Viking Helmet from Beowulf and Grendel, with FREE Stand

Beowulf was a superhero before there were superheroes. His epic poem, probably first told in the 8th century, was the old Norse equivalent of a John Woo movie, with Beowulf as the action hero (although in Beowulf, there's actually good writing and a decent plot).

Beowulf and his men came fully armored to Denmark to meet with the King Hrothgar. Being of noble blood, Beowulf's armor and weapons would have been fine works of craftmanship and would no doubt have borne relatively elaborate markings upong them. This helmet, an exact replia of the one made for Gerard Butler in the movie "Beowulf and Grendel," is a fine interpretation of what a Viking noble warrior would have worn.

The helmet is magnificently crafted from a tough, multilayer, 18-gauge steel. The steel has been given a satin finish that both protects the metal and looks awesome. Rich brass celtic engravings and reliefs give this helmet a royalty and style unmatched in any Viking helmet we have seen.

The helmet has a chain mail aventail that hangs from the back to protect the neck. But it's not just any aventail, mind you. It's a snazzy black number that actually has butted chain links. And I don't mean that it hangs down to your ass. The links are riveted together instead of simply bent into one another. This is the best way to do chain mail since it becomes very difficult for the links to unhinge from one another (those of you with non-riveted chain mail know what I'm talking about. How's your back feel after bending over to pick up loose rings all the time?).

The cheek guards on this Beowulf helmet are riveted to extremely thick and durable hunksof leather. This allows the plates to swing freely, or to be pulled tightly to your cheeks with the included leather draw cords. And speaking of touching your skin, most of the inside of the helmet is lined with a velvety leather, making it extremely comfortable on your face and forehead and bypassing entirely the toilet-seat-like pain of putting on a cold helmet in the winter.

The helmet comes with an adjutable leather liner that ensures a snug fit for almost everyone. And really, in all seriousness, it's one of the most comfortable helmets we've ever sold. Strongblade includes a free Museum Quality laquered stand with these helmets (the one you see in the photos, or click on the link at left to see it closer), a $45 value. No one else that sells this Beowulf helmet includes the stand, but we figured that if you're going to shell out hard earned cash for this puppy, the least we could do is throw in a really nice stand to display it on.