Aventail

Maille face-masks and metal cheek-guards are a feature of early domed helmets (e.g. the Vendel ‘spectacle’ helmet or the Coppergate helmet with check-flaps). They reflect a different style of fighting involving individual combats between small numbers of warriors which encouraged 360° protection, rather than the larger numbers of line-fighting where the shieldwall provided most of the protection. Mail face-masks attached to the helmet (i.e. an aventail going all the way round) should not be used in our period.

Cheek-flaps and chainmail aventails round the back of helmets seem to disappear at the same time as domed helmets – i.e. may be used up to 950.