Dolphin's Armor medieval helmet - photos

**homemademike** · May 2, 2020, 08:51 AM

I have been subscribed to HMT.net for a while, but this was the first time I posted on the Forum. It is really nice to have somewhere to learn and discuss unusual things. It is like being part of a team of researchers, who enjoy learning, and helping others learn. I really appreciate people taking the time to help me know more about something like this helmet and its history. I think a person would have to spend a LOT of time and effort to find information like this anywhere else. It is just plain neat to be part of it. Thanks again. Mike

**Okapi** · May 2, 2020, 04:44 PM

Thanks for your commentary Mike, it's not always easy for me to read and write in english, and normally if nobody says that before I don't make a post to correct something like that, but when it's in my specialty, and when I understood what is written, just to explain what is a false use of a word is a minima for others members. ;-)
In the past I wrote in a specialized monthly collectors paper, with internet all is dead now on paper and they are so many problems when you wrote something on the web that I just make that for collectors or museums actually.

**Nick79** · May 2, 2020, 06:14 PM

The attention to detail and amount of time this had to take to make is very impressive. The craftsman was obviously very highly skilled.

**Philip Davies** · May 3, 2020, 05:41 AM

What is the general attitude towards the use of English? Auto-correct is often irritating, and I imagine that people feel patronised if their English is corrected. I have certainly made my share of typos! On the other hand, there are contributors who are trying to improve their English, a language which has many peculiarities.

**Okapi** · May 3, 2020, 02:07 AM

As it seems you appreciate this work on metal, you can see examples from other countries on the Museum of Geneva website : https://www.ville-ge.ch/meg/musinfo_....php?id=022384
They have a lot of damascened works of art, this one is from the same period and it's very interesting to compare the design through the world.
About all parts of the life made of metal were decorated by this technique in oriental cultures.
MEG

**Okapi** · May 3, 2020, 06:25 AM

Personally, writing in english when I was going to Bisley GB was really a torture before the possibilities of web dictionaries, actually I'm very happy when people take time to explain me what's wrong, I use paper dictionary together with the Reverso function when it's important to be very precise.

**Philip Davies** · May 3, 2020, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by Okapi

Personally, writing in english when I was going to Bisley GB was really a torture before the possibilities of web dictionaries, actually I'm very happy when people take time to explain me what's wrong, I use paper dictionary together with the Reverso function when it's important to be very precise.

Thanks. I am happy to proof-read posts, if any one would like that: that is my craft and mastership, not tool making.

**mklotz** · May 3, 2020, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by Philip Davies

Thanks. I am happy to proof-read posts, if any one would like that: that is my craft and mastership, not tool making.

And I've amassed a large collection of the common homophone errors I've seen in internet posts. Folks who might want a copy can PM me with their email address and I'll send it along.

**mklotz** · May 3, 2020, 08:52 AM

Richard Porson, an English scholar, wrote "Life is too short to learn German". I think he missed the boat. Compared to English, German is easy to learn; it's a far more organized language (although sometimes at the expense of the precision of expression English offers).

That said, I have sincere and deep respect for any non-native speaker who attempts to write in English. An impossibly large vocabulary and a mess of irregular spelling and grammar coupled with the moving target of frequent inventions of new words and constructs make it a Sisyphean task to learn.

The only advice I can offer to native as well as non-native writers is:

Proofread what you write - this is by far the most useful way to improve your writing

Keep and use your spell checker but disable its autocorrect function..

The checker will highlight typos that produce non-words (e.g. teh) but cannot detect homophone errors (e.g. there/their/they're misuses). Autocorrectors will never work until they can understand the text the way a literate human does and that isn't going to happen in our lifetime.

**Philip Davies** · May 3, 2020, 10:47 AM

Originally Posted by mklotz

Richard Porson, an English scholar, wrote "Life is too short to learn German". I think he missed the boat. Compared to English, German is easy to learn; it's a far more organized language (although sometimes at the expense of the precision of expression English offers).

That said, I have sincere and deep respect for any non-native speaker who attempts to write in English. An impossibly large vocabulary and a mess of irregular spelling and grammar coupled with the moving target of frequent inventions of new words and constructs make it a Sisyphean task to learn.

The only advice I can offer to native as well as non-native writers is:

Proofread what you write - this is by far the most useful way to improve your writing

Keep and use your spell checker but disable its autocorrect function..

The checker will highlight typos that produce non-words (e.g. teh) but cannot detect homophone errors (e.g. there/their/they're misuses). Autocorrectors will never work until they can understand the text the way a literate human does and that isn't going to happen in our lifetime.

Das stimmt!