If Knightmare has an iconic image, unforgettable to anyone who even vaguely remembers the series, it is surely the Helmet of Justice: the headgear that every dungeoneer wore, and the device without which the gameshow would not have worked.

Treguard first explained the two-horned helmet to Knightmare's first dungeoneer, David of Team 1 of Series 1:

"Your quest through the Dungeon is for truth and justice. Justice of course is blind and when you don this helmet, you also become blind, although you'll find there is just enough vision to examine and collect objects from directly beneath you. The others remain here where with magic, they can be your eyes, their voices will reach you through the Helmet."
So it was that a dungeoneer would embark on a quest with his or her vision obscured by the Helmet of Justice while the three advisors, watching unimpaired on a video feed in the antechamber, would direct and instruct the dungeoneer via his or her earpiece. Some dungeoneers were unable to resist using what has been called the 'tilt your head back technique' to widen their field of vision.
As with standard non-magical helmets, the Helmet of Justice was regarded as affording the wearer protection, in this case from the Dungeon of Deceit's potent illusions, and removal of the Helmet was considered highly dangerous. That much is clear from Treguard's alarmed reaction to Mogdred's attempt to persuade Leo to take off the Helmet. Some dangers, though, could undermine the Helmet's protection, such as Medusa's petrifying stare in Series 2. Occasionally the Helmet was too protective: it rendered the Oracle of Confusion inaudible to teams, prompting Treguard to advise any dungeoneer that encountered her to lift the Helmet (pictured), albeit with eyes shut. The helmet first displayed its capacity to be a conduit for certain magic in Series 2, when the two energy beams of an AVAUNT spell cast by Team 12 of Series 2 were apparently emitted by the helmet's horns.

It turns out that the Helmet of Justice also served the same function as a standard helmet. When Knightmare Series 1-4 floor manager Tom Hunt was interviewed by his son Charlie in 2013, Tom revealed that 'several dungeoneers walked straight into the wall at the back of the 'void', but the Helmet of Justice prevented serious head injury.' It did not, however, have a censorship facility. (See: Team 6 of Series 7.)
From the beginning of Series 7 a new version of the Helmet of Justice was introduced, the in-game explanation for this being that the old "moo-cow helmet" (as Fatilla had called it) had become too recognisable. Indeed, by the fourth quest of the season, Sylvester Hands still did not realise that the wearers of the new helmet were dungeoneers. Conveniently ignorant, even for him. The new helmet had a visor that enabled the use of audiovisual equipment as part of seeing-eye spells (...and potions... and powders). Technology, it seems, sent Justice scurrying to the optician. If the altered Helmet of Justice was controversial among watchers, then the absence of one in 2004's Knightmare VR pilot was downright scandalous. Creator Tim Child would later write of a desire to restore "the essential dynamics of the exercise" by including "a real dungeoneer and a helmet" in any new version of Knightmare.

Some characters were more aware of the Helmet of Justice than others. Gundrada appreciated it as a questing constraint; Mellisandre wondered how Martin (Team 11 of Series 3) could comment on Motley's mime act with it on; Motley would often call a dungeoneer "helmet head"; yet Gretel insisted that Julian (Team 10 of Series 2) judge her looks.
Duplicate Helmets of Justice were occasionally seen in the Dungeon. One had been left behind in the Fire Cave in Series 3; Hands used one to disguise himself as Ben from Team 4 of Series 5 (pictured); one was seen on a skeleton by Team 3 of Series 7. It is unknown if and how Treguard recovered the helmet(s) from those dungeoneers who perished in the Dungeon, but he always had one ready for a new dungeoneer.

Dungeoneers in Le Chevalier du Labyrinthe, the French version of Knightmare, wore a helmet similar to the original Helmet of Justice. The dungeoneer's helmet in El Rescate del Talismán, Spain's version, was distinguished by wing-like appendages.
Posting on the Knightmare.com Forum in 2003, Scott from Team 9 of Series 3 stated that 'the old helmet of justice is made out of foam! foam i say and it has a yellow plastic workmans hardhat inside it to balance it on ur head.' There is no doubt among those who have handled the helmets that they are more lightweight than the metal helmets they are intended to resemble.
Although the dungeoneer-advisor relationship was not compatible with the Knightmare gamebooks, the Helmet of Justice (sometimes referred to as the Helm of Justice) still featured as part of the player's equipment. It did not blind the player but nonetheless offered protection. In The Labyrinths of Fear (pictured), Mordred knows that removing it will guarantee the player a grisly demise; in Fortress of Assassins, the boggart knows that without it, the player's eyes are exposed and vulnerable to its sleep dust. In The Future King, the Helmet of Justice is little more than a disposable piece of armour that could even hinder the player at certain points. Is nothing sacred?


Some Knightmare fans have made their own replica Helmets of Justice, invariably following the more popular older design. The replicas shown above were made by Mike Deaders as part of a Halloween costume in 2003. He revealed on the Knightmare.com Forum that he had used 'loads of card, glue ,wire and paint i didnt know what i was doing so it took me a week to do.' Another replica was used on Richard Bacon's Beer And Pizza Club in 2010 (see: XFM) and wrongly described during the show as the original.

The crew of Knightmare Live have also manufactured their own Helmets of Justice. One is a slight variation on the original design, the other a faithful recreation of it. The latter model was also used for the Knightmare episode that was produced for YouTube's August 2013 Geek Week. (During this episode, Treguard made reference to an armoury that contains multiple Helmets of Justice over varying sizes.) Further Helmets of Justice have been offered as part of Knightmare Live's fundraising on Kickstarter, both in wearable form and in keyring form. The poster art for Knightmare Live and the 2014 Knightmare Convention reused the Helmet of Justice artwork drawn by David Rowe for the cover of The Labyrinths of Fear.

The Twitter account @helmetofjustice has been used to make tweets from a fictional dungeoneer's perspective, including some addressed to celebrities. Strong language is used in a number of the tweets.

In July 2021, the Temporal Discussion Twitter account tweeted a photo of a replica Helmet of Justice, explaining: 'Two years ago I spent two weeks making this Helmet of Justice, then took it on the train all the way to Harrow, to help out a friend in need. The look on her face when she saw it was totally worth the effort.'
Courtesy of Tim Child, some fans have been lucky enough to handle the original helmet props, including Glenn Toogood (a.k.a. Motley/Fidjit, pictured), the crews of RPG Season 6 and RPG Season 7, and a number of those who attended the Knightmare Convention in 2014."Can you see, Matt?"

"I can't see an awful lot; I've got an urn on my head, don't forget."

- Team 1 of Series 6

[Lexicon entry #1000

Earlier version: 2011-12-09 19:11:57]

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