THE BASSINET.
This helmet, the German “beckenhaube,” was round or conical, with a pointed apex. The large bassinet of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was very similar in all the countries of chivalry. It fitted close to the head, and was covered by the great helm in tilting. An example may be seen in Lincoln Cathedral. Before the visor appeared it was often fitted with a detachable nasal. As soon as the helm became visored, say in the first half of the fourteenth century (see an example in Alvechurch, Worcester), it assumed a great variety of form, and towards the end of the century often projected to a point like a beak. Other forms were concave, convex, and angular. Most of these may be seen in Stothard. There was also the small bassinet or cervelière, sometimes called cerebrerium. It was often worn under the hood, with a small quilted cap next the head. In the reign of Henry V. the bassinet became more like the sallad. The effigy of the Black Prince shows how the camail was attached to the bassinet by a silken lace through staples. There are some fine examples of the visored bassinet in the Johanneum at Dresden.