"Is this helmet too early for 6th century Saxons?" Topic

I am thinking about building some forces for the "Age of Arthur" and want to use this figure

Is the helmet ok for the period though?

FM

looks vendel so ok to me

Excellent….my knowledge of this era is very little at the moment and I am voraciously reading to try to take it all in…much appreciated.

FM

I'll say yep.

That helmet looks good to me for 6th Century. I think it's based on the 7th Century Vendel finds from Sweden, but such helmets that seem inspired by Late Roman designs may have been around before the 7th.

who would know?

People didn't upgrade they way we do now. Improvements sometimes took a while to implement as they didn't just throw stuff aside.

If you like the figure then use it. It's certainly close enough.

DM

This helmet looks like a Late Roman officer or heavy cavalry helmet. No problem for 6th century Saxon helmet. In fact, all helmets in this photo are good for 6th century Europe.

Looks like a Vendel helmet from Sweden to me too.

The axe is too early,though.Axes weren't common weaponss in Britain until the Vikings popularized them in the 9th century AD.

Oh poo. Axes have been around since the Neolithic, with handles of all sizes. A prissy chieftain, being an individual, can have a favorite weapon that isn't typical of the rank and vile.

And the helmet looks fine for that period, imho….

The helmets are fine, as already noted. From the look of it, the figure is open-handed, so you can put in anything you'd like. Personally, I'd give him a sword as first choice, spear as second.

The sword is a prestige weapon, so would be better for a commander. Spears are simply ubiquitous, while axes are rare in Saxon grave finds.

What goes in graves can be misleading. What people could afford to ceremonially dispose of – or saw as being a 'suitable' thing to put in a grave – may not reflect what people walk about with

As the GB model is meant to represent the c.7th Penda of Mercia, I don't believe that the helmet is too early for the c.6th.

I'll be darned if I'm sticking the tool that I use to chop the kindling in Da's barrow. He can have his sword and spear, since he gave me my own. But he's not taking a useful utensil with him!

Not that everyone felt the same way, mind:

link

Allen

Swords are rare in pagan anglo-saxon graves. I'm told they equated in value to a car. Not everyone can afford to be buried with their car. A spear 'signified' a freeman. An axe may not have had any such symbolic meaning. Maybe people got buried with theirs if they'd done some notable feat with the axe.

It strikes me that the guy buried with the Pioneer helmet & weaponry was a really weedy specimen. Hardly a beefy warrior

Great link Allen….thank you all for your responses….fascinating period!

Vendel eh!? I've been trying to find them. Are they still going? They did some fantastic stuff.

Cheers,