profile. This form of nasal helmet was the forerunner of deeper, cylindrical helmets with greater facial protection, enclosed helmets, and eventually the great helm. The existing nasal formed the basis for increased facial protection, eventually, by 1200, producing a face covering plate which was pierced for sight and ventilation. The helmet began to lose popularity at the end of the 12th century to helmets that provided more facial protection, and although the nasal helm lost popularity amongst the higher classes of knights and men-at-arms, they were still used by archers to whom a wide field of vision was crucial. Round-skulled nasal helmets can also be seen worn by a proportion of knights throughout the French Maciejowski Bible dating to 1250. No doubt some knights preferred the better vision and hearing afforded by this more open helmet. Use The nasal helmet would usually have been worn over a mail coif, which protected the lower parts of the head, throat and neck. The coif could be a separate item of armour or be formed as an extension of the mailcoat itself. The existence of rivets and holes around the lower edge of these helmets indicate that they were lined in some manner, though no linings as such have survived. Practical considerations suggest that linings must have been adjustable to ensure a secure fit. The nasals of these helmets were often so large that the wearer was unrecognisable to an observer. The celebrated incident at the Battle of Hastings, illustrated on the Bayeux tapestry, where William the Conqueror had to lift his helmet to show his troops that he was still alive is an indication of the anonymity nasal helmets produced. References Bibliography D'Amato, Raffaele (2010) The Varangian Guard 988-1453, Osprey, London. Gravett, Christopher (1993) Norman Knight 950-1204 AD, Osprey, London. Nicolle, David, (1988) The Crusades, Osprey, London. Nicolle, David, (1987) The Normans, Osprey, London. Medieval helmets