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A barbute (also termed a barbuta, which in Italian literally means "bearded", possibly because the beard of a wearer would be visible) is a visorless war helmet of 15th-century Italian design, often with a distinctive "T" shaped or "Y" shaped opening for the eyes and mouth.


Origins

The name 'barbuta' when applied to a helmet is first recorded in an inventory made for the Gonzaga family of
Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...
in 1407. The helmet can be considered as a specialised form of the sallet, both types of helmet being ultimately derivations of the earlier bascinet. The barbute resembles
classical Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
helmets (most strikingly the Corinthian) and may have been influenced by the renewed interest in ancient artifacts common during this period.


Characteristics

This type of helmet has been described as an example of formal beauty being the result of functional efficiency. The defining characteristic of the barbute is the forward extension of the sides of the helmet towards the mid-line; this gives protection to the sides of the user's face below the eyes. Regardless of the form of the combined vision and breath opening, T-shaped, Y-shaped or arch-shaped, this characteristic is always present. The edge of the T- shaped opening is almost always reinforced by a riveted-on iron rim, usually extending to the lower edge of the helmet. The Y-shaped form often incorporates a distinct projection to guard the nose, which otherwise would protrude from the combined ventilation and vision opening. At least one example exists incorporating an extremely elongated nasal, which is hinged. The barbute could be worn with a plate
gorget A gorget , from the French ' meaning throat, was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather collar to protect the ...
. However, the barbute was often worn with a stiffened mail collar, termed a " standard", which protected the throat and neck. Some examples of the barbute, as in a number of Italian sallets, were covered in a rich decorative fabric, typically heavy velvet. A number of surviving barbutes incorporate a keyhole-shaped hole at the apex of the skull for the attachment of a decorative crest. A contemporary painting commissioned by
Federigo da Montefeltro Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro KG (7 June 1422 – 10 September 1482), was one of the most successful mercenary captains (''condottieri'') of the Italian Renaissance, and lord of Urbino from 1444 (as Duke fro ...
, Duke of Urbino, shows a barbuta surmounted by a crest in the shape of a heraldic eagle. Unlike the sallet, the barbute seems to have enjoyed little popularity outside Italy. Barbutes were most commonly raised from a single sheet of metal, however, modern metallurgy has shown that many Italian Renaissance helmets were essentially of
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...
faced with
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...
, which was annealed and quenched to give it the desired characteristics of a hard outer surface, with a ductile inner layer which prevented shattering.Grancsay, pp. 189-190 Many barbutes feature a low front-to-back ridge, raised from the top of the helmet's skull; this served to strengthen the helmet without adding a significant amount of weight.


References


Bibliography

*Grancsay, Stephen V. (1963) ''Sculpture in Steel: A Milanese Renaissance Barbute'', The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 21, No. 5 (Jan., 1963), pp. 182–191, Published by: The Metropolitan Museum of Art *Oakeshott, Ewart (1980) ''European Weapons and Armour: From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution.'' Lutterworth Press. *Pyhrr, Stuart W. (1989) ''European Armor from the Imperial Ottoman Arsenal'', Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 24 (1989), pp. 85–116, The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The Metropolitan Museum of Art


External links

* {{Elements of Medieval armor Medieval helmets