Vendel Helmet with Chainmail Aventail, 1.2 mm Steel

Vendel Helmet with Chainmail Aventail, 1.2 mm Steel

The spangenhelm or cross-band helmet was the predominant helmet type of the early European Middle Ages. The helmet we offer here is inspired by the early medieval / Germanic nasal helmets, spangenhelms and spectacle helmets from the Vendel Period (ca. 550 – 800 AD) and Viking Age.

The overall appearance of this Viking spectacle helmet clearly shows its close relationship to the Vendel crested helmets. Crafted from 1.2 mm thick steel, it consists of a domed helmet bowl, a brow-band running round the bowl’s edge, two intersecting strips or bands (in German so-called Spangen) running respectively from front to back and from ear to ear, and a spectacle guard (a protective face plate resembling eyeglasses / spectacles) with nasal protection. The helmet’s individual component parts are all connected to each other by steel rivets. The interior is blackened for better corrosion resistance, and fitted with an adjustable black leather suspension liner attached to the bowl’s edge with sturdy rivets.
Our beautiful Vendel era helmet / Viking helmet particularly stands out through the hammering marks on the surface of the bowl and the richly detailed embossings that adorn the face guard.

The helmet features a shoulder-length chainmail aventail or camail that protects the neck, throat and lower facial part. The 4 in 1 mail weave is composed of 1.6 mm thick, butted (unriveted) steel rings with an inner diameter of approx. 9 mm. The aventail is directly attached to the lower edge of the bowl and spectacles.

This fine, fully wearable helm is just perfect to complete the armour of a proud Norse warrior from the Vendel era or Viking Age. Besides its quality as a prop for re-enactment, LARP, stage, TV/film or costuming, it will also make for a great decoration or display piece in any helmet collector’s treasure chamber.

Details:
- Material: 1.2 mm steel, leather inlay
- Chainmail aventail: butted steel rings, ID 9 mm
- Suitable for head circumference up to approx. 66 cm
- Long distance (back to front): approx. 22 cm
- Short distance (ear to ear): approx. 20cm
- Height (without aventail): approx. 18 cm (approx. 27 cm with spectacle/nose guard)
- Length of aventail (fully stretched): approx. 34 cm
- Weight (with aventail): approx. 3.9 kg

Specs may slightly vary from piece to piece.

The steel used here is not rust-proof and might show slight surface tarnishing in places. We recommend you to maintain helmets on a regular basis, for example using Ballistol Universal Oil, which is ideally suited for steel care.