Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 1).djvu/319

 that part of the visor covering the chin and mouth is not acutely pointed but bombé in form with a central ridge, its lower edge being pointed and finishing in a small outward curl. There is an almost obliterated armourer's mark upon the skull-piece. This bascinet is probably Swiss of about 1390-1400. We know of no other bascinet of this period furnished with a visor quite of this type; but a detached visor much resembling it in form was excavated in Canton Solothurn, Switzerland (Fig. 287), and is now in the Landes Museum, Zurich. This visor is, however, more akin to the true pig-faced type; for though it is not pointed it is drawn out into a hemispherical snout, and is thus the direct prototype of those hemispherically-visored bascinets of the early part of the XVth century, which can be seen in the Musée d'Artillerie of Paris, H 22 (Fig. 288). In the case of this example, however, the visor is hinged at the side in the manner of those we are about to describe.

There is in the Musée Cluny, Paris, a very remarkable bascinet visor, a visor of the type to which we have been alluding, which must have been hinged to the forehead of the skull-piece. The face guard in question has a most curious profile, the ocularia being of eye-form and so influencing the whole shape of the upper half. The snout is very pronounced, and the spiracula with their accompanying protection ridges are most elaborate: indeed, the present writer believes this to be one of the most unusual bascinet visors extant. It is absolutely genuine, and dates from the end of the XIVth century. It is impossible to hazard a guess at its nationality.

The visored bascinets of which we shall now speak are all of the more advanced form. They have the visor hinged on either side of the skull-piece; they are larger, too, and they belong to the exaggerated pig-faced type. A fairly complete list of these particular helmets can be made out; but we shall discuss in detail only some of the more important ones, omitting with reluctance many contained in foreign armouries, which for various reasons we have not had the opportunity of personally inspecting.

The Wallace bascinet, No. 74 (Fig. 289), was formerly in the collection of Sir Samuel Meyrick, and was illustrated in "The Engraved Illustrations of Ancient Armour," by Joseph Skelton (Plate XIV, Figs. 4 and 5). It has a finely formed conical skull-piece, slightly ridged, and terminating in an acute point. A row of small holes follows the edge of the skull-piece for the attachment of the lining, the larger holes inside being made for the camail staples. The visor, which is of the accentuated pig-faced form, has on the right side thirty-five circular holes for breathing purposes. It is hinged on either side of the skull-piece immediately above the position of