Helmets

HOW ARE THE MEDIEVAL HELMETS AND THEIR HISTORY

                The first thing that a warrior entering combat is taught is to attack the head and face of his enemy, for they are the most lethal parts of man. To protect themselves from these attacks, the helmets that cover these parts of the human anatomy from the opponent's blows appear.

                Already in the Ancient Age we can appreciate the use of combat helmets, for example, in the Greek and Roman armies. In the 18th century, with the appearance of firearms, the decline of this type of defensive weapons resulted.

                Just as daggers or spears originate from hunting, the helmet, along with the shield, is the first thing that man uses to wage war. To build the first helmets , natural elements were used, such as tortoise shells or bamboo. With the advent of metals, metal helmets would emerge, which constituted an essential element in the equipment of the Greek Hoplites. The conical-shaped helmet is known by the name of Montefortino , because it was found in a Celtic necropolis near this town. The model made of bronze was the one used by the armies of the Republic, from the 4th century BC to the 1st century AD As an ornament they wore a feathered crest at the top Some of them incorporated some lateral elements to protect the face and ears . The helmet was a sign of distinction between a soldier and an officer.

                Around 2300 BC there is news of the use of the leather helmet by the Sumerians and the Akkadians. There is a reference to the fact in the Bible

                Given that then the legionnaire himself had to pay for all the war equipment from his private pocket, there was no kind of uniformity. Also, not everyone used this model. The Attic helmet was used by the Greeks and Romans. The Phrygian bronze helmet by the Greek soldiers. You could even see helmets with wild boar tusks. In the 2nd century BC the helmet model was unified in that of Montefortino . When helmets began to be mass-produced at the public treasury, all types of decoration were eliminated. The Coolus , more evolved than the previous one and was used in the same period of time as the Montefotino one . But this did not mean the disappearance of the previous model. From that period we can mention the Boeotian helmet and the Negau helmet , both made of bronze. In the 15th century some of the helmets used were of the Armet type which was a totally enclosed metal helmet.

We can highlight as types of Roman helmets the helmets for centurions and gladiators, the first helmet called Agen, Puerto, the well-known Gallic Imperial helmet, Imperial Italic helmet, the Trestle or the Spangenhelm helmet.

                In the 17th century the Ottoman Empire used a helmet called the Lobster Tail . Very well known and used in the Middle Ages was the nasal helmet , which came with a piece that protected the user's nose. The Sugar Loaf-type helmet dating from the late 13th and early 14th centuries, has a very characteristic conical tip from the Middle Ages. The Templar soldiers also had their own helmets. One of the most popular helmets in Muslim and Christian Spain was the capacete .

                The helmet appears on the battlefield around the 12th century, being used regularly for the next 3 centuries. The 15th century barbute is an imitation of the Greek helmets , although this larger one also covered the nape of the neck. Another fairly common helmet in Medieval Europe is the so-called iron hat. It was made of steel, and as its name indicates, it was shaped like a hat. Viking helmets were made of iron sheets held together by leather straps. Many of them added nose and eye protectors. the helmet Celtic , it was used mainly in territories dominated by the Celts. Smooth, ending in a long point, it only covered the top of the head. They were equipped with cheek pads and neck protectors.

WHAT ARE THE MEDIEVAL HELMETS CALLED

Nasal helmet, which protected the nose and was from the late s. IX.

Capellina of the s. XI, very similar to a wide-brimmed hat.

Spangenhelm helmet from the 12th century.

Cervellera from the end of the 12th century. It was a type of hemisphere-shaped helmet.

Bacinete, type of helmet from the end of the 12th century

Barbuta from the beginning of S. XV.

Headpiece, widely used helmet from the beginning of the 15th century.

Cap, type of helmet that could be opened on the sides.

Great Helm-, End of S. XII, used by infantry and knights.

Morrión, helmet from the 16th century widely used in Castile.

  As time goes by, helmets change their shape and structure, standing out from them

                - The Tarleton helmet , worn by the British and Americans, made of crested leather was more ornament than protection

                The Pickelhaube helmet , was a spiked helmet worn primarily by the Prussian military.

                Dragoon helmet used as a decoration by the French.

                The Morrión helmet, typical helmet of the Tercios, was used in the 16th and 17th centuries, when Spain was a military power, and in keeping with the existence of the Tercios. This helmet is an improvement of the great caps and burgundies , adding to its structure a wide and curled brim. In the Tercios all kinds of helmets coexisted. The chiefs and officers used the burgundy and the morion and the different corps to which they belonged were distinguished by the feathers with which they adorned their helmets, for example 3 feathers, red, white and yellow indicated that they were attached to the Imperial Guard of Carlos V. It is curious that Cervantes dressed the character of Don Quixote with a morion.

                In the First World War , given the disasters that the bombs made in the bunkers, new helmets were developed. The Adrian of steel and French manufacture. The Brodie helmet , was the helmet of the British Army, and the US copied it and designed their M1917 helmet . The Brodie helmet was a steel helmet. The North American M1947 finished the great war without undergoing any change, until in 1930 the decision was made to study some modification in response to the complaints expressed by the military. Above all, it was not at all hygienic, and given this and other deficiencies, some reforms were applied to the hull, mainly attaching a chinstrap made of leather and adding 4 neoprene studs. The Prussian Helmet , designed in the year 1915, The Pickelhaube designed in the 19th century for the army, firefighters and police. The Stahlhelm helmet , was a steel helmet developed by the Germans. It was a very different helmet from the others and easily distinguished the German soldiers.

                In World War II the design of the helmet of the USA was clearly imposed. In this line is the M1 helmet whose design is adopted by many nations . It was used by US soldiers until 1985. For more than forty years. The M1 helmet is very popular among collectors of military elements. This helmet appears in 1942 to replace the M1917A1 steel helmet. 20 million of this helmet model were manufactured. In the Vietnam War a helmet very similar to the M1 was used, although its profile was lower. The M1 was phased out of American soldier equipment in the 1980s.

                In the Normandy landings the MK III model was used by the British and Canadians. In Italy, the M33 model emerged, which was the helmet of the Italian army until the times of the Cold War. In Bulgaria the M36 helmet is designed .

The PASGT is a Kevlar helmet that was used by the United States Army in the early 1980s as a replacement for the M1 helmet. In the mid-2000s the PASGT helmets were replaced by the MICH. This was a lighter, more comfortable, fitted helmet made of plastic, which makes it easier to mount accessories. However, being made of plastic, they could hardly protect the soldier from a rifle shot. This led the military to create a new helmet, the same as the previous one, but with greater protection capacity. This is how the ECH arose, thicker, lighter, better protects the user as it is made of special Kevlar materials.

                The French forces use the “ Spectra ” helmet which is made of polyethylene. The British forces use the "MK7" helmet which is very similar to the advanced combat helmet. The Argentine military use the "Cabal II", similar to the previous helmet, but with a greater slope in the front. Russian and allied forces still use a steel helmet, "The Ssh-68" which is a hard and heavy helmet. The Iraqis wear a compressed canvas helmet called the M80. The Dutch Army, due to the experience gained by its troops in Afghanistan, is finishing work on the design of a new helmet for its troops. A modular concept has been chosen, which allows soldiers to better adapt to the geographical environment in which they operate. They incorporate earplugs and sunglasses.

                What will the future of helmets look like? It will be a helmet equipped with technology that integrates night vision devices, with UHF or VHF communication with their bosses, and will have special glass to protect the eyes, which can be converted into a video screen. Very similar to Star 's costumes Wars .