German Knight, 1200
At the turn of 12-13 centuries of military activity Holy Roman Emperors of the dynasty Shtaufen focused on two priority areas. These were military expeditions to Italy and participated in the crusader movement. While emperors mental capacity and resources in dangerous and hopeless crusades, and attempts to conquer Italy, in Germany itself decomposes into separate feudal principalities. Duchy of Saxony, Bavaria, Thuringia, Lorraine, various archdiocese, margraviate, cities, etc. pursue an independent policy, vied with each other and actively expand their ownership. With the blessing of the Pope's German expansion was directed to the east of Europe. In the process of colonization actively involved chivalric Order.
Knight helmet is a early version of a large or gorshkovidnogo helmet (topfhelm). Structurally, it consists of a cylinder with a flat top and a face mask with holes for breathing and review. Peephole strengthened by additional metal plate. As the helmet decorations - hand carved from wood and painted in heraldic colors. On top of mail (hauberta) wearing a cape (syurko) with wide sleeves. In addition to the sword, a knight armed with an ax-ax with a long handle. Wide triangular shield is a simple early symbols - the heraldic border, and sash