauldron in Denmark shows warriors in horned helmets, there are countless depictions of Odin/Woden/Wotan with a horned helmet on (the ends terminate in Raven heads) whether it’s pendants or pictures or even reliefs on spangenhelms as decoration showing warriors wearing horned helmets on them. The Oseberg tapestry from the 9th century shows 2 warriors wearing the horned helmet as well. It was likely rare and worn by important people but was definitely a real thing.
@@JudgeMad Yes I am going to die on this hill, I just find it very annoying that seemingly every single time Vikings are brought up people have this handful of “myths” to “debunk” just to sound smart when the truth is more often in the middle than any one end. Horned helmets weren’t everywhere but they certainly existed.
My personal list with some added context notes. S: closed helm A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm D: frogmouth, horned helmet. *Sallet -standard configuration bevor: A -without bevor: B *Kettle hat -without throat or face protection: B -with an added bevor or aventail: A *Greathelm -earlier flat top model: C -later sugarloaf top model: A
Sorry, but it makes absolutely no sense to rank a sallet below a kettle hat, when a sallet is nothing but an improved version of a kettle hat. It's more protective than a kettle hat when you need it to be, and when you need visibility or ventilation more than you need protection, it's got the same visibility and ventilation of a kettle hat. If your sallet has a visor, then you simply lift the visor when you want full visibility. If your sallet doesn't have a visor, then you just push it back on your head when you want full visibility. In either case you'll have nothing restricting your vision, and you'll have equally good protection compared to a kettle hat. If you're wearing it without a bevor, then that's all there is to it, and there's no issue with ventilation because the lower half of your face isn't covered (just as it isn't covered with a kettle hat). If you're wearing it with a bevor, then you keep the bevor lowered when you want more ventilation (or when you want to be able to shout orders or something), and you raise it when you care more about protecting the lower half of your face. You can generally expect a sallet to be more comfortable than a kettle hat as well, since a sallet is less likely to be mass produced and more likely to be made specifically for you compared to a kettle hat. A sallet is just as good as a kettle hat at everything that a kettle hat does well, but it gives you more options than a kettle hat.
Yeah but lifting visor is not something one would probably do in heat of battle, yes? It was for in-between battles/fights, I'd imagine. The ranking system is based on while you are fighting in battle and not in-between. Thus, you will have to deal with that much more limited visibility on the Sallet compared to kettle hat.
@@Tman001100 They absolutely would have lifted their visors in combat, perhaps not immediately when facing down an opponent, but very often. You need to be able to see and hear on the field, and lifting your visor is the primary way you achieve this. We even see Kettles trying to imitate the sallet by the later period by lowering the brim below the eyes and then cutting sights into them. Kettles are very bad at protecting your face in an engagement, which is why they were only really used by back line troops and very poor infantrymen.
@@Tman001100 it was very common to lift your visor in battle. That was the whole point of having an articulated visor instead of just a plate held on by straps or pins that could be removed outside of battle. The same goes for an articulated bevor: the entire bevor is strapped on and can be removed outside of battle, so there wouldn't be any point in articulating it to allow you to lower the bevor while it's being worn if you weren't expecting to be able to do it in the field. In practice, you'd often have the visor down while advancing to give better protection from arrows, and then lift your visor just before getting into melee to have better visibility. Whether someone would actually lift their visor in battle or keep it down just came down to an individual's preference: whether they valued the visibility more than the protection at any given time.
@@KWade-bt4dc I'd like to challenge this view that kettle hats were only used by poor infantry troops. If you search for kettle hats in manuscript art you'll find many examples of mounted men-at-arms, or knights in otherwise 'full harness' wearing kettle hats. Likewise you'll see many 'poor' foot soldiers wearing a basinet. Sure, there is definitely a lean away from them for fully armoured and/or mounted troops, but it also doesn't seem to be at all rare for kettle hats to be worn. Maybe these people could represent the poorer end of the man-at-arms spectrum, but it could just as easily be a personal choice for a rich soldier to wear a less vision restricted, more breathable helmet.
@@ianalexander7082 I suspect they would have been worn in general "on campaign" by the rich. For travel, skirmishes and such. But a more complete helm would have also been carried. A lot of men at arms with full harness would have options on several pieces, helmets first. But also guantlets, spaulders/pauldrons, choice of leg armours, and foot covering.
The shape of he visor on the pig snout bascinet is intended to deflect arrows and sword blows from the face. The breaths in it are kept small, which impacts breathing badly and vision with the visor down is almost completely restricted. Some vision downward is available through the breaths, but often these were only on the right side, especially when used on horseback. The good news is that many of these helms had visors that could be raised and locked, or removed easily. Vision and breathing vastly improved, and acceptable decrease in protection if done in appropriate conditions (no arrow storms and fighting on foot against other armored men at arms.
Excuse me? The shape of a hounskull bascinet is designed to increase the ventilation? Certainly it is not connected to the deflective ability of such shaped object, isn't it? Also anybody who have this type of helmet knows that the ventilation is actually worse since there is a lot of space between your face and plate with all already breathed out air and you need to breathe strongly and deep to be able to have a proper circulation of fresh air. Some bascinets of this type of visor even have a mouth shaped opennings to make breathing easier. Not only that you use a picture of a horrible modern reproduction with so many technicals aspect of the real helmet done wrong with so many great survival extant pieces just ready to be used but also without a maille aventail which is an another 1/2 of the head protection intended to be used with the helmet. Also a single slit? Like 90% of bascinets have two eyeslits. There are also some which have even more holes for eyes, yet are more protective such as CH16 from Churburg and I can think of only one displayed in Poland if I'm not mistaken that has a single eyeslit. The following black and white picture shows a greatbascinet, a later type developed from bascinet but not a bascinet. What a mess.
For a historian he sure loved to ignore every single historical reason why some of the helmets he ranked as bad literally replaced some of the helmets he ranked as good...
The salet and bevor is literally the pinnacle of medieval head protection. I feel like he also forgets the visors exist, a lot of these helmets would only be worn with the visor down to stop arrow fire while charging into battle.
I know from experience that History Hit isn't exactly the most trustworthy channel when it comes to anything beyond basic pop history, but this one is bad even for that. This is basically nothing short of twisting facts to create some ''interesting'' rating situations. I think anyone serious about medieval history is going to agree with me that a tier list isn't exactly a good resource for anything, but bear in mind people will watch this video and take what you say as a fact because they saw ''historian'' in the title, so when you talk about these things you should at least put in the bare minimum of effort when it comes to historical accuracy. You're clearly not looking at any of these in their proper historical context, or with any knowledge about how they were used. This is going to do nothing but add yet more myths into the mix that people will perpetuate for years to come.
most "medieval historians" have absolutely zero expertise on warfare, so they always get a lot wrong. This video isnt surprising in the least, but infuriating nonetheless
Coming from someone whose name has “handle my balls” in it is just as silly. A tier list is a very subjective thing and is for entertainment, in a time where people believe that the world is flat any myth spread from this is the least of any concern.
Lost me at “spangle” helm. If you want to be taken seriously as an expert in your field, correct (or even defendable) pronunciations of the basic items of kit is a must.
Salet seems way more practical than a closed helm, under the condition of being paired with a bevel. It achieves full face protection with 2 independently moving pieces, allowing much greater mobility.
Plus improved modularity: if you don't need/want that degree of neck protection, you can just drop the bevor and get the benefit of improved airflow/heat ventilation and neck mobility.
My personal list with some added context notes. S: closed helm (arguably the best foot duel helmet ever) A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm D: frogmouth, horned helmet. *Sallet -standard configuration bevor: A -without bevor: B *Kettle hat -without throat or face protection: B -with an added bevor or aventail: A *Greathelm -earlier flat top model: C -later sugarloaf top model: A
That Norse Helmet scored just as if not better than the Spangen helmet yet is in a lower tier. And tbh, having worn a lot of those simple earlier medieval helmets like the Spangen or Norse helmet. With padding it sits perfectly fine and does it's job pretty well for it's time. It's also easily made and all the functions it has it does well. For me it's an easy A tier ( both the Norse and Spangen helm)
You did the sallet dirty. You can lift the visor or tilt the helmet back if it doesn't have a moveable visor. But you have a visor and an option for a bevor when you want it. It's an improvement on the kettle hat in nearly every way.
I get the logic in rating just the sallet as a stand alone piece of armor without a bevor but I feel like that sort of defeats the point in a way, like how is that any different from rating a basinet without its visor? Both can be worn without the extra piece and often were but we’re talking about these being worn as intended. I also think there’s an overlooked stat here which is hearing, it could be wrapped in with visibility as a broader awareness, but what in getting at is the sallet probably has an above average hearing capability. Sure it’s not like the kettle or nasal helms but it’s certainly better than something like the barbute or any of the fully enclosed helms. Also, the barbute is stupid from a fashion perspective because the Italians were 100% trying to draw a line between themselves and the ancient Greeks/ romans with that style of helmet even if it was effective as a helmet. Anyway, uhhh sallet supremacy, easier to maintain, and the barbute is lame Italian cosplay.
I have to disagree with the Crusader helmet being 10/10 protection. The flat top makes it weak to maces and hammers where the top will divot inside and against your skull as it gets hit. It exacerbates head trauma. A classic curved top directs the energy outward and lessens the chance of the top caving in
Sallet was used in war of the roses, Sutton hoo helmet seems to have all round good, and would have had mail too,Spanish Morion soldiers were using pikes, 15 + century
10 for protection on an angular Great Helm? What about a Sugar Loaf design? It's the same in every way, but with glancing surfaces. Same goes for The Pig Face Bassinet and Armette. These rankings were all over the place :-/
Yeah, he gives the great helm a 10/10 for protection, and then when he sees a helmet from 200 years later that's made for protection at the expense of everything else, he gives it the exact same rating. I think "how much of your head is covered by metal" is the only thing he's considering for protection.
My personal list with some added context notes. S: closed helm A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm D: frogmouth, horned helmet. *Sallet -standard configuration bevor: A -without bevor: B *Kettle hat -without throat or face protection: B -with an added bevor or aventail: A *Greathelm -earlier flat top model: C -later sugarloaf top model: A
Ok, I'm not a medieval helm expert, but when it comes to protection: didn't they wear those chainmail hoodies or those padded wool hoods underneath the helmets? I always thought the helmets were meant to protect against things like hits with maces and not necessarily swords. Does a horizontal hit with a sword toward the heck (in a battle not on an unmoving chopping block...) have enough strength to get through the chainmail/wool hood? Any good documentaries on that? Also: the first helmet in B and the second helmet in C look almost identical...
Metatron made a reaction video about this, maybe you want to see it. You ask for opinions, he has many. And he has a bunch of really good helmets, so he knows more about it.
S: closed helm A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm D: frogmouth, horned helmet. *Sallet -standard configuration bevor: A -without bevor: B *Kettle hat -without throat or face protection: B -with an added bevor or aventail: A *Greathelm -earlier flat top model: C -later sugarloaf top: A
Wow, I get that we all bring bias, but goodness gracious. All of your comfort comments are useless except the comment of ventilation which becomes very important. There has to be cushions under the helm so all of those comments are useless. Your protection comments are also very biased and inconsistent, ranking a barbute with an open face over a sallet for protection seems a stretch. I think it is almost more important to consider these in time and by who used them which was a starting point you lost along the way. No face protection in a fight with spears or arrows can be problematic, especially if you are a knight - high value target. Also in context the sutton hoo helm was very impressive. But my pet peeve is that if you are the expert, you should know and pronounce it as a SPANGEN helm not a spangel helm.
I see a couple of weird decisions here: Norman helmet is virtually the same helmet like Spangen but you put it in lower position than Spangen ?? Why???.You're saying they're that .Spangen, Kettle, Norman are the most basic types and i agree with but should be all of them in C or even D. Sutton Hoo maybe C, Great Helmet B, maybe A. Barbute S? What? This is similar helmet like Spangen but just little bit better protection of neck and cheaks but it's the same helmet. it's better than K,S but definitely not S. Pig Face and Sallet A. Frogmouth I would remove from the list as this is not battle helmet. main purpose was jousting in tournaments. Max protection, in theory best helmet..Closet Helmet A, maybe even S. Morion same category like Spangen, Kettle, maybe one position higher...
I'd like to throw into the mix an Eastern European helmet, the Polish Hussar zischägge. While there are many versions of this helmet the one I'm suggesting has the crest on top, the lobster tail to protect your neck, cheek pieces with cutouts to improve your peripheral vision, and the interchangeable face guard/nose piece.
*groan* I knew this was going to be weak when it started with 'dispelling the myth' that vikings had horns on their helmet. I mean, who's ever had that little inaccuracy called into doubt? Only every primary school child for the past 45 years!!! What original and cutting edge programming.
Foot soldiers would need different protection from mounted knights. ‘Less face protection, more top of head. Also narrow eye slits: a skilled knight could put a broadsword into a slit the size of his sword. This is a tradeoff between visibility and protection from having your brain impaled. Having problems breathing? Blow at the air holes, your breathing will be fine. It’s also interesting how your scale generally increases from Dark Ages, through Lower Middle Ages, Upper Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. The morion was the most popular helm during the Renaissance. Worn from Sweden to Italy, Hungary to Portugal. ‘Worn around the world by Spanish conquistadors and by the great Spanish nemesis Sir Francis Drake. For comfort I actually prefer the Crusader Great Helm to the visored “Pig Faced” helm. I really enjoyed seeing your parade of helmets it brought back fond memories of my battle re-creation days.
On behalf of my brothers in the "Sallet Helms Are Rediculously Terrific" (S.H.A.R.T) I would like 2 STRENUOUSLY ASSERT my personal OUTRAGE! How dare you!?
I'm so glad he didn't actually think that Viking helms incorporated the horns from the get-go of the vid. Had me worried just for a moment there 🤣👍 That's not to say that Vikings never did wear a helmet with horns on it but just may not have been recorded/noted. In the East, Samurai sometimes had horns on their helmets, albeit, was maybe more for show and the psychological warfare aspect of it or a symbol of their status, perhaps.
To be more precise, the Sutton Hoo helm is almost certainly Angle in origin rather than Saxon, due to it being buried in East Anglia (i.e. East Angles). Also, the chances are that it would've been padded out with leather, with the cheek pieces strapped down around the chin like Roman helms were.
I enjoyed the video because it made me laugh, but for the sake of safety, please make this a part 1 of a series. In part 2 you can now have some people used to using the various helmets replying to the guesses and explaining how close they are and why, preferably with demonstrations. It would be an extremely useful way of introducing the concept of experimental archaeology and the value of trying things out to see if your theory is correct.
I find your rankings interesting, as you might have assumed i would have put the sallet further up, but what surprised me most was the protection ratings of the barbute and closed helm both being 8, that doesn't seem to add up.
The Sutton Hoo helmet is terrifying. I'm interested in how any helmet with a nose shield did that sans sitting forward on the head. A straight nose guard will stand away from a lot of the nose (the root = area attaches to our forehead) A soft cap with some thickness would really add to the seating of any helmet. I'm a trauma provider. We have good data on present day helmet protection from blunt force trauma. No helmet stops contrecoup injuries, especially those shown. Really interesting topic. Yep, I'm a girl who knows trauma injuries. 😊
Ah good Helmet would have had a proper padding and the brim of the Helmet would rest on the line of the eyebrows (and of cause on the top of the head). The helmets can take quite a punshing without you even feeling anything, because you are in a adrenalin rush. But sometimes you can get hit in the right places and you simply get knocked out. I was once knocked out by an two handed weapon wich came from behind me without expecting the blow. When you see the hits coming you can brace yourself against the impact wich also helps a lot.
I have some critique points. Overall I liked the video. 1. I personally would have changed the point *Visibility* in favor of *Orientation.* because then you also have your hearing in there wich is very important too. You need good hearing to know whats going on outside of your field of vision and you also have to hear commands and signals. Thats why I wouldnt have put the Barbute in S tier. It gives great protection and visibility, but you loose a lot of 360 degree hearing. (also the closed design builds up heat much quicker than an open design) 2. I want to add that the great helm you have shown has a pretty serious weak spot: the flat top. Weapon strikes do not glance off but translate the power compeltely to the top of the head. The Bascinet is solving that issue very well with the cone shape. thats why I would switch the two in terms of protection rating. 3. last but not least: I find your rating of the Sallet mildly infuriating. And you didnt really talk about the advantages. In essence its a Kettle Hat with lowered sides to protect half of your head way down to below the ears and nose. It has a visor you can lift up for more freedom. So it protects 75% of your head infront and the sides and with the slope almost your complete neck. while the Kettle Hat or Morion only protect the top 30% leaving your face, ears and neck completely open. The Salet also retains the same kind of mobility and almost the same 360 degree hearability for the wearer. Also heat is still venting off quite well. And its still very adaptable to additional pieces of armor for the lower half of your head. Thats why the Sallet became a very very popular design in late medieval europe. So while you completely trashed the thing, I would have put it in A tier.
My personal list with some added context notes. S: closed helm A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm D: frogmouth, horned helmet. *Sallet -standard configuration bevor: A -without bevor: B *Kettle hat -without throat or face protection: B -with an added bevor or aventail: A *Greathelm -earlier flat top model: C -later sugarloaf top model: A
Honestly have anyone ever used a sallet without the plate "aventail"? Like to me that's a part of the helmet and is actually probably quite a good helmet
You mean the bevor? Plenty of regular infantry didn't have any. And many men-at-arms/knights discarded them when they went into close combat on foot (for better breathability). In which case they'd still wear mail protecting at least the throat if not the chin, though. That said, ignoring it is nevertheless bad science. Albeit not as bad as ignoring the mail coifs and aventails on earlier helmet types, which were very much integral.
But anyway, yes, (removable) bevors are arguably part of sallets (as standard add-ons, so to speak), and they're phenomenal helmets in combination and still very effective ones used all on their own.
@@twincast2005most bevors i have seen are articulated, so you don't "discard" them, you lower them. Also sallet bevor combo is very good even if your visor is up & bevor is down, revealing you only from your mouth to your brow. That's better protection than the kind of open barbute he shows & has equally good visibility & ventilation.
@lehtju4waif5ahk49 Yeah, in hindsight my word choices were poor. By "discarded" and "removable", I meant "leave back with their gear", not "toss aside on the battlefield".
@5:33 they were almost certainly fastened by a leather rope: no flapping around. And @twincast2005 beats me to it by more than a day, along with other good points.
This list is stupid. Not that I don't agree with what he's saying, but because (as he said a couple of times) these helmets are meant for different contexts. Why would you even consider wearing a jousting helmet to battle? And what kind of weapons are you expecting to encounter? Are you fighting on foot or from horse back? What kind of armour are you wearing on the rest of your body? And also, you know, what's your budget and in what era are we even supposed to be in? It doesn't make any sense to rank helmets from all kind of time periods and contexts. But that is my opinion.
great helm being in c ist downright criminal. It's a helmet designed for knightly charges where one doesen't really need that much field of vision beign in a formation.
My personal list with some added context notes. S: closed helm A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm D: frogmouth, horned helmet. *Sallet -standard configuration bevor: A -without bevor: B *Kettle hat -without throat or face protection: B -with an added bevor or aventail: A *Greathelm -earlier flat top model: C -later sugarloaf top model: A
Forgotten the details so forget whch Pope banned 'fighting' for knights etc, except for a couple of months each year. Surely seasonal fighting effected armour styles. Can't imagine full faced helmets in hot East-Med weather. Must have been for arrow protection primarily.
You know what occurs to me. If you really look at that Sutton Hoo helmet and you look at the Roman Calvary helmet found in Teutoburg Forest they look pretty similar . Not the features but the design pattern and style . I wonder if it was inspired by the Roman cavalry helmet
A question for my fellow viewers with reenactment experience. Is ventilation really such a big problem. The big helm has plenty of of gaps for air right?
History Hit: lets put the results in the first 2 seconds of the video. 🤦🏻♂🙄 The other 25 minutes are not worth watching. Who is the clown that thought that was a good idea. Seriously history hit just quit making these videos ffs 🤡🤦🏻♂🙄🤷🏻♂
Disappointed that he is just speaking on the helmets as stand alone items not as elements of a body armor system. helms they are designed to defeat threats that exist within the context of the time. For example If you are covered by a large Norman shield, a conical helmet supported by mail makes perfect sense, defeats the common threat of the time which is what to be expected.
regarding the sallet.... u r soooooooooooooooo wrong. but correct with the Barbuta. 😁 and thr Morion is not a medieval helmet, as u said yourself... 16th and 17th centuries.... not medieval 🤷♂️
@@twincast2005 Yeah, I noticed that too as the video went on. Disappointed that he said bacinets like the pig face helmet had that shape for breathing, rather than deflecting strikes and projectiles.
Some obvious bias here, be at least he clarified that it would be subjective. Some of his info is just wrong though, because the shape of a pig face or hounskull bascinet has nothing to do with ventilation, it's to create a better angle of deflection.
I think the Romans very consciously designed their standard helmet to allow the ears to be uncovered for greater situational awareness. Was that a consideration for Medieval helmet design and would that have affected the score?
Couldn't watch this to the end, it was complete drivel. To anyone who doesn't know about armour, please don't take what this guy says as accurate. Please watch something done by real experts!
You could at least of grabbed a set of replicas, some smooth soled leather footwear, at least a mail shirt, hired an assistant, then found a plowed field, and scattered a few bales, manakins, a couple of forehead hight beams, and other obstacles across a section, then performed a shuttle jog in each, with your assistant shouting a couple of random phrase for you to hear and repeat on your return. Time the runs and add a 30 second time penalty for each trip, or misheard phrase. The board would likely look different.
I have worn the shutton hoo helm and built one and it very good visibility and very conformable. The cheek plates are fixed or tied under the chin. But good try
Pig nose you can see your feet through the lower breaths, how is the normal and spangle helm ra ked different? To rank a sallet, armet, bascinet lower than a barbute seems really wierd. Context is huge for all of this. He also doesn't seem to know what these helmets did. Couldn't finish...
As some one who fights in a salet for an armored combat, I am gonna say your wrong on comfort. I changed because it is much more comfortable and more naturally shaped to the head and face.
Speaking as a Viking reenactor the primary role of the nasal on the spangenhelm is to keep your own shield from bouncing back into your face during the crush of the shieldwall. Saved my teeth more than once in our competitive free fights. As for head and neck protection, that is where maille coifs and aventails come in. That said you sacrifice hearing and weight. Combat is all about tradeoffs.
And correct on the nasal not impeding vision. It is between your eyes and you don't even notice it.
Never thought of the shield wall. I thought the nasal guard would be more face strikes and prevent broken noses.
@@SEAZNDragon It does provide some protection to the nose area but if hit hard enough, the nose will definitely break, which can also impair vision depending on where the break occurs.
Yeah, nose being broken is not fatal, typically but in the heat of battle, it can stun you for a moment...just long enough maybe for your guard to be dropped and of course, THAT can become a fatal situation. But hell, I broke my nose when I was 12 and did not even know it was broken. I just thought it was bruised and it formed into a deviated septum and my nose still works fine..it just looks big and ugly now lol.
You're cosplaying, calm down
@@monkeytennis8861 there's a difference between cosplaying and reenacting. Nobody is gonna say Russel Crowe is cosplaying for his reenacting of a Roman gladiator. Only an idiot would say that. Don't be an idiot. It's literally in the word. Reenact. Act. Actor... all those extras in battle in historical epic movies are quite literally guys like OP.
Ranking the Sallet at D seems downright criminal. The Sallet is part of the rest of the armor, ranking it alone without taking into account how it integrate into the system is not very fair.
Sallets were worn by just about everyone on the field at the time when they were popular, so ranking it alone is fair, but ranking it low is not. It's an excellent ''campaign'' helmet, you can wear it around all day and it won't get in your way while giving you good all round protection. The only piece of armour I'd say should at least be mentioned when talking about sallets is the bevor, but even that was not always worn, nor does it have to be.
Yeah, I think it's just comment bait. They were really versatile and successful helmets worn in multiple different ways over a long period of time by everybody from common soldiers to knights.
Barbute that has a wide open face, he rates protection a 10, the sallet steel from chest to hair, protection 7...ok then
As he said at the beginning" you're more than welcome to disagree with me in the comments"
I agree with your comment I also have to disagree with the Crusader helmet being 10/10 protection. The flat top makes it weak to maces and hammers where the top will divot inside and against your skull as it gets hit. It exacerbates head trauma. A classic curved top directs the energy outward and lessens the chance of the top caving in
I know this is a History Hit programme, and matt is a HH presenter. However, this really should have been done by someone like Dr Toby Capwell. The man jousts AND does it in a Sallet and Bevor. So he would be the person to ask about comfort and visibility.
And has studied hundreds of real historical examples and written about them at an academic level. Lewis is a joke.
The ranking is a bit random and capricious. There is a category to the judging process that has been completely forgotten: Function. You can't compare a mass produced helmet whose function was to protect infantry in a general role functionality, with a helmet, which was part of a system like a full armour, designed with a specific function in the battlefield.
Yes you can.
@@liamcowie5482 Yes, of course. But you shouldn't.
My personal list with some added context notes.
S: closed helm
A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface
B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute
C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm
D: frogmouth, horned helmet.
*Sallet
-standard configuration bevor: A
-without bevor: B
*Kettle hat
-without throat or face protection: B
-with an added bevor or aventail: A
*Greathelm
-earlier flat top model: C
-later sugarloaf top model: A
Why did you make this video with someone who's an expert on certain parts of history, but clearly not on arms and armor? Not at all the quality standards I'm used to from you. And I know you have contacts with the Royal Armouries etc.
2:20 8:30 While true in isolation, you can't just ignore they were pretty much universally worn with a mail coif or aventail covering those areas.
5:30 Obviously they would have been secured with straps or strings, as was done on later as well as earlier (i.e. Roman) helmets with "flaps".
11:00 Well, with an asterisk for the flat-top ones.
13:05 It doesn't. With it, too, you used an aventail or (later on) a gorget 13:25 to cover your neck.
15:00 Technically true, I suppose, but you sort of imply that the barbute was a descendant of the kettle hat, which it was not. They're "cousins".
16:50 So now we both acknowledge separate neck and chin protection, and openly handwave it, despite a bevor being standard equipment when wearing a sallet into battle with full plate armor.
17:40 Completely ignoring that it often had a visor that could be raised, let alone that people were flipping it back for increased visibility.
17:50 Sallets are well-known to be one of the most comfortable helmets. Not to mention that, as you pointed out earlier, they all came with padding, anyway. And your constant "I think" and "I'd imagine" in regards to comfort in particular make it abundantly clear that you've never worn, let alone exercised with, a helmet other than your greathelm, and that one merely as a novelty item.
18:00 Giving arguably the most popular helmet in history a D rating because it looks bad to you...
18:50 How on Earth can you ever justify rating closed helmets/armets lower than greathelms?!
20:20 While true that it was specialized for jousting, the very period illustration shown on screen here depicts specimens with breath holes.
20:50 It arguably deserves an 11 by comparison.
...The morion and Henry VIII's novelty jousting helmet are the only ratings devoid of nonsense.
The “joke” at the beginning falls flat too because horned helmets like that one do appear a lot in iconography from the Iron Age and early medieval period, and especially the Norse and Germanic peoples. I feel like there’s been a huge overcorrection on the horned helmets issue that ends up in creating a new trope that it was never worn.
There’s obviously the Waterloo helmet, but that’s largely thought to be a non combat helmet, there are depictions of horned Gallic helmets on the Roman arch of orange in France, the Gundestrup cauldron in Denmark shows warriors in horned helmets, there are countless depictions of Odin/Woden/Wotan with a horned helmet on (the ends terminate in Raven heads) whether it’s pendants or pictures or even reliefs on spangenhelms as decoration showing warriors wearing horned helmets on them. The Oseberg tapestry from the 9th century shows 2 warriors wearing the horned helmet as well. It was likely rare and worn by important people but was definitely a real thing.
@@JudgeMad Yes I am going to die on this hill, I just find it very annoying that seemingly every single time Vikings are brought up people have this handful of “myths” to “debunk” just to sound smart when the truth is more often in the middle than any one end. Horned helmets weren’t everywhere but they certainly existed.
My personal list with some added context notes.
S: closed helm
A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface
B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute
C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm
D: frogmouth, horned helmet.
*Sallet
-standard configuration bevor: A
-without bevor: B
*Kettle hat
-without throat or face protection: B
-with an added bevor or aventail: A
*Greathelm
-earlier flat top model: C
-later sugarloaf top model: A
Sorry, but it makes absolutely no sense to rank a sallet below a kettle hat, when a sallet is nothing but an improved version of a kettle hat. It's more protective than a kettle hat when you need it to be, and when you need visibility or ventilation more than you need protection, it's got the same visibility and ventilation of a kettle hat. If your sallet has a visor, then you simply lift the visor when you want full visibility. If your sallet doesn't have a visor, then you just push it back on your head when you want full visibility. In either case you'll have nothing restricting your vision, and you'll have equally good protection compared to a kettle hat. If you're wearing it without a bevor, then that's all there is to it, and there's no issue with ventilation because the lower half of your face isn't covered (just as it isn't covered with a kettle hat). If you're wearing it with a bevor, then you keep the bevor lowered when you want more ventilation (or when you want to be able to shout orders or something), and you raise it when you care more about protecting the lower half of your face. You can generally expect a sallet to be more comfortable than a kettle hat as well, since a sallet is less likely to be mass produced and more likely to be made specifically for you compared to a kettle hat. A sallet is just as good as a kettle hat at everything that a kettle hat does well, but it gives you more options than a kettle hat.
Yeah but lifting visor is not something one would probably do in heat of battle, yes? It was for in-between battles/fights, I'd imagine. The ranking system is based on while you are fighting in battle and not in-between. Thus, you will have to deal with that much more limited visibility on the Sallet compared to kettle hat.
@@Tman001100 They absolutely would have lifted their visors in combat, perhaps not immediately when facing down an opponent, but very often. You need to be able to see and hear on the field, and lifting your visor is the primary way you achieve this. We even see Kettles trying to imitate the sallet by the later period by lowering the brim below the eyes and then cutting sights into them. Kettles are very bad at protecting your face in an engagement, which is why they were only really used by back line troops and very poor infantrymen.
@@Tman001100 it was very common to lift your visor in battle. That was the whole point of having an articulated visor instead of just a plate held on by straps or pins that could be removed outside of battle. The same goes for an articulated bevor: the entire bevor is strapped on and can be removed outside of battle, so there wouldn't be any point in articulating it to allow you to lower the bevor while it's being worn if you weren't expecting to be able to do it in the field. In practice, you'd often have the visor down while advancing to give better protection from arrows, and then lift your visor just before getting into melee to have better visibility. Whether someone would actually lift their visor in battle or keep it down just came down to an individual's preference: whether they valued the visibility more than the protection at any given time.
@@KWade-bt4dc I'd like to challenge this view that kettle hats were only used by poor infantry troops. If you search for kettle hats in manuscript art you'll find many examples of mounted men-at-arms, or knights in otherwise 'full harness' wearing kettle hats. Likewise you'll see many 'poor' foot soldiers wearing a basinet. Sure, there is definitely a lean away from them for fully armoured and/or mounted troops, but it also doesn't seem to be at all rare for kettle hats to be worn. Maybe these people could represent the poorer end of the man-at-arms spectrum, but it could just as easily be a personal choice for a rich soldier to wear a less vision restricted, more breathable helmet.
@@ianalexander7082 I suspect they would have been worn in general "on campaign" by the rich. For travel, skirmishes and such. But a more complete helm would have also been carried. A lot of men at arms with full harness would have options on several pieces, helmets first. But also guantlets, spaulders/pauldrons, choice of leg armours, and foot covering.
I think there will be a few people posting reaction videos to this one.
I hope so...
Metatron sent me
Surely the WW1 Brodie helmet owes more to a kettle helm than the morion.
Much more. He conflated them for some reason.
The shape of he visor on the pig snout bascinet is intended to deflect arrows and sword blows from the face. The breaths in it are kept small, which impacts breathing badly and vision with the visor down is almost completely restricted. Some vision downward is available through the breaths, but often these were only on the right side, especially when used on horseback.
The good news is that many of these helms had visors that could be raised and locked, or removed easily. Vision and breathing vastly improved, and acceptable decrease in protection if done in appropriate conditions (no arrow storms and fighting on foot against other armored men at arms.
Excuse me? The shape of a hounskull bascinet is designed to increase the ventilation? Certainly it is not connected to the deflective ability of such shaped object, isn't it? Also anybody who have this type of helmet knows that the ventilation is actually worse since there is a lot of space between your face and plate with all already breathed out air and you need to breathe strongly and deep to be able to have a proper circulation of fresh air. Some bascinets of this type of visor even have a mouth shaped opennings to make breathing easier.
Not only that you use a picture of a horrible modern reproduction with so many technicals aspect of the real helmet done wrong with so many great survival extant pieces just ready to be used but also without a maille aventail which is an another 1/2 of the head protection intended to be used with the helmet. Also a single slit? Like 90% of bascinets have two eyeslits. There are also some which have even more holes for eyes, yet are more protective such as CH16 from Churburg and I can think of only one displayed in Poland if I'm not mistaken that has a single eyeslit. The following black and white picture shows a greatbascinet, a later type developed from bascinet but not a bascinet.
What a mess.
For a historian he sure loved to ignore every single historical reason why some of the helmets he ranked as bad literally replaced some of the helmets he ranked as good...
The salet and bevor is literally the pinnacle of medieval head protection. I feel like he also forgets the visors exist, a lot of these helmets would only be worn with the visor down to stop arrow fire while charging into battle.
I know from experience that History Hit isn't exactly the most trustworthy channel when it comes to anything beyond basic pop history, but this one is bad even for that. This is basically nothing short of twisting facts to create some ''interesting'' rating situations. I think anyone serious about medieval history is going to agree with me that a tier list isn't exactly a good resource for anything, but bear in mind people will watch this video and take what you say as a fact because they saw ''historian'' in the title, so when you talk about these things you should at least put in the bare minimum of effort when it comes to historical accuracy. You're clearly not looking at any of these in their proper historical context, or with any knowledge about how they were used. This is going to do nothing but add yet more myths into the mix that people will perpetuate for years to come.
most "medieval historians" have absolutely zero expertise on warfare, so they always get a lot wrong. This video isnt surprising in the least, but infuriating nonetheless
Coming from someone whose name has “handle my balls” in it is just as silly. A tier list is a very subjective thing and is for entertainment, in a time where people believe that the world is flat any myth spread from this is the least of any concern.
Yeah this guy’s opinions are downright DANGEROUS!!!
Depending on your educational level, you would notice that it’s an opinion piece. I also can’t help but notice the pseudo scientific language you use
It's for fun
I would rank the Sutton Hu helm higher on visibility. The face mask is rounded by the eyes and the cut looked as if there would’ve been a 6 of 10 imo
Also the cheekpieces would have been tied just like the Roman cavalry helmets that it's modelled on
I have worn similar helmets like the sotton Hu helmet in reenactment battles and in terms of confort, they are on the same level as a Spangenhelm
@@morizberger8776 *Sutton Hoo
That helmet is frankly an awful reproduction. No wonder it's uncomfortable.
Overlooking that they were high performing athletes who practiced long hours fight in their armor. They worked to over come limitations of the armor.
Shall I assume that the presenter means "Spangenhelm" when he says "Spangle helm"?
Embarrassing honestly.
Had me worried from the beginning, and worries were confirmed when he got to sallet ranking
Lost me at “spangle” helm. If you want to be taken seriously as an expert in your field, correct (or even defendable) pronunciations of the basic items of kit is a must.
Salet seems way more practical than a closed helm, under the condition of being paired with a bevel. It achieves full face protection with 2 independently moving pieces, allowing much greater mobility.
Plus improved modularity: if you don't need/want that degree of neck protection, you can just drop the bevor and get the benefit of improved airflow/heat ventilation and neck mobility.
My personal list with some added context notes.
S: closed helm (arguably the best foot duel helmet ever)
A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface
B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute
C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm
D: frogmouth, horned helmet.
*Sallet
-standard configuration bevor: A
-without bevor: B
*Kettle hat
-without throat or face protection: B
-with an added bevor or aventail: A
*Greathelm
-earlier flat top model: C
-later sugarloaf top model: A
That Norse Helmet scored just as if not better than the Spangen helmet yet is in a lower tier. And tbh, having worn a lot of those simple earlier medieval helmets like the Spangen or Norse helmet. With padding it sits perfectly fine and does it's job pretty well for it's time. It's also easily made and all the functions it has it does well. For me it's an easy A tier ( both the Norse and Spangen helm)
I just want more videos of you, Eleanor and Dan Snow.
You did the sallet dirty. You can lift the visor or tilt the helmet back if it doesn't have a moveable visor. But you have a visor and an option for a bevor when you want it. It's an improvement on the kettle hat in nearly every way.
I get the logic in rating just the sallet as a stand alone piece of armor without a bevor but I feel like that sort of defeats the point in a way, like how is that any different from rating a basinet without its visor? Both can be worn without the extra piece and often were but we’re talking about these being worn as intended. I also think there’s an overlooked stat here which is hearing, it could be wrapped in with visibility as a broader awareness, but what in getting at is the sallet probably has an above average hearing capability. Sure it’s not like the kettle or nasal helms but it’s certainly better than something like the barbute or any of the fully enclosed helms. Also, the barbute is stupid from a fashion perspective because the Italians were 100% trying to draw a line between themselves and the ancient Greeks/ romans with that style of helmet even if it was effective as a helmet. Anyway, uhhh sallet supremacy, easier to maintain, and the barbute is lame Italian cosplay.
Funny that his penholder is a better replica of a Great Helmet than his helmet xD
I have to disagree with the Crusader helmet being 10/10 protection. The flat top makes it weak to maces and hammers where the top will divot inside and against your skull as it gets hit. It exacerbates head trauma. A classic curved top directs the energy outward and lessens the chance of the top caving in
It's just dawned on me that the internet is mainly me watching videos of men's helmets.
Sallet was used in war of the roses, Sutton hoo helmet seems to have all round good, and would have had mail too,Spanish Morion soldiers were using pikes, 15 + century
Great video
10 for protection on an angular Great Helm? What about a Sugar Loaf design? It's the same in every way, but with glancing surfaces. Same goes for The Pig Face Bassinet and Armette. These rankings were all over the place :-/
Yeah, he gives the great helm a 10/10 for protection, and then when he sees a helmet from 200 years later that's made for protection at the expense of everything else, he gives it the exact same rating. I think "how much of your head is covered by metal" is the only thing he's considering for protection.
My personal list with some added context notes.
S: closed helm
A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface
B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute
C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm
D: frogmouth, horned helmet.
*Sallet
-standard configuration bevor: A
-without bevor: B
*Kettle hat
-without throat or face protection: B
-with an added bevor or aventail: A
*Greathelm
-earlier flat top model: C
-later sugarloaf top model: A
Ok, I'm not a medieval helm expert, but when it comes to protection: didn't they wear those chainmail hoodies or those padded wool hoods underneath the helmets?
I always thought the helmets were meant to protect against things like hits with maces and not necessarily swords. Does a horizontal hit with a sword toward the heck (in a battle not on an unmoving chopping block...) have enough strength to get through the chainmail/wool hood? Any good documentaries on that?
Also: the first helmet in B and the second helmet in C look almost identical...
Maces and warhammers were made to get through plate armour, swords can't slash through mail
Did you really say "spangle"? Spangle? Seriously?
Metatron made a reaction video about this, maybe you want to see it. You ask for opinions, he has many. And he has a bunch of really good helmets, so he knows more about it.
S: closed helm
A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface
B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute
C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm
D: frogmouth, horned helmet.
*Sallet
-standard configuration bevor: A
-without bevor: B
*Kettle hat
-without throat or face protection: B
-with an added bevor or aventail: A
*Greathelm
-earlier flat top model: C
-later sugarloaf top: A
What I really like about the morion helmet is that the fin on top really helps avoid even maces and hammers, with a little luck.
Wow, I get that we all bring bias, but goodness gracious. All of your comfort comments are useless except the comment of ventilation which becomes very important. There has to be cushions under the helm so all of those comments are useless. Your protection comments are also very biased and inconsistent, ranking a barbute with an open face over a sallet for protection seems a stretch.
I think it is almost more important to consider these in time and by who used them which was a starting point you lost along the way. No face protection in a fight with spears or arrows can be problematic, especially if you are a knight - high value target. Also in context the sutton hoo helm was very impressive.
But my pet peeve is that if you are the expert, you should know and pronounce it as a SPANGEN helm not a spangel helm.
I see a couple of weird decisions here: Norman helmet is virtually the same helmet like Spangen but you put it in lower position than Spangen ?? Why???.You're saying they're that .Spangen, Kettle, Norman are the most basic types and i agree with but should be all of them in C or even D. Sutton Hoo maybe C, Great Helmet B, maybe A. Barbute S? What? This is similar helmet like Spangen but just little bit better protection of neck and cheaks but it's the same helmet. it's better than K,S but definitely not S. Pig Face and Sallet A. Frogmouth I would remove from the list as this is not battle helmet. main purpose was jousting in tournaments. Max protection, in theory best helmet..Closet Helmet A, maybe even S. Morion same category like Spangen, Kettle, maybe one position higher...
Always read the comments on their videos.....because they are more informative than the expert expert IN the videoe.
A great case for the barbute, which is not a helmet I would ever have considered wearing before. You've successfully converted me 🤣🤣
I'd like to throw into the mix an Eastern European helmet, the Polish Hussar zischägge. While there are many versions of this helmet the one I'm suggesting has the crest on top, the lobster tail to protect your neck, cheek pieces with cutouts to improve your peripheral vision, and the interchangeable face guard/nose piece.
*groan* I knew this was going to be weak when it started with 'dispelling the myth' that vikings had horns on their helmet. I mean, who's ever had that little inaccuracy called into doubt? Only every primary school child for the past 45 years!!! What original and cutting edge programming.
Ironically HH used a horned viking helmet in one of their thumbnails not long ago.
Foot soldiers would need different protection from mounted knights. ‘Less face protection, more top of head. Also narrow eye slits: a skilled knight could put a broadsword into a slit the size of his sword. This is a tradeoff between visibility and protection from having your brain impaled. Having problems breathing? Blow at the air holes, your breathing will be fine. It’s also interesting how your scale generally increases from Dark Ages, through Lower Middle Ages, Upper Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. The morion was the most popular helm during the Renaissance. Worn from Sweden to Italy, Hungary to Portugal. ‘Worn around the world by Spanish conquistadors and by the great Spanish nemesis Sir Francis Drake. For comfort I actually prefer the Crusader Great Helm to the visored “Pig Faced” helm. I really enjoyed seeing your parade of helmets it brought back fond memories of my battle re-creation days.
On behalf of my brothers in the "Sallet Helms Are Rediculously Terrific" (S.H.A.R.T) I would like 2 STRENUOUSLY ASSERT my personal OUTRAGE! How dare you!?
His Rating…
S Barbute 26
A Bascinet 19 Morion 24
B Spangen 22 Kettle 25 Closed 19
C Sutton 16 Norman 24 Great 17
D Sallet 15 Frog 19 Horned 18
Rated by scores…
Barbute 26
Kettle 25
Norman 24 Morion 24
Spangen 22
Bascinet 19 Closed 19 Frog 19
Horned 18
Great 17
Sutton 16
Sallet 15
I'm so glad he didn't actually think that Viking helms incorporated the horns from the get-go of the vid. Had me worried just for a moment there 🤣👍 That's not to say that Vikings never did wear a helmet with horns on it but just may not have been recorded/noted. In the East, Samurai sometimes had horns on their helmets, albeit, was maybe more for show and the psychological warfare aspect of it or a symbol of their status, perhaps.
To be more precise, the Sutton Hoo helm is almost certainly Angle in origin rather than Saxon, due to it being buried in East Anglia (i.e. East Angles). Also, the chances are that it would've been padded out with leather, with the cheek pieces strapped down around the chin like Roman helms were.
I enjoyed the video because it made me laugh, but for the sake of safety, please make this a part 1 of a series. In part 2 you can now have some people used to using the various helmets replying to the guesses and explaining how close they are and why, preferably with demonstrations. It would be an extremely useful way of introducing the concept of experimental archaeology and the value of trying things out to see if your theory is correct.
I find your rankings interesting, as you might have assumed i would have put the sallet further up, but what surprised me most was the protection ratings of the barbute and closed helm both being 8, that doesn't seem to add up.
The Sutton Hoo helmet is terrifying.
I'm interested in how any helmet with a nose shield did that sans sitting forward on the head. A straight nose guard will stand away from a lot of the nose (the root = area attaches to our forehead)
A soft cap with some thickness would really add to the seating of any helmet.
I'm a trauma provider. We have good data on present day helmet protection from blunt force trauma.
No helmet stops contrecoup injuries, especially those shown.
Really interesting topic.
Yep, I'm a girl who knows trauma injuries. 😊
Ah good Helmet would have had a proper padding and the brim of the Helmet would rest on the line of the eyebrows (and of cause on the top of the head). The helmets can take quite a punshing without you even feeling anything, because you are in a adrenalin rush. But sometimes you can get hit in the right places and you simply get knocked out. I was once knocked out by an two handed weapon wich came from behind me without expecting the blow. When you see the hits coming you can brace yourself against the impact wich also helps a lot.
The nasal guard was more.to stop the shield of the wearer slamming back into their nose and breaking it during a clash of shields/shield wall
I have some critique points. Overall I liked the video.
1. I personally would have changed the point *Visibility* in favor of *Orientation.* because then you also have your hearing in there wich is very important too. You need good hearing to know whats going on outside of your field of vision and you also have to hear commands and signals. Thats why I wouldnt have put the Barbute in S tier. It gives great protection and visibility, but you loose a lot of 360 degree hearing. (also the closed design builds up heat much quicker than an open design)
2. I want to add that the great helm you have shown has a pretty serious weak spot: the flat top. Weapon strikes do not glance off but translate the power compeltely to the top of the head. The Bascinet is solving that issue very well with the cone shape. thats why I would switch the two in terms of protection rating.
3. last but not least: I find your rating of the Sallet mildly infuriating. And you didnt really talk about the advantages.
In essence its a Kettle Hat with lowered sides to protect half of your head way down to below the ears and nose. It has a visor you can lift up for more freedom. So it protects 75% of your head infront and the sides and with the slope almost your complete neck. while the Kettle Hat or Morion only protect the top 30% leaving your face, ears and neck completely open. The Salet also retains the same kind of mobility and almost the same 360 degree hearability for the wearer. Also heat is still venting off quite well.
And its still very adaptable to additional pieces of armor for the lower half of your head.
Thats why the Sallet became a very very popular design in late medieval europe.
So while you completely trashed the thing, I would have put it in A tier.
My personal list with some added context notes.
S: closed helm
A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface
B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute
C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm
D: frogmouth, horned helmet.
*Sallet
-standard configuration bevor: A
-without bevor: B
*Kettle hat
-without throat or face protection: B
-with an added bevor or aventail: A
*Greathelm
-earlier flat top model: C
-later sugarloaf top model: A
@ I concur with that 👍🏻
Honestly have anyone ever used a sallet without the plate "aventail"? Like to me that's a part of the helmet and is actually probably quite a good helmet
You mean the bevor? Plenty of regular infantry didn't have any. And many men-at-arms/knights discarded them when they went into close combat on foot (for better breathability). In which case they'd still wear mail protecting at least the throat if not the chin, though. That said, ignoring it is nevertheless bad science. Albeit not as bad as ignoring the mail coifs and aventails on earlier helmet types, which were very much integral.
But anyway, yes, (removable) bevors are arguably part of sallets (as standard add-ons, so to speak), and they're phenomenal helmets in combination and still very effective ones used all on their own.
Like for real!
Later sallets had integral pivoting bevors.
@@twincast2005most bevors i have seen are articulated, so you don't "discard" them, you lower them.
Also sallet bevor combo is very good even if your visor is up & bevor is down, revealing you only from your mouth to your brow.
That's better protection than the kind of open barbute he shows & has equally good visibility & ventilation.
@lehtju4waif5ahk49 Yeah, in hindsight my word choices were poor. By "discarded" and "removable", I meant "leave back with their gear", not "toss aside on the battlefield".
@5:33 they were almost certainly fastened by a leather rope: no flapping around. And @twincast2005 beats me to it by more than a day, along with other good points.
You can attach a full face of Maille aventail to a Spangenhelm for extra protection. 👍
Or kettlehat 👍🏻
This list is stupid. Not that I don't agree with what he's saying, but because (as he said a couple of times) these helmets are meant for different contexts. Why would you even consider wearing a jousting helmet to battle? And what kind of weapons are you expecting to encounter? Are you fighting on foot or from horse back? What kind of armour are you wearing on the rest of your body? And also, you know, what's your budget and in what era are we even supposed to be in? It doesn't make any sense to rank helmets from all kind of time periods and contexts. But that is my opinion.
I am wondering if someone else dictated the list as to what to rank and that he did not choose them 🤷♂
The scoring seems, well, not random, but very slanted in favour if the presenter's preferences rather than actual capabilities of the helmets.
The Sutton hoo helm was once in an 1980’s movie featuring Lee Majors, seems the bionic man was the Saxon king in the ship.LMAO ( so hubby said)
I'd imagine the faceplate were worn for protection from arrows but opened for close combat where visibility and breathing were more important
great helm being in c ist downright criminal. It's a helmet designed for knightly charges where one doesen't really need that much field of vision beign in a formation.
My personal list with some added context notes.
S: closed helm
A: *sallet, sutton hoo, pigface
B: *kettle hat, morion, barbute
C: spagenhelm, norman, *greathelm
D: frogmouth, horned helmet.
*Sallet
-standard configuration bevor: A
-without bevor: B
*Kettle hat
-without throat or face protection: B
-with an added bevor or aventail: A
*Greathelm
-earlier flat top model: C
-later sugarloaf top model: A
Did the fighters on the ground, have different helmets to fighters on horseback?
Depends on the time. But yes
Would love to see maybe an armour ranking or period vs period e.g. Classical armour vs Medieval armour
Please do the coop with Metatron he's proposing. I think this would be a benefit to all interested in those topics.
Forgotten the details so forget whch Pope banned 'fighting' for knights etc, except for a couple of months each year. Surely seasonal fighting effected armour styles.
Can't imagine full faced helmets in hot East-Med weather. Must have been for arrow protection primarily.
I’d be curious how you would rank modern Kevlar helmets given the same protection/visibility/comfort criteria
Shouldn’t we have physical representations?
You know what occurs to me. If you really look at that Sutton Hoo helmet and you look at the Roman Calvary helmet found in Teutoburg Forest they look pretty similar . Not the features but the design pattern and style . I wonder if it was inspired by the Roman cavalry helmet
You are correct, it definitely was!
Did fighting armies, have different colours on their helmets to distinguish who was who ?
A question for my fellow viewers with reenactment experience. Is ventilation really such a big problem. The big helm has plenty of of gaps for air right?
This is great. Light but still learnt a lot!
History Hit: lets put the results in the first 2 seconds of the video. 🤦🏻♂🙄
The other 25 minutes are not worth watching. Who is the clown that thought that was a good idea. Seriously history hit just quit making these videos ffs 🤡🤦🏻♂🙄🤷🏻♂
I wonder how each of these would deal with hot weather, and also heavy rain. And how well you could hear in stereo to identify potential threats.
I'm sorry but I'd much prefer and feel so much more protected with a full face helmet
nah i'm a ride or die sallet groupie, S++ tier all day every day. I will die on this hill
I want to know, which helmet provides vision behind you? He kept saying that and I felt like I was missing something
Disappointed that he is just speaking on the helmets as stand alone items not as elements of a body armor system. helms they are designed to defeat threats that exist within the context of the time.
For example If you are covered by a large Norman shield, a conical helmet supported by mail makes perfect sense, defeats the common threat of the time which is what to be expected.
What's his qualifications ?
regarding the sallet.... u r soooooooooooooooo wrong. but correct with the Barbuta. 😁
and thr Morion is not a medieval helmet, as u said yourself... 16th and 17th centuries.... not medieval 🤷♂️
Not one of the better History Hit vids. Ultimately pointless.
Worse than pointless; incorrect.
How many times is he going to say "Spangen" wrong
That part was grating but by far the least of the glaring issues of outright misinformation in this.
@@twincast2005 Yeah, I noticed that too as the video went on. Disappointed that he said bacinets like the pig face helmet had that shape for breathing, rather than deflecting strikes and projectiles.
Some obvious bias here, be at least he clarified that it would be subjective. Some of his info is just wrong though, because the shape of a pig face or hounskull bascinet has nothing to do with ventilation, it's to create a better angle of deflection.
I think the Romans very consciously designed their standard helmet to allow the ears to be uncovered for greater situational awareness. Was that a consideration for Medieval helmet design and would that have affected the score?
A norman helm is the same as a Spangenhelm most of the time.
The Sallet at D!?
I’m in shambles, I tell you. How you wound me sir!
Historian, not a HEMA expert or anything similar. That's like bringing a police officer to talk about Johnny Depp's trial.
Couldn't watch this to the end, it was complete drivel. To anyone who doesn't know about armour, please don't take what this guy says as accurate. Please watch something done by real experts!
You should do one for style points too
Cool idea, but could we see you in each Helm? Gotta think you’d get a better idea of comfort and visibility that way too
I'm sorry, but if this bloke has not done any reenactment fighting wearing these helmets while fully kitted up, then his rankings are largely useless.
>spangle
You could at least of grabbed a set of replicas, some smooth soled leather footwear, at least a mail shirt, hired an assistant, then found a plowed field, and scattered a few bales, manakins, a couple of forehead hight beams, and other obstacles across a section, then performed a shuttle jog in each, with your assistant shouting a couple of random phrase for you to hear and repeat on your return. Time the runs and add a 30 second time penalty for each trip, or misheard phrase. The board would likely look different.
I have worn the shutton hoo helm and built one and it very good visibility and very conformable. The cheek plates are fixed or tied under the chin. But good try
As a Catholic who romanticises the Crusades a little too much, I’d wear the great-helm and leave my vision and breathing to God.
The Roman helmet with cheek protection and flare in the back seems to be basic and useful. Why they moved away from that is beyond me
I feel like rather than just helmets they should’ve done suits/forms of armor that accompanied these helmets as well
Jesus guys
It's not that hard to find people who has experience with proper reproductions
Yes you can bearly see anything but the frog mouth helmet looks so cool
Oh, I'm such a nerd...
Yes, a clicked straight onto this as soon as I saw it!
I lost count of the number of times you said "next up". Just say "next". You're not an American!
Pig nose you can see your feet through the lower breaths, how is the normal and spangle helm ra ked different? To rank a sallet, armet, bascinet lower than a barbute seems really wierd. Context is huge for all of this.
He also doesn't seem to know what these helmets did. Couldn't finish...
As some one who fights in a salet for an armored combat, I am gonna say your wrong on comfort. I changed because it is much more comfortable and more naturally shaped to the head and face.
It’s not Spangelhelm it’s Spangenhelm !
As for the Spangenhelm, top be fair, modern battle helmets only offer protection to the top of the head also.
This was fun, thank you!