Object Image

Close-helmet

By the end sixteenth century competitive tournament combat on foot had been popular for two hundred years, with specialised foot combat armour appearing towards the end of the fifteenth century. To reduce the risks and ensure that the combats remained ‘gentlemanly’, without chaotic or untidy occurrences such as wrestling or grappling, most foot combats from the 1520s onwards were fought over a waist-high wooden barrier. A pair of combatants faced each other on opposite sides of the barrier and struck each other with spears or swords. The protection of the barrier meant that leg armour could be discarded and shoulder defences made more or less symmetrical.

Close-helmets for foot combat at the b...

c. 1590
Iron or steel, leather, and copper alloy
A170
Images and text © Wallace Collection, 2017

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The Wallace Collection
Permanent collection