HELMETS.
“The
helmet was composed of two parts: the headpiece, which was strengthened within by several circles of iron; and the visor,
which, as the name implies, was a sort of grating to see through, so contrived as, by sliding in a groove, or turning on a pivot, to be raised or lowered at pleasure. Some helmets had a further
improvement called a bever, from the Italian bevere, to drink. The ventayle, or "air-passage," is another name for this.
To secure the helmet from the possibility of falling, or of being
struck off, it was tied by several laces to the meshes of the hauberk; consequently, when a knight was overthrown, it was necessary to undo these laces before he could be put to death; though this was sometimes effected by lifting up the skirt of the hauberk, and stabbing him in the belly. The instrument of death was a small dagger, worn on the right side.”~~~Thomas Bulfinch: The Age of Chivalry
Viviana Calderón
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