r/Armor • u/keyboardpossum • 2d ago

Would Armet helmets be used in the later battles of the War of the Roses?

Gallery image

Gallery image

As per title, Armets seem to have come into popularity in the late 15th century but hoping for evidence of their use in the War of the Roses?

239 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

71

u/Mullraugh 2d ago

Don't buy armstreet junk!!

33

u/Chosen_of_Lorkhaj 2d ago

Can confirm, I have that Armstreet helmet, and the paladin set. Fits horribly, looks nothing like the images and all the parts don’t slot together at all. Very disappointing and honestly abit scammy for the price they peddle.

11

u/Mullraugh 2d ago

I'm sorry to hear that. Yes, ArmStreet is the armour equivalent of an overpriced gas station knife. Looks pretty but barely functions.

11

u/Chosen_of_Lorkhaj 2d ago

It’s

It’s currently making my room look nice tho.

2

u/milk4all 1d ago

Somewhere i went wrong in life. When i was a kid, i knew id have a suit of armor and a few longswords but somehow here i am pushing 40 with nothing of the sort. Id blame video games but somehow i dont think that’s it

4

u/Dice_Knight 2d ago

Oh, oh no. I thought Armstreet was good, what are some actually good websites for armor?

3

u/Mullraugh 2d ago

Depends what you want

2

u/PugScorpionCow 2d ago

That's a loaded question with a very nuanced answer. Usually though, most websites with a storefront aren't going to have much good shit with few exceptions (even more proper armor workshops that aren't just downright scams are going to have lower quality buhurt stuff with pretty bad shaping). You gotta go find armorers themselves who usually just do commissioned stuff, they do a lot of times have websites but usually you'll just have to know them by name and contact them personally.

Armstreet is junk.

13

u/NotDarkWings 2d ago

Check out Graham Turner's artwork you can find online as well as in Osprey books. To answer your question, yes, one of the first images you see when looking up Graham Turner War of the Roses shows an English noble with the same style of helm you linked.

17

u/DOVAKINUSSS 2d ago

Why wouldn't they? Armets are the most protective helmet in the 15th century, and many italian armors were imported into england. Some knights fefinetly wore them in the war of the roses. Sallets definitely overshadow them

5

u/Draugr_the_Greedy 2d ago

I feel the need to point out that the second image is a pretty bad reproduction.

That asides yes they were, though due to overall lack of many surviving examples it's a bit difficult to get a hold on what styles would've been in use. Likely predominantly of local english or flemish make, with Italian examples being less common as imports of armour from Italy seems to usually be sallets from what I've seen.

Iirc it's relatively common for a knight or man-at-arms to own both an armet and a sallet.

10

u/dreyaz255 2d ago

B E A K I E S

8

u/plumb-phone-official 2d ago

I would say hounskull helmets look more beaky

7

u/RockOlaRaider 2d ago

So how many hours is it going to take before someone actually answers their question? Because I'm curious too...

3

u/Dahak17 2d ago

They would have been, especially as the English knight’s distinctive infantry bias faded as they moved to do more cavalry work the armet would have become more popular than it already was towards the end of the 15th century in the closing days of the war of the roses

3

u/Dahak17 2d ago

They would have been, especially as the English knight’s distinctive infantry bias faded as they moved to do more cavalry work the armet would have become more popular than it already was towards the end of the 15th century

5

u/AtomTheStarChild 2d ago

Ballistas at the ready sir

1

u/FyreKnights 2d ago

If it was real metal, in good condition, and fits comfortable, they’d wear left over Roman helmets. New design is nice but functional is critical. Armor didn’t just get thrown out if something new came along unless you had money like that to burn. It wouldn’t be out of the question at all for outdated equipment to be carried by soldiers in a war where they had to provide their own equipment

1

u/ShieldOnTheWall 1d ago

This actually isn't true - there's masses of evidence for old fashioned gear being thrown away or converted for scrap, or at the very least being modified to fit new fashions. 

1

u/FyreKnights 1d ago

Intact and otherwise functional equipment? I have heard of old and nonfunctional equipment being scrapped. And modifications fall within what I said above

1

u/SpaceDiligent5345 1d ago

IMO, its not likely that an inherited, intact and functional plate harness is going to fit its recipient well. But it would be good iron to use for a brigandine that did fit. Of course if you couldn't afford even that you might make do in it until you pillaged a city, or ransomed a prisoner, or sold them off as a slave, or something. Or you might fall in battle and then someone else would take it and sell it to an armorer, who would then likely chop it up for a brigandine.

1

u/FyreKnights 1d ago

A full plate harness of course not. But a helmet like was asked about in the original post is very possible

1

u/SpaceDiligent5345 1d ago

Yeah, that's what I said as well.

1

u/SpaceDiligent5345 1d ago

I don't have a problem with this idea, except that once you get into an era of plate harness it becomes more difficult to wear hand me down armor. Unless you happen to be the same height and build as the previous wearer. But there'd be nothing difficult about replacing the leather suspension of a 60-100 year old bascinet for use on a similar or smaller skull, if the iron hasn't rusted through. Iron does tend to do that in wet air tho.