Thracian Helmet

A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protective function are sometimes worn. Soldiers wear combat helmets, often made from Kevlar or other lightweight synthetic fibers.

The word ''helmet'' is derived from ''helm'', an Old English word for a protective head covering.

Helmets are used for recreational activities and sports (e.g., jockeys in horse racing, American football, ice hockey, cricket, baseball, camogie, hurling and rock climbing); dangerous work activities such as construction, mining, riot police, military aviation, and in transportation (e.g. motorcycle helmets and bicycle helmets). Since the 1990s, most helmets are made from resin or plastic, which may be reinforced with fibers such as aramids.

Designs

Some British gamekeepers during the 18th and 19th centuries wore helmets made of straw bound together with cut bramble. Europeans in the tropics often wore the pith helmet, developed in the mid-19th century and made of pith or cork.

Military applications in the 19th–20th centuries saw a number of leather helmets, particularly among aviators and tank crews in the early 20th century. In the early days of the automobile, some motorists also adopted this style of headgear, and early football helmets were also made of leather. In World War II, American, Soviet, German, Italian and French flight crews wore leather helmets, the German pilots disguising theirs under a beret before disposing of both and switching to cloth caps. The era of the First and Second World Wars also saw a resurgence of metal military helmets, most notably the Brodie helmet and the Stahlhelm.

Modern helmets have a much wider range of applications, including helmets adapted to the specific needs of many athletic pursuits and work environments, and these helmets very often incorporate plastics and other synthetic materials for their light weight and shock absorption capabilities. Some types of synthetic fibers used to make helmets in the 21st century include aramid fibers, such as Kevlar and Twaron. Race car helmets include a head and neck support system that keeps the helmet (and head) attached to the body in severe collisions.

Helmet types

Helmets of many different types have developed over time. Most early helmets had military uses, though some may have had more ceremonial than combat applications.

Two important helmet types to develop in antiquity were the Corinthian helmet and the Roman galea.

During the Middle Ages, many different military helmets and some ceremonial helmets were developed, almost all being metal. Some of the more important medieval developments included the great helm, the bascinet, the frog-mouth helm, and the armet.

The great seal of Owain Glyndŵr (c. 1359 – c. 1415) depicts the prince of Wales & his stallion wearing full armour, they both wear protective headgear with Owain's gold dragon mounted on top. This would have been impractical in battle, so therefore these would have been ceremonial.

In the 19th century, more materials were incorporated, namely leather, felt and pith. The pith helmet and the leather pickelhaube were important 19th century developments. The greatest expansion in the variety of forms and composition of helmets, however, took place in the 20th century, with the development of highly specialized helmets for a multitude of athletic and professional applications, as well as the advent of modern plastics. During World War I, the French army developed the Adrian helmet, the British developed the Brodie helmet, and the Germans produced the Stahlhelm.

Flight helmets were also developed throughout the 20th century. A multitude of athletic helmets, including football helmets, batting helmets, hockey helmets, cricket helmets, bicycle helmets, motorcycle helmets and racing helmets, were also developed in the 20th century.

Helmets since the mid-20th century have often incorporated lightweight plastics and other synthetic materials, and their use has become highly specialized. Some important recent developments include the French SPECTRA helmet, Spanish MARTE helmet or the American PASGT (commonly called "Kevlar" by U.S. troops) and Advanced Combat Helmet, or ACH.

Heraldry

As the coat of arms was originally designed to distinguish noble combatants on the battlefield or in a tournament, even while covered in armour, it is not surprising that heraldic elements constantly incorporated the shield and the helmet, these often being the most visible parts of a knight's military equipment.

The practice of indicating peerage through the display of barred or grilled helmets first appeared around 1587-1615, and the heraldic convention of displaying helmets of rank in the United Kingdom, which came into vogue around Stuart times, is as follows:
*Sovereign: a gold barred-face (tournament) helm placed affronté
*Peer's helmet: silver barred-face (tournament) helm placed in profile
*Knight's or baronet's helmet: steel helm (earlier jousting helm, later close helm) placed affronté with visor open
*Esquire's helmet: steel helm placed in profile with visor closed

Earlier rolls of arms reveal, however, that early heraldic helmets were depicted in a manner faithful to the styles in actual military or tournament use at the time.Fox-Davies, P. 316.

Gallery

File:Cretan Helmet.jpg, Boar tusk Minoan helmet, 1600–1500 BCE
File:Boars's tusk helmet NAMA6568 Athens Greece1.jpg, Boar tusk Mycenaean helmet, 14th century BCE
File:Corinthian helmet Denda Staatliche Antikensammlungen 4330.jpg, Corinthian helmet, 500 BCE
File:Greek - Chalcidian-Type Helmet - Walters 542468.jpg, Greek Chalcidian helmet, 500 BCE
File:Bronze helmet of conical shape MET DP21094.jpg, Greek pilos helmet, 450–425 BCE
File:Boeotian helmet.jpg, Boeotian helmet, 4th century BCE
File:Illyrian-Greek helmet from Montenegro - Budva -4th cBC.png, Greek Illyrian type helmet, 4th century BCE
File:Pletena helmet.jpg, Thracian helmet, 4th century BCE
File:Parade helmet.jpg, Celtic (Gallic) parade helmet, 350 BCE
File:Ancient bronze greek helmet -South Italy.jpg, Attic helmet, 350 BCE to 300 BCE
File:Phrygian helmet.jpg, Greek bronze Phrygian helmet, 350 BCE to 300 BCE
File:Roman helmet.jpg, Roman cavalry helmet, 1st century CE
File:The Nijmegen cavalry helmet, an iron mask sheathed in bronze and silver discovered in 1915 on the left bank of the Waal river near Nijmegen, second half of the first century, Museum het Valkhof, Nijmegen (Netherlands) (9569871602).jpg, Roman cavalry helmet
File:The black helmet of a Mongolian army(2).JPG, Black Mongolian helmet
File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art mtw 1415.jpg, alt=Iranian helmet, iron, bronze rivets and gilding., Iranian, 7th or 8th century AD Spangenhelm
File:KHM Wien A 12 - Bascinet by Master A, Milan, c. 1400, side.jpg, Early 15th century bascinet with ''hounskull'' visor
File:Helm for the Joust of Peace (Stechhelm) MET DP271142.jpg, 15th-century German frog-mouth helm used in jousting
File:Helmet of Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (37046195461).jpg, Ottoman zischagge helmet, mid-16th century
File:German - Close Helmet of the "Maximilian" Style - Walters 51465 - Profile.jpg, 16th century Maximilian style close helmet
File:Parade helmet VandA M.52-1909.jpg, 19th-century Japanese kabuto
File:Braunschweigisches Husaren-Regiment Nr. 17 Totenkopf Paradehelm Cut out.jpg, German Pickelhaube
File:Musee-de-lArmee-IMG 0976.jpg, Late 19th-century pith helmet
File:Soldiers Zhejiang Campaign 1942.jpg, Type 90 helmets worn by the Japanese during the Second World War
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-089-3779-11A, Russland, Hauptmann mit Ritterkreuz Recolored.jpg, A German stahlhelm during World War II
File:VMA-311Flight Helmet.JPG, Vietnam War era Marine squadron VMA-311 flight helmet
File:US soldiers wearing the PASGT helmet, Hawaii (cropped).jpg, PASGT helmet
File:Fire helmet, c. 1893, leather, steel - Old Colony History Museum - Taunton, Massachusetts - DSC03887.jpg, Leather and steel firefighting helmet
File:Sporthelme.jpg, Ski helmet (left), paragliding helmet (right)
File:STS-135 Sandy Magnus undergoes a fit check of her Sokol suit.jpg, Astronaut helmet
File:Aviakit Pudding basin helmet.jpg, Aviakit motorcyclist "pudding basin" helmet
File:White-helmets.jpg, Full face and open face motorcycle helmets
File:Hurling helmet 000 0200.jpg, Hurling/Camogie helmet
File:Magnus Muhrén 2012b.jpg, Bandy helmet

See also

* Combat helmet
** List of combat helmets
* Face shield
* Firefighter's helmet
* God helmet
* Helmet boxing
* The Stackhat

References

External links

"Helmets...A Medieval Note In Modern Warfare"
August 1942, ''Popular Science'' evolution of military helmets

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Canoeing and kayaking equipment
Headgear
Hurling equipment
Safety