How does a plume holder for a helmet work? Very basics, what IS it, and how would one make, attach or use one? Pictures would be greatly appreciated.

If we wanted to really narrow down a date, let's say 1350 ish, but really any will do.

-Thanks for any help. :)

For 1350, you're more likely to find this sort of ornament on a helm used in tourney.

It works by pushing the quill of the feather into a narrow hole to hold it in place. There are a few varieties, but commonly thin sheet is rolled into a cone and soldered or riveted to an attachment plate. An ancient example:
http://p2.la-img.com/482/3026/1299297_1_l.jpg
And a Ren exaple on the back of the helm:
http://www.skinnerinc.com/full/772/833772.jpg
And an Oriental version:
http://www.cowanauctions.com/itemImages/ff8279.jpg

Another method is to have a block or orb with a narrow hole in it, IIRC that's what the pomegranate does here:
http://www.bladeturner.com/picture/creampuff_salet.jpg

Here's some plumage on a bascinet from 1418, Cpg 359 Rosengarten zu Worms
http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cpg359/0086

Sometimes, the plumes (peacock tail feather "eyes" in this c. 1260 case) seem to be simply stuffed into construction seams:

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Technical question, how does the plume holder actually hold the feathers?

BTW, thank you for the links, they're great.

Friction? Maybe combined with a little wax... Put a 4mm quill in a 3mm hole.

One of Carlo's books also shows a helm with a plume holder as well as two small holes further up the back of the helm so that the plume could be tied on with points.

Thank you all, this is really good stuff. :)