I watched a Doctor Who episode the other day, based on the protagonists joining Robin Hood in a swashbuckling adventure in Nottingham. Rather predictably, the episode was titled ‘Robot of Sherwood’.
I was rather disappointed to see the robots in question (who were acting as town guards/ personal body guard of the Sheriff) wearing the typical composition of blackened plate and mail armour used in Robin Hood productions.
However, what really upset me was the inclusion of this very recognisable style of great helm, based on the type shown here:
The fact of the matter is, this type of helmet didn’t appear until the mid-13th century, yet the episode claimed that the Doctor was in fact visiting the year 1192 CE. In this period, foot soldiers and town guards would actually be more likely to wear a nasal helmet like this:
A mail coif could also be included, as seen on this Spangenhelm:
Another common type of nasal helm, was this type of flat-skull Cervelliere:
Foot soldiers would also be just as likely to be found wearing a kettle helm:
The point is, there are many forms of helm that would be more suitable for this date, however the Doctor Who costume department decided to issue the robots with Great Helms that didn’t appear for at least another 50 years. This being said, we must give them the benefit of the doubt. The use of any other form of helmet wouldn’t allow the robots to dramatically reveal their futuristic facial lasers:
HC Military History 