Capeline (derived from the French word for hat) is the name given to two distinct types of post-Renaissance helmet
The first was a steel skullcap (known as a "secrete") usually worn by archers that continued to be worn into the 17th century by musketeers and horsemen who wished to wear fashionable broad-brimmed hats but also retain some level of protection for the head.[1] It was also worn by civilians under their regular hats, including the judges at Charles I's trial. The prosecutor, John Bradshaw, feared assassination so had a special metal hat made to protect him.[2]
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Cavalry helmet
The better-known Capeline is the cavalry helmet seen in the English Civil War, commonly known as a lobster tail pot.[3] This was worn along with the buff coat, gauntlets and breastplate[4] by Oliver Cromwell's Ironside cavalry. Another famous unit to use it was the London lobsters; unusually for the time they had armor that covered most of the body.[5]
The lobster-tailed pot had articulated cheek-pieces; a fixed forward projecting peak that included a sliding nasal bar[6], or, alternatively, a hinged peak with three attached bars to protect the trooper's face from sword cuts; and an articulated "tail" protecting the back of a head and neck that was said to resemble that of a lobster.[7] Another common name for it was the "harquebusier's pot" as by this time the cavalry had adopted carbines.[8]
The helmet had an oriental origin, being derived from the Ottoman Turkish 'chichak' (Turkish - çiçak) helmet, and was adopted by the Christian states of Europe in the early 17th century.[9][10] It saw use in the Thirty Years War where it was known as the Zischagge, a Germanisation of the original Turkish name.[11] Many of these European-made capelines were later imported during the English Civil War. Sometimes older helmets like the burgeonet or sallet were modified to resemble the lobster pot although these were less effective in the field.[12]
Similar helmets were worn in the late 17th century by Polish winged hussars and Prussian cavalry, including Fredrick William's forces at the Battle of Fehrbellin (1672).[13] The latter had a decorative fluted design and were painted black to prevent rust.[14]
External links
Notes
- ^ http://www.medievalresources.com/Glossaries.html
- ^ http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/CharlesI_execution.htm
- ^ http://www.the-armoury.co.uk/lobster_pot_2.htm
- ^ http://www.antique-militaria.co.uk/cromwellian-lobster-pot-helmet-00540/
- ^ http://battlefieldbiker.com/taxonomy/term/63
- ^ http://www.artfact.com/auction-lot/17th-century-style-lobster-pot-helmet-steel-bowl-1-c-kt36wxys8a
- ^ http://www.gemstone.net/etimes/et9/armory.htm
- ^ http://www.scotwars.com/html/equip_cavhelmets.htm
- ^ Robinson pp. 62-63. The chichack was almost identical to the later European zischagge - a forward projecting peak, sliding bar nasal, cheekpieces and neck guard, only its tendency to have a conical skull is distinctive.
- ^ http://www.4to40.com/qa/index.asp?id=1165
- ^ http://www.by-the-sword.com/acatalog/Lobster-Tailed_Pot_AH-3805.html
- ^ http://collections.royalarmouries.org/index.php?a=subjects&s=item&key=SYToyOntpOjA7aTo3OTtpOjE7czoyMToiSGFycXVlYnVzaWVyknMgYXJtb3VyIjt9&pg=1
- ^ http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_hussars.html
- ^ http://www.nigelcarren.co.uk/reproduction-armour-shop.php
References
- Robinson, H.R., (2002) Oriental Armour, Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0486418189
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