Saturday, February 14, 2009

The Horned Helmet of Henry VIII





Imagine it's the sixteenth century, and you're a foot soldier in an army at war with England. In the heat of battle, you look up to see a fat man on top of a gigantic horse. He's wearing a sparkling suit of expensive armor--complete with a horned helmet unlike anything you've encountered before. And he's coming right at you.

Of course the owner of the helmet shown above never saw battle. Henry VIII was more of a lover than a fighter (haha). In a way it's too bad. Suits of armor were designed to strike fear in the hearts of opposing soldiers, and there's something about this particular helmet that's so incredibly creepy that it would certainly have given his troops an advantage.

I'm not a huge fan of armor, but the Royal Armouries in Leeds has a pretty cool collection. Be sure to check out the elephant armor!

10 comments:

Isabela said...

That thing is really bizarre.

Nellie said...

Wow. Stylish.

InHae said...

Wouldn't that thing hurt your head?

UU said...

Wow. That was the hottest thing in the 16th century. lol

Lara said...

cool...i was only in Leeds a couple of weeks ago too!! i would love to visit this.

Kitty said...

Whoa... Oo

Anonymous said...

secure elephant.

I'm sure that mask would make any sixteenth century kid paranoid for life.

Hazel said...

FASHION FAIL!

Anonymous said...

arrrrrggggghhhh!!!!!!! i am a giant man ram. you all run away!!! grrrr......

liltomboyblue11;) said...

Wow.