13th Century Great Helm and Cervellière
Based on late 13th century helmets worn in the opening years of the Hundred Years War, the cervellière and greathelm were often worn in combination by mounted knights and men at arms. The cervellière was a steel skullcap often joined by a maille aventail. It was worn in conjunction with a greathelm that was joined to the wearer’s armour by a long chain. After the initial charge, the wearer could remove and sling the helm over their shoulder while retaining a decent amount of protection from the cervellière and aventail. Eventually the greathelm was removed, a visor was attached to the cervellière and the evolved result was the bascinet. This particular client requested that a bargrill and fencing mesh be added to the cervellière to allow complete protection that wouldn’t interfere with the historical functioning of the piece.