Attaching chainmail to a helmet

Throughout the Middle Ages, it was common practice to have chainmail attached to your helmet. This piece of chainmail was called an aventail or a camail and was there to protect the neck and shoulders. 

Many reenactment helmets, especially bascinets, have vervelles on the lower edge. These vervelles serve to mount an aventail to the helmet.

What do you need?

-Helmet

-Aventail

-Leather cord

How to attach chainmail to a helmet:

Step 1: 

Place the aventail along the edge of the helmet, against the vervelles. Some aventails have a leather band along the edge with holes in it. Line those holes up to the vervelles.

Step 2: 

Thread the leather cord through the chainmail, or the holes in the leather band, and the vervelles. Tie of the ends of the cord securely. 

If your helmet doesn’t have vervelles, you can add these yourself by drilling holes along the bottom edge of the helmet. You can then place the vervelles in these holes and secure them in the same way as rivets. 

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