Close helmet The close helmet , also called the close helm was a military helmet worn by knights and other men - at - arms in the Late Medieval and Renaissance eras . It was also used by some heavily armoured , pistol - armed , cuirassier s into the mid 17th century . It was a fully enclosing helmet with a pivoting visor and integral bevor . Characteristics . The close helmet was developed from the later versions of the sallet and the superficially similar armet in the late 15th century . In contemporary sources it was sometimes also referred to as an ' armet ' , though modern scholarship draws a clear distinction between the two types . While outwardly very similar to the armet , the close helmet had an entirely different method of opening . Like the armet , the close helmet followed the contours of the head and neck closely , and narrowed at the throat , therefore it required a mechanical method for opening and closing . While an armet opened laterally using two large hinged cheekpieces , a close helmet instead opened vertically via an integral rotating bevor , which was attached to the same pivots as its visor . The moving parts were usually secured when closed by pivot - hooks engaging pierced staples . Alternatively , spring - loaded studs could be employed . The bevor was often held closed by a strap . Variations . Beginning at around 1500 armour , including helmets , became more immediately influenced by fashion , especially in civilian clothing . As a result close helmets came in a huge variety of forms . The earliest close helmets resembled contemporary armets . In Italy , England and France in the period 1510 - 25 helmets were rounded with visors of the ' sparrow ' s beak ' form , whearas in Germany the fluted ' Maximillian ' style of armour produced distinctive types of helmet . The skulls of these helmets were globular with a low crest , many were decorated with fluting but some were plain . Two types of visor were produced , the Nuremberg form which had a ' bellows ' shape , and the Augsburg form which was more projecting and is commonly called a ' monkey face ' . From the 1520s a new , almost universal , variety of close helmet was developed . The previous forms of one - piece visor were replaced by a more complex system of face covering . The visor was split , below the eye - slits , into two independently pivoting parts . The lower half , called the ventail or upper bevor , was projecting and shaped like the prow of a modern ship . The upper visor , when closed , fitted within the upper edge of the ventail ; it could be raised independently of the ventail by the provision of a projecting lifting peg . At the same time , on most helmets , the base of the bevor and the lower edge of the skull had laminated gorget plates attached . Crests , running from front to back tended to become taller in the course of the 16th century , becoming particularly exaggerated in some Italian - made examples , before becoming reduced in size at the century ' s close . There are many helmets surviving with ' grotesque ' visors . These are thought to have been used as part of a ' costume armour ' worn at parades and during festivities . Some of these masks portrayed the heads of animals or demons , whilst others were evidently for comic effect , being caricatures of the faces of their owners . Use . The close helmet was used on the field of battle , but was also popular for use in tournaments . Wealthy men often owned " garnitures " , which were armours with interchangeable parts to suit heavy or light field use , and the many different forms of tournament combat . Garnitures would usually include elements for reinforcing the left side of the helmet for use in jousting . Such reinforcing pieces were called " double pieces " or " pieces of advantage " .