Ancient history

Salad

A salad is a round-shaped helmet, worn from the 15th century to the 16th century. The word comes from the Low-Latin caelum, which means "sky", "dome", and which gave the old Italian celata, Frenchified in salad. It is an evolution of the "iron hat" which took place during the first half of the 15th century (not to be confused with the barbute, sometimes called "Italian salad", although it is essentially a variant of the bascinet ).

The dome of the salad ends on the back in a tail that lengthened over the century. Some salads were equipped with a visor, and others a simple slit opening on the front of the helmet. Another variation left the face entirely unprotected. There was a chin guard that could be worn with the salad, but it was rarely used because it interfered with breathing and head movement. The salad was certainly the most common type of helmet during the latter part of the 15th century, and was in use among horsemen and infantry alike. During the 16th century, it gave birth to the bourguignotte.


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