Brocas helm

The Brocas helm is a jousting helm on display at the Rotunda as part of the Tower of London armoury collection. It was commissioned by an English knight from an Italian armourer.^[1]

It is named after the Anglo-Norman Brocas family of Beaurepaire, Hampshire descending from the knight Sir Barnard Brocas (1330–1395). The collection of the family was auctioned after the death of a later Barnard Brocas, as the "Brocas Sale" in 1834.^[2][3]

References

1. European Armour in the Tower of London Arthur Richard Dufty, Great Britain. Ministry of Public Building and Works - 1968- Page 12 "... the headpieces were two of outstanding quality and importance: the Brocas helm and the close helmet now numbered IV. 412. The Brocas helm, an English jousting helm, named after an erstwhile owner, helped to fill a serious gap in the ..."
2. The Penny Magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge Volume 9 - Page 96 Charles Knight - 1840 "Only two of the visored bascinets of this period are known to exist, one in the Meyrick collection, the other in the Tower of London. The latter was added to the National Collection in the year 1834."
3. Heroic Armor of the Italian Renaissance Stuart W. Pyhrr, José A. Godoy - 1998 Page 184 "The earliest reference to this helmet occurs in the sale catalogue of the Brocas collection in 1834, in which the inscription on the brow plate is cited.4 The helmet was subsequently acquired by the eighth duke of Luynes, who formed in the .."