Benty Grange helmet

The Benty Grange helmet is an Anglo-Saxon boar-crested helmet from the 7th century AD. It was found in 1848 by Thomas Bateman in a grave at the Benty Grange farm in Monyash, western Derbyshire. Though the grave had already been looted, other valuable items were found with it, showing that it was an important burial.

The helmet was made by placing plates of horn over an iron frame, with cloth or leather on the inside. Over time, the horn and leather decayed away. The helmet could have offered some protection in battle, but it was also very fancy and might have been used in special ceremonies. It was the first Anglo-Saxon helmet ever discovered, and since then, five more have been found, including ones from Sutton Hoo (1939), Coppergate (1982), Wollaston (1997), Shorwell (2004), and Staffordshire (2009).

One of the most interesting parts of the helmet is the boar on top. This animal was a pagan symbol, and it faces a small Christian cross on the front of the helmet. This shows a mix of old and new beliefs from 7th-century England, when people were slowly changing from their old ways to Christianity. The helmet is now kept in Sheffield at the Weston Park Museum.

Description

The Benty Grange helmet was made by covering an iron frame with horn. It likely weighed about 1.4 kg, similar to a modern replica. The helmet had a brow band that went around the head and other strips that ran from front to back and side to side.

The helmet had eight horn plates fitted over the iron frame. These plates were cut to fit exactly and were held together with rivets. Some parts of the helmet had extra decorations, like a silver cross and a boar on top. The boar was made from bronze and silver pieces and had detailed features such as eyes made from garnets.

Function

The Benty Grange helmet would have helped protect someone in battle and showed that the wearer was important. It was likely very impressive and might have been used in special ceremonies. Tests with a copy of the helmet showed that it could resist hits from an axe, though arrows and spears could pierce it.

Helmets were not common in Anglo-Saxon England, so having one like the Benty Grange helmet meant the owner was very wealthy. In stories like Beowulf, helmets appear often, and helmets found in Sweden in places like Vendel and Valsgärde also belonged to rich people. Even though many graves from that time have been found, helmets are still very rare, showing they were not made or used by many people.

Discovery

The helmet was found in a burial mound on Benty Grange farm in Derbyshire, in the Peak District National Park. Archaeologist Thomas Bateman dug it up on May 3, 1848. The grave had likely been entered by others before Bateman, as some usual items like a sword and shield were missing.

Bateman described the helmet as made of iron ribs covered with horn plates, forming a herring-bone pattern. It had silver rivets and a small cross, with an animal figure — thought to be a pig — on top. The helmet is now displayed at the Weston Park Museum in Sheffield, which bought it in 1893.

Typology

See also: Sutton Hoo helmet § Helmets

The Benty Grange helmet comes from the early 7th century AD. It is one of six special helmets made by the Anglo-Saxon people. Others were found in places like Sutton Hoo, York, Wollaston, Shorwell, and Staffordshire. These helmets have tall crests and round tops, a style common in Northern Europe from the 6th to the 11th centuries. Most of these helmets came from England or Scandinavia.

The Benty Grange helmet looks different from others of its time. While some helmets were made with wide bands and four plates inside, this one was made in a more complex way. It used many materials like garnet, filigree, gold, silver, iron, and bronze. Its special boar crest is similar to ones found in Wollaston and Guilden Morden. Only one other helmet used horn, and it was found in Cologne.

Iconography

See also: Germanic boar helmet § Context

The Benty Grange helmet was made during a time when Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England was just beginning, and it shows both Christian and older pagan ideas. The helmet has a boar, which comes from an older belief, and a cross, which is a Christian symbol.

Roman Britain had become Christian many years before, but older beliefs stayed strong. In the 500s, Irish missionaries helped bring Christianity to places like Iona and the Picts. After the Gregorian mission arrived in Kent in 597, many Anglo-Saxon kingdoms turned to Christianity. The helmet shows this mix of old and new beliefs, with a large boar and a small cross. The cross might not mean the person was Christian; it could have been used for protection.

The boar

The boar was an important symbol in Europe long before the time of the Anglo-Saxons. It was respected, hunted, and eaten for thousands of years. Anglo-Saxon boars on helmets continue a tradition that goes back many centuries, including designs from La Tène times, Gaulish examples, and Roman times. The boar may have been linked to a mother goddess in old Celtic cultures, and the Roman writer Tacitus noted that some Baltic people wore boar symbols for protection in battle.

Boar-crested helmets appear on old items like the Gundestrup cauldron from Denmark and a Torslunda plate from Sweden. The Romans also used the boar as a symbol for some of their soldiers. The boar came back into fashion among the Anglo-Saxons, perhaps from traditions in Europe rather than from Roman times in Britain. In the old poem Beowulf, boar symbols on helmets are said to protect the warriors who wear them.

Boar-crests in Beowulf

See also: Sutton Hoo helmet § Beowulf

The Benty Grange helmet reminds us of the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, which mentions helmets with boars five times. One part of the poem talks about such helmets after a character named Æschere is lost, showing how important these symbols were.