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TheSpangenhelm, orsegmented helmet, was a popularmedievalEuropeancombat helmet design ofLate Antiquity and theEarly Middle Ages.[1] They are often contrasted with Easternlamellar helmets.
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The name Spangenhelm is ofGerman origin.Spangen refers to the metal strips that form the framework for the helmet and could be translated asbraces, 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 (anasal). Older spangenhelms often include cheek flaps made from metal or leather. Spangenhelms may incorporatemail as neck protection, thus forming a partialaventail. Some spangenhelms include eye protection in a shape that resembles modern eyeglass frames, and are thus sometimes called "spectacle helmets". Other spangenhelms include a full face mask.
The spangenhelm was an effective protection that was relatively easy to produce. Weakness of the design were its partial head protection and its jointed construction. It was replaced by similarly shaped helmets made with one-piece skulls (nasal helms),kettle hats and eventually thegreat helm or casque.
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The spangenhelm arrived in Western Europe by way of what is now southernRussia andUkraine, spread by nomadicIranian tribes such as theScythians andSarmatians who lived among the Eurasiansteppes. By the 6th century it was the most common helmet design in Europe and in popular use throughout the Middle East. However, helmets of the spangenhelm type were used much longer. Some of thenasal helmets depicted on theBayeux Tapestry from the 11th century appear to be built as a Spangenhelm construction. The same is true for illustrations of theMorgan Bible from the 13th century.
In theKizil Caves in theTarim Basin, knights wearing segmented pear-shaped helmets are depicted. It is thought that these depictions follow the events of 552 CE Turk uprising and the subsequent Turk expansion, giving a date of the 2nd half of the 6th century CE. These helmets are characteristic pear-shaped segmented helmet of theTurkic type.[2][3] They immediately follow the use oflamellar helmets, also visible in the Kizil Caves.[2]
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Similar but more simple helmets, the so-calledbroadband helmets were used in parallel. These helmets may have been used until the 10th century, as depicted in theLeiden Maccabees manuscript from the early 10th century. Related to the Spangenhelm were alsolamellar helmets or intermediate Lamellar-Spangen helmets, like the helmet from a 6th-century boys grave, found under theCologne Cathedral.[4]
A similar construction principle is found in thenorthern ridge helmets, a group, which includes ScandinavianVendel Era helmets andAnglo-Saxon helmets, like theCoppergate Helmet or thePioneer Helmet.
Portions of this article were translated from the German Wikipedia.
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