Crests in 1440s: part 3

All of the following images come from a German book called Parzival. Best that I can decipher, it is a book on Percival and his role in the Arthurian tales.

http://manuscriptminiatures.com/search/?manuscript=4825 1443-1446 Germany

The first section contains all the images of mantles worn on helms.                This last image shows what could be knights using bastons or wide swords.

These two images show people wearing helms with feathered plumes on them. The first one rises from the brow, under the raised visor. The second has feathers coming from the top of the crown. Neither clearly show how the feathers are attached.

  

The final section shows un-armoured people wearing similar adornments on their head wear.

              

Crests in 1440s: part 2

These are some images from the second half of the decade (1445-1449).


http://manuscriptminiatures.com/3932/10785/  1440-1445 France
1. Several men wear tubular bands around their helms. Most have vertical lines. They are very similar to the bourelets worn in contemporary fashion by both men and women in France and the surrounding Low Countries. The bourelet is like a rolled or stuffed tube, usually of bright fabric. I am going to identify this head gear as distinct from the clearly rolled torses.
2. The character in the middle has a small single tailed pennon flying from a small stem that has gold root-like rays snaking down onto the crown of the bascinet.



http://manuscriptminiatures.com/3932/10776/  1440-1445 France
Three men have small pennons attached to the top of the helm. This time, the helms are frog mouth helm, kettle hat and a peak visored grand bascinet. Including the plain bascinet with a chain aventail in the previous image, it because clear that this kind of helm adornment is suitable for a wide range of West European helms in the early 15th C.



http://manuscriptminiatures.com/3932/10784/   1440-1445 France
Thick torse with free tails worn over a helm.



http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4741/13616/   1445 Germany
This helm shows a small, fitted red mantle, as worn by a crowned figure in the next image.



http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4741/13614/    1445 Germany
I love the stylised side views of the crowns. Both crowned men wear short mantles under their crowns. Nice gold lamellar and rosette style helm disc, too.



http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4741/13617/   1445 Germany
Not sure if he has a red plume or his head is spouting feathers of blood due to being hit in the head with a big rock.



http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4741/13594/   1445 Germany
Man in green on the left has a large feather rising from the join between the crown and brim of his helm.



http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4701/12975/  1440-1449 Belgium
Green bourelet worn over helm. Nice purse on the older man's hip.

Crests in 1440s: part 1

These images are of crests from the first half of the decade (1440-1444).


http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/ConsulterElementNum?O=IFN-06000542&E=JPEG&Deb=120&Fin=120&Param=C     1440 France
This image shows a protrusion rising from the top of the helms. The spray of something like feathers rises out of the top. One man wears a torse with loose tails around the brow of his helm.


http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/ConsulterElementNum?O=IFN-06000542&E=JPEG&Deb=121&Fin=121&Param=C
1440  France
Both the horse and rider in the top image have crests. The man's is attached by at least 2 stems, and could be a representation of the sun (I can't see it clearly). the horses rises from the bridles crown strap, not the brow band. The lower figure has a golden orb on a stem, rising from the top of his helm. Is this a crest in itself, or is it an enlarged version of the protrusion seen in the first image?


http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4716/13042/   1440 Netherlands
A man wears a piece of fabric tied around his conical helm. It could be a loosely tied torse. Notice his sword pocket.


http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4723/13051/  1440 Netherlands
The chap in the gold helm has a spot shaped protrusion from the top of his helm, similar to those in the images above. It seems he has a matching gold articulated gorget. His body armour is interesting as well. The body seems to have covered, layered shaped plates or a corrizana (meaning 'small breastpate') which is like a brigadine with lung shaped plates and lames from the natural, and often small, waist down to the lower hip. You can see the rivet or stitch marks along the upper edge of the back plates. This one is interesting because the peplum is folded, like waves in a fabric skirt. The second fellow, aching in the lower right corner, has a loose torse wrapped around his helm.

Commercial latex crest

Today's pictures are of a helm crest that is available for purchase in the US. The artist sells several varieties and they are usually used on SCA heavy combat helms. They meet the safety requirements for both heavy foot combat and equestrian use. We are still playing with a way to mount it on a helm.

The following pictures show the flexibility under pressure. The crest is under the same amount of pressure in the first image and the second. It returns to the original shape, after 30-50 crushes. It has been stepped on, sat on and struck with rattan weaponry without ill effect. I think that several actual combat sessions would leave it looking a bit scuffed and dirty but if it were attached in a way that allowed it to detach under a strike, I suspect it would hold up to numerous fights without major problems. If it were attached permanently, several combat sessions could cause ripping in the foam. 

The crest was easy to crush on its side, but only depressed slightly from the top down. I suspect that a horse that was trained and comfortable with the movement and extra sensory input of crest combat would not be bothered by this type of crest in action. If it fell on the ground, it is soft enough to not cause injury, itself, if stepped on. As with any item, tripping could be an issue once it were struck from the helm.


The base is shown in the final image. It shows an inverted domed base.

I am playing with the idea of putting a domed leather cap on the helm first, attached by lacing to 4 holes in the crown. There are some holes seen in the crests of a couple of extant helms though, admittedly, they don't seem to be common. I am hoping to attach the various helms to a matching nestling domed base, so they can be altered.

This style is obviously a modern substitution. It is, however, an easily accessible option for people who just want to buy a crest that looks good. Over all, it seems a durable, safe design.

History Up Close - webpage with heraldic links

http://www.historyupclose.com/heraldry_images.htm

This beautiful heraldry link has categorised links from 1291 to the sixteenth century. The two images below are the ones most relevant to crest building in the mid fifteenth century.




http://www.historyupclose.com/images/heraldry%20images/15thC-late.jpg
I don't know where this comes from (document or country). It is stylistically similar to other 15th C examples.




http://www.historyupclose.com/images/heraldry%20images/15thC-late_Hyghalmen-Roll-of-arms.jpg
More mantling with animal, human and object models rising from the helm.

The Scheibler Armorial

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Scheibler_Armorial

The author says that the document has an older part from 1450-1480 and a newer section, reflected in the publishing date of 1605. It is like a roll of arms and shows crests on helms for various German people from the Southern region known as Swabia.
'In den meisten Fällen wurden Wappen aus dem Scheiblerschen Wappenbuch (älterer Teil 1450 -1480) oder aus Siebmachers Wappenbuch (1605) gewählt.'
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_schw%C3%A4bischer_Adelsgeschlechter/L

Here are a few. Please check the original site for the full range. There are so many. I would like to find a book of this document. Better get looking...