Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 1).djvu/117

 these crude portraits he wears a head-dress that is almost inexplicable; it might be a crown, a bonnet, or a form of helmet. On the great seal it has the appearance of a small hemispherical helmet with a raised nasal-*guard—the skull-piece being held in position by a cord or thong on the right-hand side (Fig. 51, a, b). This is but a conjecture on a point on which we are never likely to obtain enlightenment. On the coinage the headgear is more probably intended to be a crown, though it is of curious formation (Fig. 52, a, b).

(a)

(b)

Construed by John Hewitt. From "Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe," by John Hewitt

(a)

First type

(b)

Second type

If we refer to two of the most carefully worked of the helmets in the Bayeux needlework—that worn by Duke William in his ninth representation, and that worn by his attendant in his third representation (Fig. 53) we see that they are apparently made in segments, strengthened by additional bands, covering the joints in the skull-piece and continuing around the