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Originally Posted by tom hyle
An interesting counterinformation is that I have read and heard that the crusades helped promote the development of complex metal plate armour in Europe, as previously to invading the Middle East the (basically) Normans/Germans/etc. had popularly used cuirbolli for the hard plates in their body armour. The story told is that cuirbolli, being hide stiffened by being permeated by molten wax, is quite stiff and hard in Western Europe, but in the heat of Palestine, what are hard waxes in Europe are much softer, and more tend to lubricate a cut.....I have worn a large closed helm in recreation combat and sparring and it does get mightily hot in the Sun. Note that the familiar barbut style ancient Greek helmet (though they actually used many types, varying with individual, region, time, etc.) could evidently be pushed up to expose the face and take air in times when appropriate/safe. Of course, heat does kill, but then, so does a spear or club to the head......
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I think that the Crusades had an impact on European armours as a result of the Crusaders adopting Islamic armours and taking them back to Europe. By the late 11th century many types of armour had disappeared in Western Europe, the main types used by western Europeans were mail, leather armours and quilted fabric armours. Islamic Countries in addition to using these types were also using lamellar armour, both leather and iron, brigandines,
kazaghands, mail camails attached to helmets, and possibly even 'mail-and-plate' armour and limb defences such as
bazu-bands.
I think the basinets and 'pairs-of-plates' which appeared in 14th century Western Europe were directly infuenced by similar Islamic armours.
With regards to the Hellenic Corinthian helmet, I believe that the wearers might have suffered from heat stroke on exeptionally hot days, but this was a very rare occurance, otherwise it was a very practical helmet. After all it was used by the Greeks in one form or another from the middle of the 8th century BC up until the mid-5th century BC.