Sallet, c.1490 (iron or steel)

This helmet is unquestionably the finest of the 15th-century sallets in the Wallace Collection, being not only superb in its essential form and proportions, but also beautifully polished and decorated with sharp file-lines accentuating the medial ridge and sight. At some later date this sallet was modified for use in a German joust of the Rennen class, run with very large, body-formed shields which sometimes were designed to be thrown up into the air when struck. A roller has been installed on the lower edge of the helmet, probably to help ensure that the catapulted shield did not snag on the helmet as it shot skyward. It could alternatively have been intended simply to help the head move up and down behind the shield, which usually extended to the level of the eyes.