The earliest versions of the bascinet at the beginning of the 14th century had no visors and were worn underneath larger quotgreat helmsquot after the initial clash of lances the great helm was often discarded during fierce hand to hand combat as it impeded breathing and vision thus having a smaller helmet underneath was a real advantage small quotnasalsquot were developed to protect the nose and part of the face after the great helm was discarded by the middle of the 14th century mo