The Armour Archive

I'm nearing the end of the construction of a conical helm and am wanting to know the best way to line it. It is not a traditional conical, by that I mean I've stretched the crest of the helm higher, so it kind of resembles a bascinet helm. It also has a slightly flared tail that will have leather neck guards attatched. I've stated all this before, so my question is- would it be OK to put a bascinet lining like the ones in TOMAR? The one I'm refering to is the sewn tubes of material stuffed with horsehair and then sewn together to form the lining. I'm also not going for historical accuracy. OR am I rambling on like a retard and just put whatever the hell I like best in it?!

HammerHand wrote:I'm nearing the end of the construction of a conical helm and am wanting to know the best way to line it. It is not a traditional conical, by that I mean I've stretched the crest of the helm higher, so it kind of resembles a bascinet helm. <snippety snip> OR am I rambling on like a retard and just put whatever the hell I like best in it?!

Well, yeah, but who gives a d@#&*, Scarlett? Helmet linings before the fourteenth are all experimental archaeology, representing at their best a fistful of informed guesses.

For the times I'm being painstaking, I'd quilt up wadded linen fabric. In certain SCA environments (i.e., an a$$y local Marshallate), I'd have linen inner lining and a shell of hidden Smurf blubber, possibly strategically perforated for better hearing or maybe done as vertical strips for both ultimate-hard-resilient cushioning along with better ventilation.

I'd want to know a bit more about how to make horsehair bouncy before I'd use it -- wouldn't want it too solid, I should think.

From your thumbnail description, your new hat sounds plausible as fourteenth-century Scottish or Irish, even. These guys were reported to have something of a penchant for tall helmets. In the fourteenth century, some of these were even of bascinet form, though the bascinetish ones we know about featured a prominent centerline crease too. They seem otherwise to resemble a bascinet with some extra height.

Thanks Konstantin! I figured that would be the case- experimental being. I believe that I'm going to go with a bascinet liner made from comfy cotton tubes and stuffed with pillow cotton fibre. Thanks again for the remarks.