SPANGENHELM AH2191N (Antiqued) by Hanwei
The Spangenhelm (AH2191N) is based on an 11th century piece. This style of conical helemt construction, whereby overlapping metal straps or "spangen" were riveted to dished metal plates to form a skull cap, is known to date back to the 6th century and was used as late as the 15th century. Our Spangenhelm, with its solid "nasal" and reinforced "eyebrows" is of an 11th-13th century style. Many can be seen on the famous Bayeaux Tapestry, which records scenes from the 1066 CE Battle of Hastings. As with the originals, our Spangenhelm is provided with a leather chin strap.

The Spangenhelm
The Spangenhelm was a popular European war helmet design of the Early Middle Ages. The name is of German origin. Spangen refers to the metal strips that form the framework for the helmet and could be translated as clips, and -helm simply means helmet. The strips connect three to six steel or bronze plates. The frame takes a conical design that curves with the shape of the head and culminates in a point. The front of the helmet may include a nose protector (a nasal). Older spangenhelms often include cheek flaps made from metal or leather. Spangenhelms may incorporate chain mail as neck protection. Some spangenhelms include eye protection in a shape that resembles modern eyeglass frames. Other spangenhelms include a full face mask.

The spangenhelm originated in northern Iran (Persia) during the Sassanid Empire. It arrived in Europe in the 3rd century by way of what is now southern Russia and Ukraine. By the 6th century it was the most common helmet design in Europe and in popular use throughout the Middle East. It remained in use at least as late as the 9th century.

ref: This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Spangenhelm".