Watch Your Head
On the cusp of The Scourge:Nostrum release date, I thought it might be helpful to provide a few details about the helmets that Edward and Tristan wear (or should I say, the helmets that Edward wears and Tristan is always losing).
13th Century Greathelm
A 13th century great helm in the “None shall pass” style. I think this is what most people think of when they hear the term ‘great helm.’ The flat top was an inviting landing pad for hammers and spikes, so this design evolved to have a rounded top. Edward would not have worn this style of helmet.
Both Edward and Tristan wear great helms. Edward’s, I imagine, is something like the example below. In the late 14th century, Great helms like these were slowly being phased out by bascinets and sallets. The great helms were clunky, provided poor visibility, and the visors couldn’t be raised. But Edward was an old-school knight. And he would have shunned the new styles for as long as possible.
13th-14th Century “Sugarloaf” Great Helm
The helm I have Edward wearing in the books is would have been similar to this one. In the 1380s, this would have been a little old fashioned, but Edward prefers these helms to the newer fancy-schmancy bascinet helms with their raisable visors. I have to agree with him that these are more handsome in a “bad-ass” sort of way.
Edward’s crest was a unicorn. Yeah, a unicorn. It was pretty cool back then, so back off. He wouldn’t have worn the unicorn on campaign, but there’s a nifty illustration at Bodiam Castle that shows what this would look like. The illustration also includes some fascinating information on the heraldry of Edward and his family. And by fascinating, I mean, historical geek-out material.
Dallingridge Heraldry
Everything you didn’t realize you wanted to know about Edward Dallingridge’s (or Dallyngrigge’s, take your pick) heraldry.
That’s all for now, but I’ll be back (hopefully tomorrow) to talk about the release of The Scourge: Nostrum tomorrow. If you buy it, please drop me a line and let me know what you think of the first episode. I hope to see all of you on the Amazon Discussion Forums!
