The defences of the leg, made of mail like the hauberk, seem to have been used, at first, only by the nobles, if the Bayeux Tapestry is taken as a guide. The common soldiers wore linen or leather swathings, sometimes studded with metal, but in appearance closely resembling the modern puttee. The upper portion of the leg was protected at a later period with Chaussons, while the defences from knee to foot were called Chausses. Wace mentions ‘chauces de fer’, but we must remember, as was noticed in the introduction, that Wace wrote some seventy years after the Conquest, and probably described the accoutrements worn at his own time. The Bayeux Tapestry is nearer the period, as far as we can date it with any correctness, but here we are hampered to some extent by the crude methods of the embroideress. The chaussons are not often shown in illuminations, for the long-skirted hauberk covers the leg to the knee; but the chausses appear in all pictorial and sculptured records of the period, made either of mail or of pourpointerie, that is fabric studded with metal. Towards the end of the thirteenth century the chaussons and chausses were made in one stocking-like form covering the foot; this is shown on [Plate I], 8, 12. In the first of these illustrations only the front of the leg is covered, and the chausses are laced at the back.
As the manufacture of mail progressed the whole of the wearer’s person came to be protected by it. In addition to the coverings of the body we find continuations that protected arms and legs, and in course of time the neck and head were protected with a Coif or hood of mail, which is shown in use in [Plate I], No. 12, and thrown back on the shoulders on No. 8. Although of no protective use, the Surcoat is so essentially part of the war equipment of the knight that it needs more than a passing notice. It first appears on Royal seals at the beginning of the thirteenth century, in the reign of King John. Some modern writers have suggested that it was first used in the Crusades to keep the sun off the mail; however this may be, we have written proof that it was of use in protecting the intricate fabric of chain armour from the wet, which by rusting the metal played havoc with its serviceability. It will be seen in different lengths in the figures on [Plate I]. In The Avowynge of King Arthur, stanza 39, we find—
With scharpe weppun and schene
Gay gowns of grene,
To hold thayre armur clene
And were[7] hitte fro the wete.
Like the hauberk, the surcoat was slit to the waist in front and behind for convenience on horseback, and was usually girt at the waist with a cord or belt. It was frequently decorated with the armorial bearings of the wearer. When the barrel helm was worn, concealing the whole face, some such cognizance was necessary that the knight might be recognized. The Setvans brass ([Plate III]) shows the armorial device powdered over the surcoat.
The headpiece characteristic of the Norman Conquest is the conical nasal Helm. We should draw a distinction between the Helmet and the Helm. The former is, of course, a diminutive of the latter. At the time of the Norman Conquest the head covering would rank rather as a helmet, as it did not entirely cover the face. The Norman helmet was conical, usually formed of four triangular pieces of metal plate riveted in a ring and meeting at the apex. Sometimes a Nasal or nose-guard was added ([Plate I], 4, 6). That this nasal must have been broad enough to conceal the face to a great extent we may judge from the story how the Norman soldiers believed their leader to be killed, and how William, raising his helm, rode along the lines crying ‘I am here, and by God’s help I shall conquer’. The Bayeux Tapestry illustrates this incident. On some of the Conqueror’s seals we find the helmet tied on with laces. Earflaps were sometimes added, as may be seen on the chessmen found in the Isle of Lewis, now in the British Museum.
During the twelfth century the helmet gradually became the helm. The ear-flaps were fixed, becoming an integral part of the defence, and closed round to join the nasal, this arrangement forming at length the ventail or visor. This gives us what is known as the ‘Barrel helm’ ([Fig. 2]), in which the whole head is enclosed and the only opening in the front is the ‘ocularium’ or vision slit. Next we have the same kind of helm with the addition of holes for breathing in the lower portion ([Fig. 3]). In some varieties the back of the helm is shorter than the front, as on [Fig. 4], and in this kind also we sometimes find breathing holes added. The Great Seals of the kings are a most useful guide in discovering the accoutrements of each period, and especially so for the helms and helmets, which are easier to distinguish than the more minute details of dress and equipment. It will be understood that in time the flat-topped helm was given up in favour of the ‘Sugar-loaf’ helm ([Fig. 5]), as it is generally called, when we consider the importance of a ‘glancing surface’ in armour. Although thickness of material was of some importance in defensive armour, this providing of surfaces from which a weapon would slip was considered to be of supreme importance by the armour-smiths of later periods. In the conical helm, as indeed in nearly all great helms, the vision and breathing apertures were pierced in the plates of the helm itself and were not part of a movable visor, as was the case in the helmet. The weight of these helms must have been great; for they do not seem to have been bolted on to the shoulders, as were the fifteenth and sixteenth century tilting helms, but to have rested upon the crown of the head. The drawing on [Plate I], No. 8, shows a padded cap which was worn under the mail to protect the head from pressure. On No. 12 of the same plate we see the helm being put on over the mail coif; the padded cap is worn under the mail. For tournaments the helm was sometimes made of toughened leather, which was called ‘cuirbouilli’ from the fact that it was prepared by being boiled in oil and then moulded to shape. This material was very strong and serviceable and was used, as we shall see later on, for reinforcing the chain armour and also for horse armour. It was generally decorated with gilding and painting. For the tournament held at Windsor in 1278 we find mention of ‘xxxviii galee de cor’.[8] As we have shown, these great helms were not attached to the body armour and were thus liable to be struck off in battle. In order to recover them a chain was sometimes stapled to the helm and fastened to the waist or some portion of the body armour ([Fig. 6]).
The usual form of helmet in the twelfth century is the cup-shaped headpiece of which the Cervellière is a typical example ([Fig. 7]). It was either worn as the sole defence or was used in conjunction with the helm as an under-cap. The wide-rimmed hat of iron is found all through the period of defensive armour with which we deal. It appears in the thirteenth century ([Fig. 8]) and is also to be found in the fifteenth. There is an example of one of these war-hats (Eisenhut) in the museum at Nuremberg.