Head protection in England before the first World War

• Published in: Neurosurgery Vol. 47; no. 6; pp. 1261 - 1286
• Main Authors: Blackburn, T P, Edge, D A, Williams, A R, Adams, C B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-12-2000
• Subjects: Craniocerebral Trauma - surgery; England; Head Protective Devices; History, 15th Century; History, 16th Century; History, 17th Century; History, Ancient; History, Medieval; Humans; Metallurgy; Neurosurgery; Warfare; England
• DOI: 10.1097/00006123-200012000-00003
• EISSN: 1524-4040
• ISSN: 0148-396X

Man has sought to protect himself from physical injury resulting either from the vicissitudes of an arbitrary natural environment or from the calculated activity of his fellow creatures since at least the beginning of recorded time. The earliest substantial British evidence of this activity dates from shortly after the Roman invasion of 55 BC. The head has always been seen by both assailant and defender as a region of particular vulnerability, where an incapacitating blow might most effectively be landed. We present an overview of the evolution and development of English military head protection through the ages, with particular reference to the advances made in metallurgical technology at Greenwich through the course of the 16th century. Much of this represents original research by the authors (particularly ARW), published here for the first time. We include the first metallographic data on armor excavated from the Wisby grave-pits (1361), the first scientific analysis of the textile composition of medieval helmet linings from the Wallace Collection, and the first metallurgical study of the Windsor Castle suit, the personal armor of King Henry VIII, perhaps England's most famous monarch. We combine this with our own experimental data, also previously unpublished, relating to the attack energy available from ancient weaponry (whose technology determines the design of defenses, then as now) in an attempt to assess the effectiveness of helmets. Finally, we set this in the context of contemporary medical technology. The latter is found to be woefully inadequate when presented with serious head injuries. Nevertheless, mortality from battlefield injury has been reduced from ancient times to the present day, despite advances in weapons technology.