vitalis
after becoming good friends with someone I had met at the armored tournament event I went to a couple of weeks back, I became inspired to build an armor kit similar to his, which is a late 13thC / early 14thC kit featuring the great helm (or what most people would recognize as the classic “crusader” barrel helm).

I went down the historical rabbit hole of researching the great helm and found that at the peak of its usage by knights, the helm was mostly worn with just chainmail. however, there is a very brief transitionary period during the mid 14thC where people did in fact wear the great helm with plate armor. I think it looks super cool! but the window of time where this happened is so narrow that when I bring up my desire to wear the great helm for historical armored fighting, I have encountered several people who basically scoffed to my face the idea of wearing one in a match against more popular helm styles seen during the Hundred Years War, such as the visored bascinet like a hounskull helm.

anyways, I have decided to ignore the haters. I just bought 2 great helms, one of which I am expecting to receive today. will share some pics of my new great helm after unboxing it 
Apr 2 at 2:10pmWeb
Show thread1d ago
@vitalis Is it a matter of mobility? Why the greathelm was foregone in the transition to plate?
Show threadvitalis1d ago
the problem is that it was too easy to overheat while wearing the great helm because typically one would also be wearing a chainmail coif and small dome cap helmet underneath. the development of the complex bascinet meant that it was so much easier to just lift the visor to cool off and get fresh air.

usually if someone was rocking the great helm during the 14th century, it was either for tournament competition or because you couldn’t afford a fancy bascinet on the battlefield so you basically wore two helms instead (pic attached shows the helm worn underneath the great helm)
Show thread1d ago
@vitalis Oh I didn’t realise that’s so cool (or well, hot)!
Show threadQuasit1d ago

@vitalis For some reason this reminds me of the SCA. 🤣

I never participated myself (except for a feast or two), but my poli sci advisor was a knight with a magnificent suit of full plate. He was about 6'6" and built like Godzilla.

But he's not the one I was thinking of. There was a guy, a mean and not-bright guy, who also fought in the SCA. He went to Pennsic. As you may know (or not), those who can't afford metal armor sometimes wear armor made out of carpet. This guy, being not too bright, got green-and-yellow shag carpeting of the type popular in the suburbs in the 1970s.

But instead of making armor out of it with the backing on the *outside*, he had the shaggy, colored part showing instead.

He was promptly dubbed "Swamp Thang". 🤣

By the way, your armor looks great!

#SCA #Pennsic #Armor #Humor

Show threadvitalis1d ago
I have visited my local SCA a few times and they are super fun people! though I admit I had a hard time taking their fighting seriously because they don’t have as much of a focus on practicing from historical fighting manuals like HEMA does. The shag carpet armor sounds hilarious 😂 I think that is what I do appreciate about the SCA, that they don’t take it so serious about stuff being anachronistic and not historical as long as people are having fun. I would love to experience Pennsic one day even if the SCA is not really my cup of tea.