Coventry Sallet | |
---|---|
Material | Steel |
Created | c. 1460 [1] |
Present location | Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry |
Registration | AR.1962.54 |
The Coventry Sallet is a 15th-century helmet now on display at Herbert Art Gallery and Museum. [2] English sallets have been considered both rare and important. [3]
The Sallet is 11 inches (28 cm) in height, 12.25 inches (31.1 cm) from front to back and is 7.75 inches (19.7 cm) wide. [2] It weighs 5.25 pounds (2.38 kg). [2] It has a short tail and a jawbone type visor with a brow reinforcing. [4] Stylistically, it is termed a "high crowned" helmet, different from the style usually seen in Italy or Germany. [5] A plume holder was added to the helmet at some time after its manufacture. [4]
The helmet was made around 1460, during the period of English civil conflict known as the Wars of the Roses, and the armourer's marks suggest that it was made by an artisan originating from Italy. [1] During the 19th century it was used in Coventry's Godiva Procession. [2] For a period it was kept on display at St Mary's Hall, Coventry, and is now shown at the city's Herbert Art Gallery and Museum. [2]
Very few pieces of English-made armour survive from this period; the Coventry Sallet is believed to be the only example of its type in England. [5]
Armour or armor is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or from a potentially dangerous environment or activity. Personal armour is used to protect soldiers and war animals. Vehicle armour is used on warships, armoured fighting vehicles, and some combat aircraft, mostly ground attack aircraft.
Boiled leather, often referred to by its French translation, cuir bouilli, was a historical material common in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period and used for various purposes. It was leather that had been treated so that it became tough and rigid, as well as able to hold moulded decoration. It was the usual material for the robust carrying-cases that were made for important pieces of metalwork, instruments such as astrolabes, personal sets of cutlery, books, pens and the like. It was used for some armour, being both much cheaper and much lighter than plate armour, but could not withstand a direct blow from a blade, nor a gunshot.
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