Armor in the poem BeowulfThe armor mentioned in the poem Beowulf includes helmets and chain mail. There are an incredible number of references to these battle garments in the poem, making the topic of armor very relevant to consider. “Helms are the most dramatic and oft-cited item of armor found in Beowulf,” says Catherine M. Hills. in "Beowulf and Archaeology". Indeed, examining the poem, one finds copious references to helmets in just the first 400 lines of the poem: boar figures glittered on plated, gold-inlaid pillows; shining, fire-hardened, fierce war masks protected their lives (303-303-303). 6)iron-grey corsets and dark mask-helmets (334)the Geat leader spoke in turn, strong in his helmet (341-2)Now you can enter, with your battle armor, wearing war masks (395-6 )Brave in his helmet[he advanced] until he stood before the king (403-4)“Beowulf's helmet was 'inlaid with gold, surrounded with elegant bands, and decorated with effigies of boars'” (Arnold 91). About 100 helmets dating back mostly to the 6th and 7th centuries have been found in Europe; of the three types, two are Roman. 37 are of the English-Scandinavian type, with a ridge running across the top from the nose to the back. Some of these were found buried in cremations on Gotland. Only three Anglo-Saxon helmets have been found in England: Benty Grange – 7th century; York – 8th century; Sutton Hoo – 6th century. A section of chain mail was found attached to the York helmet as a nec...... medium of paper ...... and drawing especially in the making of helmets. BIBLIOGRAPHY Arnold, Ralph. "Royal Halls - The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial." In Beowulf: The Donaldson Translation, edited by Joseph F. Tuso. New York, WWNorton and Co.: 1975Chickering, Howell D.. Beowulf A bilingual edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1977.Clark, George. Beowulf. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1990. Cramp, Rosemary. "Beowulf and archaeology." In The Beowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. Fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.Hills, Catherine M. “Beowulf and Archaeology.” In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1997. Stanley, E. G. "Beowulf." In the Beowulf Reader, edited by Peter S. Baker. New York: Garland Publishing, 2000.