Horned helmet

Persian pre-Islamic hornedkulah khudwith a demon face.

Horned helmetswere worn by many people around the world. Headpieces mounted withanimal hornsor replicas were also worn sinceancient history,as in theMesolithicStar Carr Frontlets.These were probably used for religiousceremonialorritualpurposes, as horns tend to be impractical on acombat helmet.Much of the evidence for these helmets and headpieces comes from depictions rather than the items themselves.

Prehistoric Middle East & Cyprus

Horned hats have been used to signify deities inMesopotamiaandCyprus,and later, as seen on theVictory Stele of Naram-Sin,kings as well. More horns signified higher importance.

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  Near Easternhorned deity copper statuette (proto-Elamite3000–2800 BC)
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  King Naram-Sin on theVictory Stele of Naram-Sin(2254–2218 BC).
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  Bronze "Horned God" from Enkomi (12th century BC), Cyprus Archaeological Museum, Nicosia.
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  Bronze "Ingot God" from Enkomi (12th century BC), Cyprus Archaeological Museum, Nicosia.

Europe

Prehistoric Europe

Further information:Horned deityandAncient warfare

Two bronze statuettes dated to the early 12th century BC, the so-called "horned god" and "ingot god", found inEnkomi,Cyprushave horned helmets. In Sardinia warriors with horned helmets are depicted in dozens of bronze figures and in theMont'e Prama giant statues,similar to those of theShardanawarriors (and possibly belonging to the same people) depicted by the Egyptians.

A pair of bronze horned helmets, theVeksø helmets,from the laterBronze Age(dating toc. 1100-900 BC) were found near Veksø, Denmark, in 1942.Another early find is theGrevensvænge hoardfromZealand,Denmark,(c. 800–500 BC,now partially lost).

TheWaterloo Helmet,a Celtic bronze ceremonial helmet withrepoussédecoration in theLa Tène style,dating toc. 150–50 BC,was found in theRiver Thames,atLondon.Its abstracted 'horns', different from those of the earlier finds, are straight and conical.LateGaulishhelmets (c. 55 BC) with small horns and adorned with wheels, reminiscent of the combination of a horned helmet and a wheel on plate C of theGundestrup cauldron(c. 100 BC), were found inOrange, France.Other Celtic helmets, especially from Eastern Europe, had bird crests. The enigmaticTorrs Pony-cap and Hornsfrom Scotland appears to be a hornedchampronto be worn by a horse.

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  TheVeksø horned helmets,from the laterBronze Age(c. 1100-900 BC).
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  Horned helmet bronze figurine (c. 8th century BC), Denmark.
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  Taranto(perhaps), hornedCorinthian helmet(c. 650 BC).
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  TheWaterloo Helmet(c. 150–50 BC),Thames,England.
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  Horned helmet figure on plate C of theGundestrup cauldron(2nd–1st century BC).
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  Horned bronzegladiatorhelmet.

European Migration Period

Depicted on theArch of Constantine,dedicated in 315 CE, are Germanic soldiers, sometimes identified as "Cornuti",shown wearing horned helmets. On the relief representing theBattle of Verona (312)they are in the first lines, and they are depicted fighting with the bowmen in the relief of theBattle of the Milvian Bridge.

A depiction on aMigration Period(5th century) metal die fromÖland,Sweden,shows a warrior with a helmet adorned with two snakes, or dragons, arranged in a manner similar to horns. Decorative plates of theSutton Hoo helmet(c. 600 CE) depict spear-carrying dancing men wearing horned helmets,similar to a figure seen on one of theTorslunda platesfrom Sweden.Also, a pendant from Ekhammar inUppland,features the same figure in the same pose and an 8th century find in Staraya Ladoga (a Norse trading outpost at the time) shows an object with similar headgear. An engraved belt-buckle found during excavations bySonia Chadwick Hawkesin a 7th century grave atFinglesham, Kentin 1964 bears the image of a naked warrior standing between two spears wearing a belt and a horned helmet;a case has been madethat the much-repairedchalk figurecalled the "Long Man of Wilmington",East Sussex, repeats this iconic motif, and originally wore a similar cap, of which only the drooping lines of the neckguard remain. This headgear, of which only depictions have survived, seems to have mostly fallen out of use with the end of the Migration period. Some have suggested that the figure in questiondoes not portray actual headgear, but a mythological object of a god likeOdin.A one-eyed figure with similar headgear was found at the site ofUppåkra temple,an alleged center of an Odinic-cult activity. A similar figurine from Levide,Gotland,lacked an eye, apparently removed after its completion. This would link the headgear as a mythological representations rather than depictions of actual helmets.Note that the similar crests to the animal figures on the helmets of the warrior's depicted on the Sutton Hoo helmet has been demonstrated on helmets from Valsgärde, but the depicted crests where grossly exaggerated.

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  Figures with bird-horned helmets from theSutton Hoo helmet(c. 7th century).
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  Early Anglo-Saxon gilded copper-alloy mount of bird-horned helmet figure (c. 7th century).
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  Bird-horned helmet figure on one of theTorslunda plates(c. 7th century).

European Middle Ages

During theHigh Middle Ages,fantastical headgear became popular among knights, in particular for tournaments.Theachievementsor representations of somecoats of arms,for example that ofLazar Hrebeljanovic,depict them, but they rarely appear as charges depicted within the arms themselves. It is sometimes argued that helmets with large protuberances would not have been worn in battle due to the impediment to their wearer. However, impractical adornments have been worn on battlefields throughout history.

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  The GermanHyghalmen Roll,c. late 15th century, illustrates bothwinged helmetsand a hornedhelmin the arms of Dalheim, bottom row.
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  Great helm of Albert vonPranckh,14th century, showing the style often used by theTeutonic order.
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  Some hornedgreat helmsdepicted among joustingfrog-mouth helms.
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  Coat of arms of medieval Danish KingValdemar the Conquerordepicting horns on his metal helmet.

In Asia

In pre-Meiji RestorationJapan, someSamurai armorincorporated a horned, plumed or crested helmet. These horns, used to identify military commanders on the battlefield, could be cast from metal, or made from genuinewater buffalohorns.

Indo-Persianwarriors often wore horned or spiked helmets in battle to intimidate their enemies. These conical "devil masks"were made fromplated mail,and usually had eyes engraved on them.

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  Japanesekabutowith buffalo horns.
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  Indo-Persian Devil Mask, cuirass andscimitar.

Popular association with Vikings

Main article:Fantasy Viking § Horned and winged helmets

Stereotypical fantasy Viking with horned helmet.

Viking warriorsare often associated with horned helmetsin popular culture,but this is merely a modern association starting in the 1800s, initially popularized by the Norse operas ofRichard Wagner,which depicted horns andwingson thehelmets of the vikings.

Contemporary Viking Age texts and stories regularly mention helmets, but never mention horned headgear. Christian writers, who were keen to portray the Vikings as barbaric and uncivilized, omitted the mention of horns.The few period helmets found thus far do not feature horns, instead coinciding with the construction of earlierVendel Periodspectacle helmets. The helmet descriptions found in the period epic poemBeowulfalso coincide with the Vendel era helmets, as well as earlierGermanic boar helmets,which also lack horns. The only find of Scandinavian horned helmets are the Bronze AgeVeksø Helmetsand depictions of ceremonial "bird horned" headgear on Migration Period trinkets – see§ European Migration Period.Historians generally believe that if horned headgear existed during the Viking Age, it was not worn regularly.

A 20th-century example is theMinnesota VikingsAmerican footballteam, whose logo carries a horn on each side of the helmet. The comic strip characterHägar the Horribleand all male Vikings in the animated TV seriesVicky the Vikingare always depicted wearing horned helmets, as are numerous characters in theDreamWorksHow to Train Your Dragonfranchise and inThe Lost Vikingsvideo game series. Another popular culture depiction is the homage to Wagner'sDer Ring des NibelungenbyMerrie Melodiesin theChuck Jones-directed cartoonWhat's Opera, Doc?,which depictsElmer Fuddwearing a magical horned Viking helmet as he chasesBugs Bunny.

Gallery

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  Man in horned helmet,Ghana
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  Horned medievalazerbaijanihelmet
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  Horned medievalazerbaijanihelmet
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  Austrian 16th century horned helmet,Royal Armouries Museum
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  Celtic horned horse helmet

See also

• Golden hat
• Horned God
• Pickelhaube
• Pointed hat
• Winged helmet

External links

• Frank, Roberta (2000). "The invention of the Viking horned helmet".International Scandinavian and Medieval Studies in Memory of Gerd Wolfgang Weber.pp. 199–208 – viaScribd.
• Additional non-Scribd version of Frank article
• "Did Vikings really wear horns on their helmets?".The Straight Dope.7 December 2004.