Английская Википедия:Broe helmet

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Шаблон:Good article Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Use British English Шаблон:Infobox artefact

The Broe helmet (also known as the Broa helmet) is a decorated iron helmet from around the Vendel Period. Discovered around 1904 in a cremation grave in Broe, a farm on the Swedish island Gotland, it was located alongside other items including fragments of shields, weapons, bridles, and game pieces. Due to its extremely fragmented condition, only an incomplete reconstruction of the helmet is possible, but it appears to have been an example of the "crested helmets" that flourished in England and Scandinavia from the sixth through eleventh centuries.

A full speculative reconstruction was attempted in 1969, suggesting a cap made in segments, with brow and nose-to-nape bands; pieces of metal attached to the brow band likely provided neck, cheek, and face protection. The nose-to-nape band was decorated with ornamental bronze sheeting, and an eyebrow piece, which survives in full and also featured animal-head terminals, was inlaid with strips of a material such as silver. This appearance is generally consistent with the contemporaneous Vendel XIV helmet, which the Broe example may have looked somewhat similar to.

The helmet is hard to date by itself, but the style and type of the grave goods suggests a date in the second half of the 7th century AD. This is consistent with the Vendel XIV grave, which is variously dated between 520 and 625 AD, and shares similarities with the Broe grave even beyond the helmets; in particular, decorated iron fragments from the graves share an identical design.

Description

Colour photograph of the Vendel XIV helmet
The Broe helmet shares similarities with the Vendel XIV helmet.

The Broe helmet survives in a fragmentary state, with a speculative artistic reconstruction.Шаблон:Sfn When whole, it included an iron cap, likely constructed in sections, with both a brow band and a nose-to-nape band.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The latter band, to which may belong a fragment with traces of ornamental bronze sheeting,Шаблон:Sfn terminated above the eyebrows with an animal head, its eyes formed with inlaid garnets.Шаблон:Sfn A fragment of the nose-to-nape band retains an animal-head impression that does not match the surviving head, suggesting that a second animal head terminal adorned the rear of the helmet.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Refn Strips of iron hanging from the brow band provided neck and cheek protection.Шаблон:Sfn The one surviving cheek piece is fragmentary, but appears to have extended deeply.Шаблон:Sfn Further strips extended from the nose-to-nape band to cover the nose, and encircled the eyes to protect the face.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Over the eyes ran an ornamental eyebrow piece, made of iron inlaid with thin strips of another material—possibly silverШаблон:Sfn—and terminating in an animal head on either side.Шаблон:Sfn

The helmet may once have appeared similar, in some respects, to the Vendel XIV helmet.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Both had deep hinged plates protecting the cheeks and neck, a flat crest terminating in animal heads, and ornamented eyebrows.Шаблон:Sfn The Broe example is too fragmentary, however, for its exact design to be determined.Шаблон:Sfn

Discovery

Colour photograph of shield fittings from the Broe grave
Shield fittings from the Broe grave

The helmet was discovered around 1904 in a grave in Broe, a farm in the community of Högbro, located within Halla socken in the central region of the Swedish island Gotland.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The grave was uncovered while digging a garden; the excavation measured approximately Шаблон:Convert in depth, and half a kappland (about Шаблон:Convert) in area.Шаблон:Sfn All but one object, a round bronze clasp with three animal heads, was damaged by fire.Шаблон:Sfn

In addition to the clasp with three animal heads, bronze objects from the grave included an inlaid round clasp, two ring-shaped items with animal-head decoration, parts of handle to a ring-sword, seven large hemispherical rivet heads, four smaller rivets, and around 35 types of fragmentary strap fittings, several with animal ornamentation; two of these were iron with bronze ornamentation, and five were hat shaped.Шаблон:Sfn Several of the fittings, and perhaps the ring-shaped items,Шаблон:Sfn belonged to shield handles.Шаблон:Sfn Iron objects included three two-edged swords, two wide and four slim one-edged swords, eight spearheads, four shield bosses, several shield handles, four bridles, a knife, a pair of scissors,Шаблон:Sfn and several fittings—including some for the edges of shields—in addition to the helmet.Шаблон:Sfn Non-metal objects from the grave included pieces of a green glass cup, mostly melted away, seven fragments of bone game pieces,Шаблон:Sfn and some burnt pieces of bone, possibly from a horse.Шаблон:Sfn

The items were acquired by the Statens historiska museum in 1904, where they were collectively given the inventory number 12,291.Шаблон:Sfn In 1907 the finds were published along with sketched illustrations of some of the items in Månadsblad, a monthly publication of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities.Шаблон:Sfn Illustrations of a number of the finds, including a speculative reconstruction of the helmet, were published in volume II of Birger Nerman's book on the Vendel Period finds from Gotland, Die Vendelzeit Gotlands—followed six years later by volume I, the textual companion.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Typology

Шаблон:Multiple image Шаблон:See also Difficult to date by itself, the Broe helmet and finds from the same site appear characteristic of early Migration Period style.Шаблон:Sfn Certain features of the Broe helmet, particularly its eyebrow piece, are similar to helmets and fragments found in Gotland, such as the Lokrume helmet fragment, and on the mainland, in Uppland.Шаблон:Sfn In particular, the Broe helmet's similarities to the Vendel XIV helmet, which has been variously dated from 520 to 625 AD, may suggest a comparable date;Шаблон:Sfn ornamented iron fragments in each burial, unrelated to the helmets, even bear the same stamped design.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Other objects from the Broe grave, likewise, suggest a date in the second half of the 6th century AD.Шаблон:Sfn

The Broe helmet fits into the corpus of "crested helmets" known in Northern Europe from the 6th through the 11th centuries AD.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Such helmets were characterized by a rounded cap and usually a prominent nose-to-nape crest.Шаблон:Sfn Other than a Viking Age fragment found in Kyiv, they uniformly originate from England or Scandinavia.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn More than half of the known examples are from Sweden; up to twenty are from Gotland alone, although these were typically found in cremation burials and comprise only a fragment or two.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Gallery

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Notes

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References

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Bibliography

Шаблон:Commons category multi

Шаблон:Helmets