Ulrich’s Helmet Charm Holder

So – Ulrich von Liechtenstein (1200–1275): Minnesinger. Knight. Cross-dresser. In his Frauendienst, which is purportedly autobiographical, Ulrich tells us he performed a jousting tour of five weeks, traveling from Venice to Vienna, dressed the entire time as Venus, the goddess of love (and yes, I do want the T-shirt). In the Manesse Codex, this is represented by having the conventionally-clad Ulrich wear a helmet with a massive crest of the crowned goddess wielding the arrow of love and a torch. So naturally, when we saw a fragmentary brooch of a helmet with a crest of a figure with arm raised (see the image in the gallery), we thought of Ulrich. And we have gone ahead and filled in the rest, speculatively, but with enormous pleasure. The Netherlandish brooch we started with is dated 1425-1475.