Monoblock Nasal Helmet | Steel Medieval Norman Crusader Helmet 11th-13th Century - Battle Ready, HMB, LARP

MONOBLOC NASAL HELMET — Central Europe / Europe, 11th-13th century

▪ Material: 2 mm steel, raised from a single piece
▪ Sizes: 64 cm · 66 cm · 69 cm (head circumference)
▪ Supplied with protective grille
▪ Battle ready — suitable for HMB, Buhurt and full-contact reenactment
▪ Made to order — but we sometimes hold stock, send us a message to ask

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ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCE

The one-piece nasal helmet is certainly the most emblematic helmet of the Middle Ages. It appears in Central Europe at the start of the 11th century before spreading very widely across Europe and beyond, remaining the most popular type until the end of the 13th century. Variants exist with and without a nasal, in one-piece and segmented forms, Phrygian or domed.

The earliest archaeological sources appear around the beginning of the 11th century, in the newly founded Piast kingdom of Poland, in Great Moravia, and on the margins of the Ottonian Frankish empire (Austria, Czech Republic).

TWO THEORIES ON ITS ORIGIN.

Western: the helmet is an evolution of the military legacy of the Roman Empire. The Franks preserved a great deal — scale armor, the way helmets were assembled and riveted. The Bandhelm, widespread in the Frankish empire, is a simplified version of the Roman crested helmet. The Bojná, a Bandhelm with an applied nasal and a crest, strangely recalls the late Roman helmets. The nasal becoming integral to the helmet, and the helmet itself raised from a single sheet, could be the evolution of that great military tradition, made possible by better mastery of the forge.

Eastern: steppe helmets regularly carry riveted nasals too, and the Roman crested helmets themselves drew on the helmets of the Scythians. The Nemia and Wenceslas helmets, both single-shell, appear to originate with the Rus or the Scandinavians of Gotland.

Either way, the monobloc appeared in Central Europe, and its earliest traces go back to the conflicts between the Ottonian empire and the young Poland. It spread rapidly across Europe from the middle of the 11th century. From Hastings to the crusades, it became the emblem of knighthood.

A NOTE ON DATING: it appears too late and too far east for the Vikings to claim it, though nasal traces are found from the middle of the 12th century in early feudal Scandinavia, notably opposite the old site of Birka on the shores of Lake Mälaren. Because the British Museum displayed the Lednica helmet alongside finds from a Viking mass grave, some wrongly believe this helmet was widespread in England and among the Danes before the mid-11th century.

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FR — MONOBLOCK HELMET WITH NASAL, 11th-13th century

▪ 2 mm steel, one piece
▪ Sizes: 64 · 66 · 69 cm
▪ Sold with its protective grille
▪ Battle ready, adapted for HMB
▪ Made to order, but we sometimes have stock

The one-piece nasal helmet is certainly the most iconic helmet of the Middle Ages. Appearing in Central Europe at the beginning of the 11th century, it spread very widely throughout Europe and became the most popular until the end of the 13th century.

Two theories about its appearance: a western origin, as an evolution of the Roman military heritage via the Frankish bandhelm; or an eastern origin, steppe helmets regularly having riveted nasals.

In any case, its earliest traces date back to the conflicts between the Ottonian Empire and the young Poland. From Hastings to the Crusades, it became the emblem of chivalry.