Helmet & Artifacts.

[Gaius Octavius]

From the British Museum:

 

http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/...-button=summary

[caldrail]

Nice pic, but I should stress that this particular helmet was worn by someone important. Common soldiery wore helmets with less decoration or fancy face guards at this time.

[DecimusCaesar]

I believe that's the Sutton Hoo helmet, supposedly that of the Saxon King Redwald. Those helmets were influenced by late Roman cavalry helmets. You can see the typical shape of a Roman helmet in it's design - the cheek pieces and the neck guard, supported by a typically late Roman style helmet bowl. Even the late Roman clibanarii would wear facemasks. This helmet itself wouldhave been modified to suit barbarian tatses. Yet it isn't hard to believe that many of these Roman designs (some of them influenced by barbarians themselves- Sassanids and Sarmatians) would have still have been worn by both Britons and Anglo-Saxons in the early Dark Ages.

[edgewaters]

This helmet itself wouldhave been modified to suit barbarian tatses. Yet it isn't hard to believe that many of these Roman designs (some of them influenced by barbarians themselves- Sassanids and Sarmatians)

 

Designs for most of the Roman helmets - from Coolus and Montefortino types right up to the Weisenau types - seem to have come from Gallic sources ... including the ultimate evolution of the galea, the Imperial helmet type. The late designs seem to have been manufactured chiefly by Gauls (the Imperial Gallic helmet), with the equivalent Roman design (Imperial Italic) being an inferior knock-off.

[DecimusCaesar]

True, the designs for most of these helmets were influenced by Gallic helmets. It is only after the third century that we see types of helmet that developed independantly from the Gallic and Imperial types. The Intercisa helmet, for instance, bears no relationship to the earlier types. The Same can be said for the Deurne helmet and the Spangenhelm. These were usually influenced by barbarain peoples like the Sarmatians, the Sassanid Persians or one of the numerous Germanic tribes.

[longbow]

supposedly that of the Saxon King Redwald

The British Museum archeologists say its the Bretwalda Raedwald but they base that assumption on the Wetstone being a Sceptre and the Iron grill being a Standard.There's a passage in Bedes history's to suggest a Standard is a symbol of the Bretwaldaship but nothing about the Wetstone being a Sceptre,or if a Bretwalda knew what a Sceptre was.

So great was his majesty in his realm that not only were banners carried before him in battle but even in time of peace as he rode about among his cities,estates and Kingdoms with his Thegns,he always used to be preceded by a standard bearer.Further when he walked anywhere along the roads there used to be carried before him the type of standard which the Romans called Tufa and the English call a Thuf

But the 'Standard' in the grave has a iron cage unlike any Vexillum,Signum or Tufa so it may not be a standard.

 

Whoever he was, he was buried between 620-640AD'ish so looking at the East Anglian Kings from the period it could be,

Bretwalda Raedwald (624)

King Eorpwald (627)

King Sigebert (636)

King Ecgric (637)

 

Or even

 

Ricberht,a Pagan who killed king Eorpwald in Battle.

Bretwwalda Raedwalds son,Raegenhere was killed in Battle in 617 AD.

Eni,Bretwalda Raedwalds brother,he was father to four East Anglian kings! Died 630AD.

 

Who Knows?