08.08.2012

Rediscovering Bernard Engel’s

By Arkadiusz Michalak and Marcin Glinianowicz

There is a very interesting helmet in the collection of the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw (without Inv. No), which bears over 50 armourers’ marks on its surface1. It has been described in the museum inventory as acquired in 1945, but unfortunately we do not have any further information from where was it obtained and in what circumstances this occurred. The object has a shallow, hemispherical skull, probably made from one piece of metal sheet, with a distinctly marked ridge running across the central part of the skull (Fig. 1:1-3, 5). On the top there is some clear damage, presumably caused by one or more powerful strikes (Fig. 1:6). This place was patched by riveting on two pieces of metal sheet from the inside, and this was presumably done during the time when the helmet was actually used2. This can be assu- med not only based on the way the helmet was repaired, which has parallels in examples of armour from Germany, but also on the presence of a craftsman’s mark in the form of a Gothic letter T, stamped next to the repairs (Fig. 1:6). On the bottom edge of the helmet there are 14 holes for fastening the lining. The intervals between them are 50 mm and in some of them the rivets still remain (Fig. 1:1-5). In the rear part of the helmet there are also two small holes, 40 mm from the bottom edge (Fig. 1:1-3, 5). On both sides of the helmet, a bit higher than those for the lining, there are also holes of a larger diameter, which were likely used for attaching the chin strap (Fig. 1:2). The dimensions of the helmet are as follows (measured on the outer sur- face of the plate): height 164 mm, width 202 mm, length 236 mm, circumference of the bottom edge 680 mm, weight 1841 g. Measurements of the plate thickness of the skull taken in several places showed that the armourer differentiated the plate thickness in the following way: frontal part 3 mm, top and temporal parts 2.5 mm, occipital part 2 mm. On the level of the row of holes and slightly above it, one can discern several dozen blacks- miths’ marks of different designs (Fig. 3). in the shape of a hemispherical skullcap were extremely popular during the whole medieval period and into the following centuries. Because of the additional elements which were often attached to the skull, they have been variously named in literature on arms and armour (skull-cap, small , Cervellière, Hirnhaube, Beckenhaube, Kalottenhelm, lebka, secret helm) (Gelli 1900, 154). The most common term – cervellière – which is characte- ristic mainly for medieval sources, was presumably used synonymously with the term bascinet

1 Arkadiusz Michalak and Marcin Glinianowicz

Fig. 1: The helmet from the collection of the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw: 1-5 general views, 6 close-up of damage (photo by Tomasz Rajtar).

2 Rediscovering Bernard Engel’s helmet

(Blair 1958, 51). Very quickly it became popular in French records (Viollet-le-Duc 1874, 256-257). One should however remember that this term was also used to describe the arming- cap or helmet lining3. In other French sources from the 14th-16th c. helmets of hemispherical skullcap shape are also named: huvette, bonnet, chapeau d’écailles (F. Buttin 1971). In the inven- tory of the de Medici family property, which was written in 1492, at the time of death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, this kind of head protection was probably recorded as mezza testa (half head) (Scalini 1979, 19, 22, Figs. 8 and 10)4. Because of the simplicity of the form, the origin of this kind of helmet is very difficult to establish. Considering iconographical sources, it is very likely that they could have evolved from so-called “Norman” helmets with nasals of the 11th. Illuminations of the Hortus Delicia- rum manuscript, which was prepared in 1167-1185 (Green et al. 1979), shows us that during the 12th-13th c. this type had a less conical shape of the skull, gaining a more hemispherical shape of its upper part (Blair 1958, 29). In some contradiction with this statement stands a depiction from the 10th c. illuminated manuscript Gerona Beatus, from Girona Cathedral in Catalonia, where in one scene riders wear both conical “Norman” and hemispherical helmets of cervellière type over mail coifs (Beatus Liebanensis 2004). Such helmets appear very early in Italy, where they are known from iconography already from at least the 2nd half of the 12th c. One of the clearest depictions from this period appears on the main portal of the Cathedral in Ferrara (Basilica Cattedrale di San Giorgio Martire) (Andreotti 1987). According to C. Blair and G. F. Laking, the cervellière was the most popular head-protection after 1220 and it remained in wide use to the end of the 13th c. From 1250 it was frequently worn under the mail where it replaced helmets with flat or slightly domed tops (Laking 1919, 111; Blair 1958, 30). Hemispherical helmets are also shown in a great diversity of forms in the 13th- c. Maciejowski Bible, which was most likely illuminated in the northern counties of France. The helmets are only visible in this source in the depictions of warriors who wear their coifs thrown back on their necks. Images from this manuscript also show the manner in which the helmet was worn – on the bare head and fastened with a chin strap (Cockerel et al. 1927). This must have been an pan-European tendency, because a depiction of a helmet worn like this, used however without a coif, is known from the fresco The capture of Nappo della Torre, which was created by the Lombard School circle at the end of the 13th c. (Rossi 1990, 6-7). From a slightly later period come iconographical sources which show the use of this helmet without a chin strap (a fresco from Seckau Abteikirche, dated to c. 1270 – Lanc 2002) and worn under the (The Betrayal, carving presumably from the area of Amiens, Verman- dois, c. 1275-1300 - Nicolle 1999, cat. 45). Several helmets of this kind are known from European collections, however, the concentration of such finds in Switzerland seems to be non-accidental. The chronology of specimens referred to in German-language literature as Kalottenhelm or Hirnhaube, is very broad. The helmets from Chamoson, Kt. Wallis5 and Niederrealta, Kt. Graubünden (accidentally discovered and ana- logous to each other), which are fitted on the bottom edges with decorative bands with studs, are dated to the beginning of the 12th c. (Geßler 1929, 48, Taf. V-VI; Geßler 1930; Schneider 1967). Their later use is confirmed not only by iconography (e.g., a depiction on a silver reliquary from the hoard from St. Maurice Abbey, Kt. Wallis, dated to the 2nd half of the 12th c., or from the later illumination presenting Herrand von Wildonie in the 14th c. Codex Manesse – Koschorreck, Wilfried 1981, fol. 201r). This fact also seems to be confirmed by original finds. The chronological position of a partially preserved specimen, discovered during archaeological excavations of Freudenau Castle, Kt. Aargau, was established thanks to associ-

3 Arkadiusz Michalak and Marcin Glinianowicz ated artefacts in the 2nd half of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th c. (Baumann, Frey 1983, 54, Taf. 28:3; Krauskopf 2005, 196, Taf. 28: 3). Similarly, Hugo Schneider (1986, 28, 32, fig. 7-12), dated to c. 1300 a Hirnhaube which was reused to manufacture a kettle- found in Innerjuvalta, Kt. Graubünden. It seems that in the beginning of the 14th c. helmets with a hemispherical skull shape, were gradually losing their popularity to early forms of (Blair 1958, 51). In the period between 1310 and 1330, helmets of type were sometimes shown in the art with small ridges, even though specimens like those shown e.g. in the Maciejowski Bible were still in use (Blair 1958, 51). In the same period this kind of head protection may have also been used as a “secret” helm, worn under the . Such a possibility is supported by the illumination of Dying Roland from Chronique du Monde of Rudolf von Ems, which is dated to the 14th c. (Ehrisman 1967). Several scholars who studied the development of this kind of helmet in the High Middle Ages (e.g., Laking 1919, 112-113; Blair 1958, fig. 38), emphasized that it also reappeared at the end of the Late Middle Ages and at the beginning of the Early Modern period. For an exam- ple of this type of helmet, they point to a woodcut by Hans Burgkmaier, which was most likely created c. 1520/1530 and which depicts a captain of German Landsknechts (Ffoulkes 1912, Fig. 46; Blair 1958, Fig. 38; Segern 2003, 323, cat. 26). In order to support his opini- on, G. F. Laking presented a helmet of this type from his private collection, cut out above the ears and with a row of holes for the lining (Fig. 2:10). It has been dated to the 3rd quarter of the 15th c. (Laking 1919, 112-113, Fig. 138). Today we know that similar specimens can be found in museum collections in the whole world. One such specimen is also stored in the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum in Zürich (Fig. 2:8) (Geßler 1928, Taf. 23). Unfortunately, we do not know anything about its chronology and origin. A fragment of a very similar helmet, erroneously taken by its discoverers for a cooking pot, was excavated during the examination of the stronghold in Kežmarok in Slovakia from the trench XLIV/67 (Fig. 2:7) (Polla 1971, 65, obr. 71). This specimen, 225 mm in diameter, with a conical finial on the top, was fitted round the lower edge of the skull with decorative rivets for fastening the lining. There were also rivets on one side of the helmet for attaching the chin strap (Slivka 1980, 254, 1:7). Based on its form and due to Renaissance stove tiles discovered in the trench, it may be dated to the beginning of the 16th c. Yet another helmet of this type, dated to the beginning of the 15th c., is preserved in the Deutsches Historisches Museum (DHM) (formerly Museum für Deutsche Geschichte) in Berlin (W617). Its lower edge was decoratively cut out in its front part and there is a smaller, semicircular notch in the back. Above the latter element there is a long horizontal incision, which was completed with a metal sheet, riveted from inside. On the top of the helmet there is a small round hole (Fig. 2:5) (Müller, Kölling 1984, 256-257, cat. 19). Two helmets of this type with straight bottom edges were also stored in the collection of the Royal Armoury in Dresden (Rüstkammer) (Nos. 14 and 15), which can be inferred from photographs found in the www.fotomarburg.de archive (Neg. No. FD 11 298), taken before 1945. Unfortunately we do not have any other information about their further fate. Two further helmets of this kind were discovered along with other artefacts from the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th c. (5 helmets, 12 breast- and backplates, 2 chainmails, 14 swords and sabers, 23 specimens of firearms) (Kovács 1994), in the Kopaszi sand-pit in Hungary in 1873 (Kovács 1994, kep. 2:2-3). The first helmet’s (Inv. No. 55.3207) rear tapers slightly, and rivets and rivet-holes are visible around the bottom edge. Its dimensions are:

4 Rediscovering Bernard Engel’s helmet

Fig. 2: Parallel examples of helmets with hemispherical skulls: 1 The armoury of the Knights of St. John in Rho- des. After Karcheski, Richardson 2000, 18; 2 The Collezione Odeschalchi (Inv. no. 749). After di Carpegna 1969, cat. 28; 3 Perugia. 3, 11 After Wilbrand 1917, 202; 4 The Rutherford Stuyvesant Collection. After Peterson 1956, fig. 117; 5 The Museum für Deutsche Geschichte (now Deutsches Historisches Museum) in Berlin (W617). After Müller, Kölling 1984, 256-257, cat. 19; 6 San Gabriel del Yunque. After Peterson 1956, Pl. 118; 7 Stronghold in Kežmarok. After Polla 1971, obr. 71; 8 The Schweizerisches Landesmuseum in Zurich. After Geßler 1928, Taf. 23; 9 Found near Rome. After de Cosson, Burgess 1881, Pl. II: 28; 10 For- mer G. F. Laking collection. after Laking 1919, Fig. 138; 11 Former Wilibrand collection. After Wilbrand 1917, 201; 12-14 From Kopaszi sand-pit. After Kovács 1994, kep. 2:1-3.

5 Arkadiusz Michalak and Marcin Glinianowicz height: 150 mm, width: 205 mm, length: 243 mm (Fig. 2:12). The other one (Inv. No. 56.5602) is also of a hemispherical shape; it is unadorned, with rivets and rivet-holes around the lower rim. According to T. S. Kovács (1994, 252) these rivets testify to the fact that a nose-guard and ear-guards were once attached to the helmet. The rear edge is swept upwards to a height of 16 mm. The rivet-holes that are arranged here in a triangular form make it possible that the helmet also had a neck-guard. On the outer side of the swept rear edge a mark of the city of Nürnberg is visible, while on its inner side a blacksmith’s mark can be found (Fig. 2:13). The dimensions of the helmet are: height: 120 mm, width: 229 mm, length: 230 mm (Kovács 1994, kep. 11/6.). This find is possibly related to the siege of Buda by Ferdinand I in 1530 or 1541 (Kovács 1994)6. Another artefact of this form was also preserved in the armoury of the Knights of St. John in Rhodes (Dean estate number 96). After the Rhodes arsenal collection had been dispersed, this helmet was acquired by the Higgins Armoury Museum (No. 886). With its height being 99 mm, its width 154 mm and its length 199 mm, it weighs 240 g. On the surface of this helmet some remains of dark red paint have been discovered, which may suggest that it was once completely covered with painting (Fig. 2:1). According to Karcheski and Richardson (2000, 18), it was manufactured in a North Italian workshop and it can be dated to 1490-1500. Presumably from the territory of Italy comes a cervélliere from the Collezione Odeschalchi (Inv. No. 749), which can be dated to the mid-15th c. (di Carpegna 1969, cat. 28). It also has a row of holes for fastening the lining, just above the bottom edge of the helmet, and there is con- siderable damage on one side (Fig. 2:2). A helmet of this type may also have been stored in the collection of the Military Museum in Istanbul. Military artefacts of European origin, which were given to the Porta as gifts or were obtained as war booty, were often preserved there. A large part of this collection was dispersed, however, and only thanks to the photographs made by Bashford Dean, who travelled throughout Europe in 1919-1920 and documented it, do we have a chance to study these artefacts today (Pyhrr 1989, 92, Fig. 12g). He recorded 66 helmets from the museum collection, which can be dated to the period between the late 14th and the mid-17th c. Among them there was a specimen with a hemispherical skull, with a straight bottom edge and a row of regular holes for lining in it. Unfortunately we do not have any further information about it. In 1952 yet another specimen of this kind of helmet was discovered by an Indian in New Mexico, in the ruins of San Gabriel del Yunque. Harold Peterson (1955) described it as an archer’s salade and dated it to the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th c. (Fig. 2:6). According to this scholar, it might have been an element of the equipment of a Spanish expe- dition to New Mexico at the beginning of the 17th c., led by Don Juan de Oñate (Peterson 1956, 109)7. Another similar helm of this type is preserved in the Rutherford Stuyvesant Collection (Dean 1914, 9, Pl. II; Peterson 1955, Fig. 1). We can distinguish two distinct typological groups in the presented set of artefacts: those with cut-outs over the ears (former Laking’s collection, former Wilibrand’s collection, Rutherford Stu- yvesant Collection) and those without this element (with a straight bottom edge) (San Gabriel del Yunque, Military Museum in Istanbul, Collezione Odeschalchi, Higgins Armoury Museum, Kežmarok, Royal Armoury in Dresden, Schweizerisches Landesmuseum in Zürich, Peruggia). This attribute, however, seems to have no chronological significance. The second group obvious- ly dominates among known helmets with hemispherical skulls. One helmet from the Deutsches Historisches Museum (formely Museum für Deutsche Geschichte) in Berlin is of a completely different form and it probably should be, because of its earlier dating, considered separately.

6 Rediscovering Bernard Engel’s helmet

The above-mentioned parallels, which are mainly from the end of the 15th and the beginnings of the 16th c., indicate that the helmet from the Warsaw Museum collection should be dated to the same period. When the so-called Maximilian armour became fashionable throughout Europe in the 16th c., its characteristic decorative elements – radially disposed grooves (flutings) – also appeared on hemispherical helmets. A flattening of the top part of the skull can be also noticed around this time. Helmets of this kind, which are generally dated to the 16th c., are known from the collection of the National Museum in Budapest, and also the Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu (Kalmar 1971, 280, 59 kep; Niţoi 2007, 90). However, they must already have appeared at the beginning of the 16th c. and coexisted with specimens with smooth-surfaced skulls, as is confirmed by the Kopaszi sand-pit find, where artefacts from both groups were actually found together (Fig. 2:14) (Kovács 1994, kep 2:1). Specimens of this second kind may also have remained in use for a longer time. However, concerning those later artefacts worn under as secret helmets, these do not have a row of holes on their bottom edges8. A row of small, double holes on the lower edge which appear in all the above-mentioned helmets, was probably used for attaching a padded lining. In other kinds of helmets, apart from its decorative nature, it might also have protected the helmet against corrosion by preventing direct contact of the sweaty padded cap with the inner surface. In the case of those cervélliere-type helmets without the strap suspension system, it seems that the most important function of lining was to absorb the shock of blows. Thanks to the preserved remains of lining in the helmet from Niederealta, we know that it was composed of two layers of linen fabric (the outer was thicker and the inner was thinner), which were stuffed with hay, wool or hemp and closely quilted. In the place where it was fastened to the helmet, the lining was moreover strengthened by a leather strap, placed under a linen covering. Additionally, at the base of the helmet a double stuffed linen roll quilted with thick thread was attached for a better fit to the head and to provide more cushioning (Schneider 1967, 82, Abb. 9). Thick lining might, however, still not give enough protection against heavy blows, and this is probably why armourers used different proven solutions which they had already tried on other helmets. In the Arrival of the Pilgrims at Cologne scene, from Vittorre Carpaccio’s cycle of the Legend of Saint Ursula (today in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice), painted in 1497- 1498, helmets of this kind are worn over padded caps (Zorzi 1998). The above-mentioned scene, as well as another one from the same cycle, The Martyrdom and the Funeral of St. Ursula, also inform us about the possibility of putting decorative crests in the form of peacock or ostrich feathers on the helmets of cervélliere type (Zorzi 1998). It seems to be very probable that such helmets might have also been fitted with fabric cove- ring. In at least four wills from England written between 1571 and 1582, we find “steel cups with covers.” In another record, the Lancashire Lieutenancy Accounts of Elizabeth’s time, the archer’s dress includes his “scull and Scottish cap to cover the same” (Dillon 1903, 109). In Italian written sources, helmets with hemispherical skulls and textile covering were pre- sumably recorded as scuffia or cuffia. According to Baron de Cosson, a helmet of this kind was found near Rome with a skeleton, a dagger and a fragment of a . Rows of larger holes radiating from the helmet’s centre were there to give coolness and ventilation, which was very necessary in such a close fitting headpiece (Fig. 2:9). It was dated to 1450-1490 (de Cosson, Burgess 1881, 507, No. 35, Pl. II: 28).

7 Arkadiusz Michalak and Marcin Glinianowicz

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The search in the relevant literature for the best analogies for the helmet from the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw led us to the discovery that it had previously been published in Zeitschrift für Historische Waffen- und Kostümkunde in 1911, as a part of the private collection of Bernhard Engel (1858-1938) (Engel 1911). Being a highly estimated director of the land court (Landgerichtsdirektor) and a major of the Landwehr, who worked and lived in that time in Poznań/Posen, he had started to collect military artefacts as early as the 1870s (Seger 1938, 39). His collection was much appreciated throughout all of Europe. Engel stated in his article that he had bought this helmet in southern Germany, and that previously it had presumably been in the collection of a family who lived in Switzerland (Engel 1911, 186-187). According to him, this localization is supported by one of the marks on the helmet, in the form of St. Andrew’s cross with a point in each corner, although this assumption is not certain, because some scholars considered such signs as German. When the helmet was in Engel’s collection it weighed 1,85 kg, was 150 mm high, 230 mm long and 195 mm wide. The then owner also mentioned at least 6 holes on the bottom edge, which were filled with copper rivets (Engel 1911, 187). As the only known parallel specimen to this kind of helmet, Engel mentioned the artefact from Karl Georg Gimbel’s (from Baden-Baden) private collection (Gimbel 1904, 21, No. 44, Taf. VII). This specimen was 210 mm long, 180 mm wide and 140 mm high. On its surface there were three armourers’ marks, including one in the shape of the crowned letters OR and the twice repeated letters NA with a Latin cross on their top, which can be assigned to Lombard armourers’ workshops (Boccia 1982, 283- 290). According to the former owner, this helmet can be dated to the 2nd half of the 15th c. Engel thought that the helmet from his collection was originally owned by a guild of crafts- men, which had stamped marks of all of its members on the helmet’s surface. According to him, the order of these signs might not have been accidental. Members who joined the guild later might have put their marks in the second row. Several symbols on the helmet are indeed stamped slightly above the others. According to Engel, this helmet might have also been a guild’s booty, maybe a souvenir from taking a noble knight prisoner or a enduring testimony, where all the marks of a group of fellow companions were displayed (Engel 1911, 188). Regrettably, Engel was unsuccessful in establishing to which guild the helmet might have belonged. For unknown reasons, Engel later started to sell his collection. Even before the First World War, he had already sold a set of helmets and armour to Berliner Zeughaus (we cannot exclude that the helmet discussed here was among them) and in 1928 he finally liquidated his colle- ction, selling its second part to the Schlesisches Museum für Kunstgewerbe und Altertümer in Wrocław/Breslau (Seger 1938, 39). Six years after Engel’s article, two other helmets of similar shape were published by W. Wilbrand (1917). The first one was probably discovered during diggings. This can be assu- med from the traces of corrosion on its surface. Just like the helmet from Engel’s collection, it has some large damage on the top of the skull, which was presumably caused by a blow (Fig. 2:11). Again, this specimen had been repaired with a riveted metal sheet. In contrast to the helmets from Engel’s and Gimbel’s collections, it had no ridge in the central part of the skull, but it had cutouts above the ears – the element that both helmets from private collec- tions did not have. On the bottom edge there was a row of several holes for attaching the lining. Additional holes above the ear cutout may also have been used for fastening the lining,

8 Rediscovering Bernard Engel’s helmet the chin strap or small, round earguards9, such as the ones often depicted in medieval icono- graphy (Engel 1917, 262). On the lower part of the helmet, copper rivets were used to attach a decorative band, made of the same material and 20 mm wide. This band, according to Wilbrand, was intended for attaching additional throat and neck protection (Wilbrand 1917, 201). An analogous way of attachment is known from a 14th-c. helmet from Karl Gimbel’s collection (1904, 37). The bottom edge of the artefact mentioned by Wilbrand, as well as the partially decorated band were signed with over 60 armourers’ marks. A part of these symbols occurred repeatedly, and a few of them were actually parallel to the ones from Engel’s helmet (Wilbrand 1917, 201-202). The second helmet published by Wilbrand came from Perugia. It was of hemispherical shape with a centrally placed ridge. On one side it had a riveted “loop”, which was like the one in the helmet from Kežmarok. The author identified this artefact as an early type of and dated it to the 1st half of the 15th c. The top part of the skull was heavily corroded. What is extremely curious is that a large area of damage, caused probably by a blow, also appeared on one side of the artefact, close to the bottom edge of the helmet. Just like in Engel’s helmet and the previously discussed specimen, there was an attempt to repair it by riveting on a metal sheet (Fig. 2:3). On the lower edge of this helmet, starting from the central part of its front, some 50 marks had been stamped, some of them repeatedly (Wilbrand 1917, 202). Wilbrand considered Engel’s explanation about the appearance of so many marks on the helmet’s surface as a highly romantic vision (Wilbrand 1917, 202). Instead, he came to a conclusion that the diversity of forms of these signs from all three helmets might have been connected with the protective power which Cabbalistic symbols were supposed to give to the helmet’s bearer. Wilbrand’s theory seems very fantastic, but it should be treated as an effect of the then fashionable tendency to search for a connection between different symbols and the Cabbalah and astrology (see: Rambaldi 1922). It seems that the reason why so many marks were stamped on the helmets from the former Engel and Wilbrand collections lies in the signs themselves. The most meaningful seems to be the emblem of a Gothic letter T, repeated twice on the surface of the helmet, which is also much larger than the other signs (Fig. 1:6, 2:2). It may represent the mark of the armourer who made or repaired the helmet. This kind of sign can be seen of parts of one armour from Churburg (CH 18) (Trapp 1929, 41; Scalini 1996, 394) and Chalkis, which is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York (29.150.135) (ffoulkes 1911; Boccia, Coelho 1967, 136). These products are assigned to Tommaso Missaglia, the armourer who was mentioned in sources between 1430 and 1451 (Boeheim 1897, 140-141; Mann 1930, 142), and who later changed his mark, a frequent practice in this family (Camp 1919, 192). He was not the only maker who was using the Gothic letter T. This emblem is also considered as a mark of Balzarino da Trezzo, who was mentioned in written sources in 1438, as well as of Tommaso da Vimercate from Brescia (Boccia, Coelho 1967, 136; Boccia 1982, 288). The example of the Gothic letter T is very significant and shows difficulties which the resear- cher has to face when attempting to relate products to a specific armourer’s workshop. These kinds of problems are also posed by other marks from this helmet (Fig. 3). Symbols in the shape of crescents, many-petalled flowers, the Gothic letters H and S, rosettes, stars, crosses, crosiers, tongs and fleur-de-lis, were extremely popular as armourers’ marks (Boeheim 1897; ffoulkes 1912, 148-151; Gyngell 1959; Nickel 1974, 281-311). Considering the lack of sufficiently close and unquestionable parallels as well as the similarity to many signs known from other weapon artefacts, the authors have decided not to list any examples of comparable marks here.

9 Arkadiusz Michalak and Marcin Glinianowicz

Fig. 3: 1-8 Armourers marks on the bottom edge of the helmet from the collection of the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw (photo by Tomasz Rajtar).

In our opinion, the occurrence of so many armourers’ marks may be connected with a testing of the helmet’s quality to resist blows from offensive weapons. These kinds of “warranties” were given by applying those weapons which were most commonly in use in that time: swords, axes, spears, bows, crossbows, and in the later period also firearms. A note from the Archives Camerales de Turin, Comptes Tres. gen. de Savoie (No. 38, fol. 62v) from 1390 mentions an armour able to resist all blows (de toute botte) (Ffoulkes 1912, 62). Other body defences à toute épreuve, i.e., proved by sword and crossbow, which are known from written sources, are mentioned in the work by Charles Buttin (1901, 10-29). Apart from those armours proved against all blows, we can also find armour à demi épreuve in sources – proved by a light lever crossbow or by javelin thrown by hand. On the surface of some artefacts, proof marks of crossbow bolts or bullets can be found as a testimony to that fact (Buttin 1901,

10 Rediscovering Bernard Engel’s helmet

39-52; Williams, Edge, Atkins 2006). Ordinances of the armourers of the French cities of Angers or Paris from 1451 ordered members to distinguish both kind of qualities by stam- ping their products à toute épreuve with two repeated marks, and those à demi épreuve with only one mark (Buttin 1901, 31-32; Ffoulkes 1912, Appendix E). The proving of armour with double marks can be observed on several dozen artefacts from European collections, to men- tion only the brigantine G206 from the Musée de l’Armée (Buttin 1901, 33), or three Italian barbutae from the Tower of London (IV.7, IV. 17-18) (Dufty 1968, Pls. LXXIV, LXXV). Ch. Buttin (1901, 34-35) also listed examples of brigantines with proof marks repeated twice on each plate. On some specimens of defensive armour the two signs do not appear close to each other, but e. g. symmetrically on both sides of the helmet (Buttin 1901, 34). In the case of the Milanese centre of armour-making, besides a double signature, a third sign, different from the other two, also appeared. It was probably not a mark of the workshop where was it made, but an individual emblem of the particular armour maker (Buttin 1901, 36). In the light of these remarks the presence of the repeated Gothic letter T may indicate that this helmet was proved de toute botte, and this procedure may have caused the damage on the top of the skull. It may not be without reason in this context why this sign was stamped next to the patch which covers the gap, and separate from the other marks on this helmet. Nor can we exclude the possibility that marks of all the armourers from the workshop where this hel- met was manufactured were supposed to increase the credibility of its quality. This may somehow be related with Genoese records from 1341 which ordered to outfit the crews of ships sailing to Syria with cervellière à demi épreuve, and its captain with cervellière à l’épreuve, which indicates that these particular kinds of helmets were also proved with weapons (Buttin 1901, 12). The issue of the appearance of armourers’ marks on the helmet presented here is closely con- nected with the question of its origin. According to Engel, it probably came from Switzerland (Engel 1911, 186-187), which may have a deeper meaning because of the discoveries of early forms of these helmets there (Geßler 1930; Schneider 1967), as well as specimens of an even earlier date (Geßler 1928, Taf. 23) in archaeological contexts (Baumann, Frey 1983, 54; Schneider 1986, 28, 32; Taf. 28:3; Krauskopf 2005, 196, Taf. 28: 3). One of the greatest Swiss weapon specialists, H. Schneider (1967, 85; 1986, 32), assumed, as many other scholars did (de Cosson, Burgess 1881, 507, No. 35; di Carpegna 1969, cat. 28; Karcheski, Richardson 2000, 18), an Italian origin. However it is also possible that the type might have been pro- duced in neighbouring Switzerland.

***

The helmet from the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw can serve as an example of how many issues related to armour-making remain unsolved. The existence of so many marks on this helmet, apart from a possible relation to armour proving, which was discussed above, might have had a hidden meaning, which is illegible to today’s observer. Because of similar discove- ries on the bottom edges of two other helmets, we can be almost sure that this was not an isolated event but an intentional procedure, which had its own purpose and meaning. The story of this artefact also shows how devastating World War II was for the weaponry collections in countries affected by this conflict. It is of great importance to publish all the surviving museum collections, among which some lost pieces of armour from the formerly occupied states may be found. It seems to be very probable that the above-mentioned helmet

11 Arkadiusz Michalak and Marcin Glinianowicz came to the Warsaw museum during the war. We cannot exclude that it was “acquired” from the collection of the Berlin Zeughaus, even though there is a lack of information about it in the catalogues of this museum published in that period (Post 1929; 1936). The Berlin origin of another artefact from the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw, a 14th/15th c. brigantine, has already been proved (Glinianowicz, forthcoming).

Translated by Arkadiusz Michalak and Grzegorz Żabiński

Footnotes

1 The authors would like to thank the Board of the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw for making the discussed specimen available for publication, and to Mr W. Krajewski for his assistance provided during making its documentation. We are also indebted to the col- leagues J. Gradoń, T. Rajtar and Dr M. Stanaszek for their great help with taking photo- graphs and measurements of this artefact. 2 There are many known examples for the reworking and repairing of different kinds of military artefacts, which were carried out during their original use (e.g. Michalak and Wawrzyniak 2007). 3 A French document of 1309 orders that a bascinet should be fitted with a cervellière souffi- sante (Blair 1958, 51). 4 We are indebted to Prof. Mario Scalini from Modena for sending us his article. In this place we would also like to thank Dr. Lech Marek from Wrocław and Petr Żakovski MA from Brno for their help with accessing hard-to-find literature. 5 In older publications, one can find a different dating for this helmet (e. g. Geßler 1929; Geßler 1930; Post 1954, 115; Hejdová 1968, 15-16). 6 The translation of the Hungarian article was made by Adam Biró MA from Budapest, to whom we would like express our thanks. 7 It is well known that American colonists often continued to employ obsolete arms and armour which went out of use in Europe (Straube 2006). 8 As an example of this type we mention a 17th c. helmet from the collection of the Hee- resgeschichtliches Museum in Vienna. Photographs of this artefact were taken by Dr. L. Marek from Wrocław, to whom we owe an enormous debt of gratitude. 9 However, hemispherical helmets with cutouts over the ears but without these round guards are also known, e.g., from Hans Memling’s The Martyrdom of St. Ursula, part of the Saint Ursula Shrine, dated to 1489 (Corti and Faggin 1969, 90).

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12 Rediscovering Bernard Engel’s helmet

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List of figures

Fig. 1, 3: photo by Tomasz Rajtar Fig. 2:1: Karcheski, Richardson 2000, 18 Fig. 2:2: di Carpegna 1969, cat. 28 Fig. 2:3, 11: Wilbrand 1917, 201 Fig. 2:4, 6: Peterson 1956, fig. 117-118 Fig. 2:5: Müller, Kölling 1984, 256-257, cat. 19 Fig. 2:7: Polla 1971, 65, obr. 71 Fig. 2:8: Geßler 1928, Taf. 23 Fig. 2:9: de Cosson, Burgess 1881, 507, No. 35, Pl. II: 28 Fig. 2:10: Laking 1919, Fig. 138 Fig. 2:12-14: Kovács 1994, kep. 2:1-3

Zusammenfassung

Im Polnischen Armeemuseum in Warschau wird ein sehr interessantes Exemplar eines Helms mit halbkugelförmiger Kalotte und über 50 Herstellermarken aufbewahrt (ohne Inv.Nr.). Vermutlich kam der Helm zu Kriegsbeginn in die Warschauer Sammlung. Derartige Helme waren während des gesamten Mittelalters und auch in den folgenden Jahr- hunderten sehr beliebt. Vergleichsbeispiele existieren aus dem späten 15. und dem frühen 16. Jahrhundert, somit wird das Exemplar aus Warschau in dieselbe Zeit zu datieren sein. Die Suche nach Vergleichsstücken ergab, dass der Warschauer Helm bereits 1911 als Teil der privaten Sammlung von Bernhard Engel (1858-1938) in der Zeitschrift für Waffen- und Kostümkunde publiziert worden war. Sechs Jahre später veröffentlichte W. Wilbrand zwei weitere vergleichbare Helme mit ähnlich vielen Herstellermarken. Engel und Wilbrand hat- ten jedoch keine Erklärung für die hohe Anzahl von Marken. Nach unserer Auffassung sollten die Marken die Qualität der Schutzwaffe belegen. Es ist allerdings auch möglich, dass es weitere, für den heutigen Betrachter unverständliche Bedeutungen der Marken geben könnte. Die Entdeckung von sehr vielen Marken auf den Rändern von drei Helmen lässt zumindest erkennen, dass es sich nicht um eine einmalige Erscheinung, sondern um eine absichtsvolle Handlung mit einer bestimmten Bedeutung handelt.

16