page_title: Weaponry in Anglo-Saxon England
section_title: Helmets
hierarchical_section_title: Weaponry in Anglo-Saxon England / Armour and defensive equipment / Helmets
caption_attribution_description: The 8th century York Helmet is the most outstanding example of the Anglo-Saxon period to survive in Europe.
context_page_description: Many different weapons were created and used in Anglo-Saxon England between the fifth and eleventh centuries. Spears, used for piercing and throwing, were the most common weapon. Other commonplace weapons included the sword, axe, and knife—bows and arrows, as well as slings, were not frequently used by the Anglo-Saxons. For defensive purposes, the shield was the most common item used by warriors, although mail and helmets were sometimes used.
  Weapons also had symbolic value for the Anglo-Saxons, apparently having strong connections to gender and social status. Weapons were commonly included as grave goods in the early Anglo-Saxon burials. The vast majority of these weapons were buried in male graves, but there were some exceptions. In a non-funerary context, weapons were occasionally deposited in the ground or near rivers. However, the establishment of a literate Christian clergy in Anglo-Saxon England resulted in the production of several textual sources which describe weapons and their usage in battle. Some of these literary sources include the poems Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon.
context_section_description: The Old English word for helmet was helm. In battle, helmets would have served to protect the wearer's head from enemy blows. Evidence indicates that helmets were never common in Anglo-Saxon England, although their usage may have increased by the eleventh century. Cnut the Great issued an edict in 1008 which required that warriors in active service possess a helmet. In that same year, Aethelred the Unready ordered the manufacture of helmets. The Bayeux Tapestry reflects the idea that helmets were a standard piece of military equipment for an Anglo-Saxon army by 1066. Late Anglo-Saxon literature, such as Beowulf, also makes some references to helmets. 
  Four mostly intact Anglo-Saxon helmets have been discovered, although archaeologists have unearthed additional fragments of what might have been helmets. All the helmets which have been found are substantially different from the others in their construction and ornamentation. It is possible that most helmets were made of boiled leather and therefore did not physically survive.
  The earliest known example was found at Sutton Hoo, an elite burial from the seventh century. However, the helmet itself could date as early as the first quarter of the sixth century. The helmet's bowl comprises one piece of metal, and attached to it are cheek pieces, a metal neck guard, and a face mask. The helmet is elaborately decorated; a winged dragon on the face plate soars upwards to confront a two-headed dragon running along the crest, while embossed foil sheets of tinned bronze, forming five different designs, cover nearly the entire helmet. The decorations on the helmet are similar to others found in England, as well as Germany and Scandinavia. The helmet itself bears similarity to helmets found at Vendel and Valsgärde in Sweden, leading to speculation that it was made in Sweden or by a Swedish craftsman who lived in England. Possible fragments of helmet crests similar to the one at Sutton Hoo  have been discovered in Rempstone, Nottinghamshire, and in Icklingham, Suffolk—this suggests that these helmets may have been more common than the evidence indicates.
  In 1848, Thomas Bateman discovered the mid-seventh century Benty Grange helmet at Benty Grange, Derbyshire. The frame comprises seven pieces of iron, and the helmet is crested with a bronze boar figure—the figure is decorated with garnet eyes mounted in beaded gold, along with gilded, inlayed tusks and ears. In Guilden Morden, Cambridgeshire, another bronze boar was discovered at a female grave. The boar was apparently a helmet crest, but no other helmet pieces were found there; therefore, the crest may have been detached from the helmet before being buried. There is also a boar crest on the Pioneer Helmet, unearthed in Wollaston, Northamptonshire, although this boar was made with iron.
  The Coppergate helmet, from the middle to late eighth century, was found in a Viking settlement in York, but the helmet itself was made by the Angles. Iron plates were used to construct the helmet bowl—iron cheek-pieces were hinged to the sides, and curtain of mail was attached at the back of the helmet for neck protection. The nasal plate, interlaced with engravings of animals, extended over the eyebrows and ended in small canine designs at the head. At the two helmet crests, there are Latin inscriptions praising the Christian Trinity.
caption: The Coppergate Helmet
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