Frog-mouth helm

Common card · No. 228510

The frog-mouth helm (or Stechhelm, German for "jousting helmet", to stechen, "to thrust", lit. 'to stick') was a type of great helm for tournament jousting, designed to maximize protection against lance blows. The sheek plates are large with heavy backwards sloping, going outwards in a concave manner up to the vision slit (ocularium), which then appears as the mouth of a frog. They are traditionally fixed to an upper chest piece to mitigate strain on the user's neck if hit. Such started appearing from around 1400 and lasting into the first quarter of the 16th century, later retroactively returning for post-medieval jousting practice. The helmet is primarily intended for sport, rather than battlefield use. During jousting tournaments, the helmet offered a better degree of protection from lances that would splinter after impact with the rival's body armour. Early examples of the stechhelm were made from a single piece of metal, while later dated helmets had hinged constructions that could...

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