Celata Helm – 14 Gauge Steel – Lord of Battles

This Celata Helm is crafted from 14 gauge steel. The blackened interior of the helm is fitted with an adjustable leather suspension liner and a riveted, adjustable leather chin strap with a brass buckle.

Like the Sallet, the Celata is an evolution of the earlier bascinet helm. Whereas the Sallet became an extended bascinet, often with ample face protection, the Celata and its cousin, the Barbute, took the form of the bascinet and infused it with much inspiration from Classical Greek helms. Like these Classical helms, both the Celata and Barbute have an open faced design, with the Celata being the less restrictive of the two.

It is no surprise that the Celata and Barbute had Italian origins, for the Italian fascination of the Classical world in the budding years of the Renaissance took root into the modifying of much Italian arms and armor to hearken back to Classical mythological heroes. Not only is the Celata and Barbute evidence of this Classical inspiration, but so too was the Cinquedea style sword.

These helms are no mere affectation to mythology however, for the relative open-faced design of the Celata and Barbute had a role on the late Medieval battlefield. Lightly armed men-at-arms, crossbowmen and other skirmishers would likely opt for the Celata over the Sallet, for the Celata gave its wearer an unrestricted field of vision – a definitive boon to the companies of mercenary crossbowmen who plied their deadly trade in the warring Italian city-states and beyond. Both the Celata and Barbute were also useful for polearm-wielding infantry formations, who often opted to compromise some protection in favor of a helm less obstructive to their vision and hearing – the better to hear the coordinating signals and orders of their company commanders when fighting in formation.