Cleveland Museum of Art

Cabacete (Helmet)

Date

c. 1480s–90s

Medium

steel

Culture

Spain, late 15th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This tall open-face cabacete , alternately known as a "kettle hat" or "war hat" and ancestor of the later morion popular during the 1500s, would have been worn by an infantry soldier, not a mounted knight. The helmet has a conical point and a broad swooping brim, and its user may have worn a bevor , or separate chin piece, to protect his lower face and throat. He may also have worn a brigandine, or canvas doublet lined with metal plates, to protect his torso. Infantry troops were generally armed with hafted weapons such as a bill or halberd. This helmet intentionally mimics in steel the shape of a brimmed hat and is unique to Spain.

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