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Horsehair "plume"
#1
Hello,

I'm wondering what's the general opinion on horsehair "decoration" on top of helmets.

I'm reenacting early second century, were there legionaries that had a crest on their helmets? What kind of a crest would it have been? Is there historical evidence?

Thanks!

Caius
Tom Pinceel
a.k.a.
Caius Titius Verus

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.LEGIOXI.be">www.LEGIOXI.be
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#2
Horse hair plumes wee used during the early 1st century AD and earlier. I do not know about the early 2nd century. Check out mine:

[url:3jf7ihey]http://66.66.131.145/roman/horsehairplume.jpg[/url]

This plume uses the "spike" kind of plume holder with a wooden crest box. A metal plate slides onto a slot on the spike and the box is secured in place with a pin. It all depends upon what kind of helmet you have.
Titus Licinius Neuraleanus
aka Lee Holeva
Conscribe te militem in legionibus, vide mundum, inveni terras externas, cognosce miros peregrinos, eviscera eos.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.legiotricesima.org">http://www.legiotricesima.org
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#3
Depends on what legion you're doing and where they were stationed in the 2nd century. Chances are crests didn't just abruptly die out in the 2nd century, only to reapear in the 3rd. But considerations should be taken on whether or not your legion was involved in the dacian campaigns. If so, then there's a good chance that the crest mount would have been adapted to fit over rudimentary crossbracing on the helms being used. I don't think crossbracing on helms have been found in say...britain or the gallic provinces.
____________________________________________________________
Magnus/Matt
Du Courage Viens La Verité

Legion: TBD
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#4
Thanks,

I reenact legio xxx Ulpia Vicrtix, so it did take part in the Dacian wars...

So an adapted kind of crest would be acceptable?

greets,
Caius
Tom Pinceel
a.k.a.
Caius Titius Verus

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.LEGIOXI.be">www.LEGIOXI.be
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#5
Holy jump'n, it's a Legio XXX cohort party in here!

Unfortunately, I don't have any close-ups...but I'm using an Itallic G (probably a bit later than 105 AD, more like 150, but anyways...), and I modified a crest holder so it fit around the cross bracing.

Here's a rough shot of it: [url:3lvv05zr]http://www.geocities.com/legioxxxcoh1/Scutum.jpg[/url]

Here's a better shot of it...
[url:3lvv05zr]http://www.geocities.com/legioxxxcoh1/MagnusCrest.jpg[/url]

If you want, I can draw you a little diagram of how I did it. It was based on a find from somewhere...though now it's believed that it was for a different type of crest mount, not for a cross braced helm.

[/url]
____________________________________________________________
Magnus/Matt
Du Courage Viens La Verité

Legion: TBD
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#6
Hehe Indeed! What's keeping the beer??? Big Grin


Wow that crest looks absolutely magnificent! I ordered me the exact same helmet (about 6 months ago...), so yes if it were possible to draw a diagram that would be great!!!

Thanks,
Caius
Tom Pinceel
a.k.a.
Caius Titius Verus

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.LEGIOXI.be">www.LEGIOXI.be
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#7
Ok, here you go Caius, in all of it's splendor! I made the mount myself from instructions from Matt Amt's page on helmet crests here: [url:2xefulfn]http://www.larp.com/legioxx/crests.html[/url]

And here's the diagram of how it works...

[Image: Crestmountdiagram.jpg]

Good luck! If you have any other questions, feel free to fire them at me. If you want, I'll try and remember to take a close up of the crest mount on the helmet. [/img]
____________________________________________________________
Magnus/Matt
Du Courage Viens La Verité

Legion: TBD
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#8
Oh crap, I almost forgot! You'll have to remove the bracing...I think they come with screws anyway, so you'll want to replace them with rivets. But, you'll have to grind away 1 mm or so of metal where the feet on the crest mount will go. Otherwise there's not enough room.
____________________________________________________________
Magnus/Matt
Du Courage Viens La Verité

Legion: TBD
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#9
Wow thanks Magnus!!!

This should work out nicely!

Wished my helmet was here to try it right away!

greets,
Caius
Tom Pinceel
a.k.a.
Caius Titius Verus

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.LEGIOXI.be">www.LEGIOXI.be
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