Benty Grange helmet
| Benty Grange helmet | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Protective weapon |
| Designations: | Benty Grange helmet |
| Use: | helmet |
| Region of origin / author: |
England , armory |
| Distribution: | England |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Benty-Grange helmet is a protective weapon from Anglo-Saxon England around 650 AD. It is included in the group of Nordic crest helmets . Based on the boar figure that adorns the crest, it is also known as the boar helmet .
description
The Benty-Grange helmet is made of iron . It was found on May 3, 1848 near Benty Grange Farm, south of Monyash in the Peak District National Park . The helmet consists of eight iron bands arranged in a cross shape, which are riveted at the end to a wide iron band that forms the edge of the helmet . The top of the helmet where the Helmet bands cross, the stylized figure of a boar from bronze riveted. On the back of the figure there is an incision into which a trim made of pig bristles could be made. The eyes of the Boar are made in gold combined red stones. The decorations on the shoulders, tusks and the dot-shaped decorations on the back and on the sides are also made of gold. The spaces between the bands were made of horn and have not been preserved.
An exact reconstruction was made in 1986 and is now kept together with the original in the Weston Park Museum in Sheffield .
So far only two of these "boar helmets" and a total of four Anglo-Saxon helmets have been found in England. Due to their design with the boar figure, a reference is made to Anglo-Saxon literature, in which such helmets were mentioned in stories and legends ( e.g. Beowulf ). It is not certain whether such helmets were used in combat, it is more likely that they served as parade or grand helmets.
literature
- John Blair, Nigel Ramsay (Eds.): English medieval industries. Craftsmen, techniques, products. Hambledon and London, London et al. 2001, ISBN 1-85285-326-3 .
- Thomas Bateman: Ten years' diggings in Celtic and Saxon grave hills, in the counties of Derby, Stafford, and York, from 1848 to 1858. With notices of some former discoveries, hitherto unpublished, and remarks on the crania and pottery from the mounds . JR Smith et al., London 1861, p. 30, fully available online .
Web links
- Benty-Grange helmet, as it is today, in the Weston Park Museum, Sheffield
- Reconstruction in the West Park Museum
- Boar figure, close-up
- Boar figure, reconstruction
Individual evidence
- ^ Heiko Steuer : Helmet and ring sword. Splendid armament and insignia of rank Germanic warriors. In: Studies on Saxony Research. Vol. 6, 1987, ISSN 0933-4734 , = publications of the prehistoric collections of the State Museum in Hanover. Vol. 34, pp. 190-236, PDF, 7 MB ( Memento from July 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ).
- ^ Website of the Weston Park Museum, available online, (accessed February 20, 2011) .