Bascinets are a type of Medieval European helmet. This one, made of steel, has a mark of a six-pointed star and shield on the right cheek, which may indicate its owner. The helmet has sustained damage, suggesting that a soldier used it in battle. Legend says that Joan of Arc owned this helmet and donated it to the Church of Saint Pierre du Martroi at Orléans, where church officials hung it on the altar. There is no evidence for this story; however, the attribution of the helmet to a woman fighter suggests sustained interest in Joan of Arc as a heroic figure. The helmet’s earliest known provenance dates back to a 19th-century French duke.

Bascinet