Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 2).djvu/159

 (Fig. 460, a, b, c) should rank as one of these so-called Anglo-German helms, German in conception but English in make. It now hangs over the tomb of Sir John Dawtrey on the north wall of the chapel of St. Thomas à Beckett, known as the Northumberland chapel. As Sir John Dawtrey died in 1527, about the period when the helm was made, there is the possibility that it is now hanging in its proper position above the tomb to which it belongs. This helm closely resembles in contour the Brocas-Woolwich example; but it is less fine in its lines and construction, not so ample in its proportions, and lacking in general aspect that grandeur which makes the Woolwich helm so remarkable. It has rather the inclination towards the form assumed by that family of somewhat cylindrical English helms which are mentioned on pages 106-114; but it is more shapely, the almost S-shaped swing of the line from the base of the recessed backplate to the front apex of the visor being particularly effective. The fastenings in front and back are missing, and nearly all the rivets that secured the plates together are also wanting, the parts being only held together by three or four unclinched nails. On this evidence it has been suggested that the helm was never finished, and that it was bought for funerary purposes only. But the present writer feels that so far from the helm being unfinished, it is one which had been discarded; for on the evidence of the numerous holes in the gorget of the helm it is apparent that its original mode of attachment to the breastplate has been several times altered, and that finally its lower edge has been cut away to adapt it for funerary purposes. It has been painted brown—there are traces of decoration upon it in some lighter colour. The weight of this helm is 21-1/4 lb. The excellent photographs of the helm which we present have been taken by kind permission of the Earl of Leconfield and through the courtesy of the vicar of St. Mary's Church, Petworth, the Rev. Thomas Penrose.

We will now turn to that characteristic helm of German make in the Wallace Collection, the first we describe of the real German series (Fig. 461). It is on the suit of tilting armour, No. 327. We had better give a detailed account both of the helm and of the body armour; for in describing this suit and its parts, the only genuine harness of its kind in a British collection, and allowing for certain variations, we are delineating the general construction of almost every German harness made for use in the German joust. The Wallace helm weighs 20 lb., the whole suit, inclusive of the helm, 96 lb.

The surface of the helm and of the palettes of the body armour is in many cases deeply grooved and indented, owing to lance thrusts, which seem almost as if they had been dealt with the pointed lance à outrance, and