The Boar-Crested Helmet Back to English 211 Home Page
The many mentions of the armor of Beowulf and his companions show the importance of the warrior's helmet and mail in the establishment of his status. In Anglo-Saxon burial sites such as Sutton Hoo, there are examples of the elaborate attention to laying a warrior to rest in the armor that reflects his role in the comitatus group. 

The most elaborate of the helmets that have been discovered is the Sutton Hoo helmet, dating to the late sixth or early seventh century.

  
A reconstruction of the Sutton Hoo helmet.

The Sutton Hoo helmet is elaborately decorated and beautiful, but it lacks some of the characteristics one expects from the helmets described in Beowulf--most specifically, the boar  that is said to decorate the crest:

"....Boar-shapes flashed
above their cheek-guards, the brightly forged
work of goldsmiths, watching over
those stern-faced men."
--Beowulf, page 33

Recently, a helmet discovered in Northamptonshire, England, has provided a possible model for imagining what Beowulf might have worn. 


A reproduction of the Northamptonshire helmet

Notice the boar, the cheek guards, and the bits of metal fastened around the back of the helmet that serve as neck-guards.

For more information on Anglo-Saxon armor, go to http://www.angelcynn.org.uk/ and click on the "Warfare" link. This site is also rich in other information about the era.

 

 

 

 

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