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Leeds: Professor unmasks symbol's secrets
A Huddersfield University professor has shed some light on one of oldest and strangest images seen on road signs across Leeds.
Professor Graeme Rimer has put forward his theory about the horned helmet, which is the symbol for the Leeds-based Royal Armouries, at a lecture in the university.
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The Professor of History and Academic Director of the Royal Armouries believes that the mask of the helmet depicts the face of a fool and that it was inspired by one of the best-selling books of renaissance Europe.
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Professor Graeme Rimer is one of a team of experts - including historians and scientists - who have formed the Arms and Armour Research Group, a partnership between the Royal Armouries and the University.
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One of the group's biggest debates has been whether or not the elements of the helmet, including its mask, spectacles and ram's horns, were initially intended to belong together or were assembled at a later date.
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Professor Rimer has argued that the helmet, mask and spectacles were original, although the horns - which could have been part of a suit of ceremonial horse armour - might have been added later in Henry VIII's reign to make the whole assembly look more extraordinary.
Professor Rimer showed that the spectacles and the face of the mask - which includes features such as a dripping nose - closely resembled many illustrations of fools by artists such as Peter Flotner that appeared in the early sixteenth century. He believes that the surreal features may have been inspired by German writer Sebastian Brant's book Ship of Fools.
Experts believe that the helmet may have been a gift for Henry VIII which as the book had its first English translation in 1509 - the year that Henry VIII came to the throne.
"The runaway success of Brant's book inspired a fashionable cult of the fool in contemporary Europe," said Professor Rimer.
Last year was the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII ascending the throne which has been marked with events and exhibitions, which has seen the horned helmet, normally on display in Leeds, displayed at the Tower of London.
The helmet returns to Leeds in January and will be examined at the Centre for Precision Technologies at the University of Huddersfield.
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Weather for Leeds
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -9 C to 1 C
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Wind direction: South east
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Sunny spells
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