The Coppergate Helmet is an 8th century Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...

 crested helm in York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

. It has two cheek plates, a mail curtain and a nose-guard, and is richly decorated with brass ornamentation. On analysis it was found to be made of iron with decorations of brass containing approximately 85 percent copper. The brass band across the crest bears a Latin inscription:

IN NOMINE : DNI : NOSTRI : IHV : SCS : SPS : DI : ET : OMNIBVS : DECEMVS : AMEN: OSHERE : XPI

Chi Rho

The Chi Rho is one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is used by Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two letters chi and rho of the Greek word "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ" =Christ in such a way to produce the monogram ☧...

"In the name of our Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God; and to all we say Amen

Amen

The word amen is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Its use in Judaism dates back to its earliest texts. It has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding word for prayers and hymns. In Islam, it is the standard ending to Dua and the...

 / Oshere

Oshere

Oshere, King of Hwicce, possibly jointly with his presumed brother Osric, and with Æthelmod, Æthelheard, Æthelweard, Æthelberht, and Æthelric.He appears to have issued a charter in 680 ....

 / Christ"

An alternative interpretation suggests the following translation:

"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Spirit of God, let us offer up Oshere

Oshere

Oshere, King of Hwicce, possibly jointly with his presumed brother Osric, and with Æthelmod, Æthelheard, Æthelweard, Æthelberht, and Æthelric.He appears to have issued a charter in 680 ....

 to All Saints. Amen

Amen

The word amen is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Its use in Judaism dates back to its earliest texts. It has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding word for prayers and hymns. In Islam, it is the standard ending to Dua and the...

."

Oshere is a male Anglian name and XPI are the first three letters of the word Christos (khristos) in Greek.
The helmet had been hidden in a well found near what is now the JORVIK Viking Centre

Jorvik Viking Centre

The JORVIK Viking Centre is a museum and visitor attraction in York, England. It was created by the York Archaeological Trust.- Background :Cravens, a firm of confectioners founded in 1803, relocated from their factory in Coppergate, a street in central York, in 1966...

, and was damaged as it was uncovered by a mechanical digger in 1982. It is now in the Yorkshire Museum

Yorkshire Museum

The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It is the home of the Cawood sword, and has four permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology and astronomy...

.

External links

• http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/anglo-saxon/suttonhoo/coppergate.html
• Coppergate Helmet