Hi guys,
here is a pic from a recent event we attended, a good selection of period helms for your viewing pleasure. :)
From left to right: Wollaston by myself , Valsgarde 7 by Ivor Lawton , Valsgarde 6 by Grzegorz Kulig, Vendel 1 and generic Vendel style helm both by Ivor Lawton.

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Also here is pic of Dave Huggins' new Valsgarde 6 helm by Grzegorz Kulig, having worn this helm myself at our recent event in Marle,I can state that it is very comfortable, when worn with a suitable arming cap underneath, mobility and visibility are both excellent, Dave is very lucky to have such a fine array of helms, I am hoping to have one of Grzegorz' fine helms myself, in the near future.If any one has any questions, feel free to message us.
Best,
Bruce

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I cannot see many differences between the Valsgarde 7 pictured above and the Valsgarde 8 by Thorkil, maybe a longer nasal in the 7. Is there something else I am missing?

http://thorkil.ovh.org/valsgarde8_eng.htm

Does anybody know if Ivor Lawton is still in business? His craft is… wow! Looks as superb as Thorkil’s!

I suggest U look again. Those are two completly different helmets. =)

:blush: Oops! Different eyebrows, one more row of panels, different motifs in the panels,... Yes, I was missing something.

I have a question about liners for these helms. See, I'm taking a real cheapo Gjermundbu-type helm and trying my best to convert it into something Vendel-looking. But I just don't know what to do about a liner (again, cheapo so no liner). I'll probably use an arming cap too, so I'm thinking just a plain leather liner. What does everyone think?

A question regarding those helmets - it is well known that in Grave 8 in Valsgarde splints and helmet has been found. However, very litle (to not to say none) information is avaliable (at least, in english) as to what else was in the grave. Perharps someone can shed some light on this question?

Academics often use the term "ceremonial" as a way of saying that they have no idea about the true function of an item. Until fairly recent times, virtually all helmets were made with battle in mind - even the more heavily decorated ones. Whether they actually saw use on a batttlefield is irrelevant. There are tons of surviving helmets dating from the Bronze Age onwards with thicknesses between 1 and 2mm that were clearly intended for battle. Today many pieces of armour are overbuilt because of legal restrictions and because owners don't want to pay for repairs after an event. Historical armour is very often much lighter than many assume. I agree with Paul. All of the surviving Vendel helmets were were intended for battle and his reconstruction of the Sutton Hoo is one of the best.

Thanks Dan.
Artis,
There was a lot of artefacts in the Valsgärde 8 grave. The most important of which was a fair sized boat. The sword was a ring sword, two shields, helmet and splint armour, spears, seax, arrow heads, horse harness, gaming pieces and board, glass wear, an inscribed horn, wooden bowls, cooking equipment, including suspension chains and cauldron and utensils, small knives, tweezers, shears, working axe, textiles and more.

Paul

Thank you, Paul. Do you, by chance, know of any ilustrations of the grave finds other than the helmet and splinted defenses? (Those I have had chance to see myself in the Museum Gustavianum in Uppsala earlier this year)

Thank you Ville for that link to the pictures at that Swedish site. Its amazing the stuff they found and how well some of it is preserved!

When were stirrups introduced to Scandinavia? If Vendel warriors didn't have stirrups what would their mounted tactics look like? Throwing javelins or more of a melee fighting?