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Helmet With Horns Of Teutonic Knights

Discussion in '"Today in History", Literature & Media Review' started by fmenardi, Dec 27, 2012.

  1. fmenardi Active Member

    Country:
    Brazil
    Hello everybody!
    I've searched in several places (websites, books and magazines) but I did not found this information: use of the helmet with horns by the Teutonic knights in the Holy Land. So, my question: they (Teutonic knights) wore helmets with horns during the Crusades in the Holy Land? By the way, what were the criteria for the use of horned helmets within the order?
    Thank you very much for any help!
    All the best,
    Fabrício
  2. Mike - The Kiwi A Fixture

    Country:
    New_Zealand
    Hi Fabricio,

    Picking up on older thread here:
    http://forums.delphiforums.com/medrenfig/messages?msg=2032.7 there is evidence of these later in 1300's but like you tough to track down explicitly if horn crest worn during crusades of 11th - 13th Centuries.
    However quote from Terence Wise in "Wars of the Crusades" - German Eneide med manuscripts of i. 1210-20 contains illustrations of similiar crests. All have a ridged or fluted fan shape: if they were of thin iron or even cuir bouilli they would have decreased the effect of any blow to the top of the helmet, if only by absorbing some of the force of the blow as they were crushed.

    So perhaps these weren't decorative but also a practical application & may have been experimented with by the order.

    Hope this helps research for you project & look forward to seeing what others come up with.

    Stay safe
    Mike
  3. Helm A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Certainly what is termed a great helm had these [IMG] and much later on a "comb" was an element of the morion style of helmet [IMG] which implies it was a strengthening device and I believe the Teutonic knights may well have had these first then the famous horns came later possibly

    Steve
  4. Figurenfreund66 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Germany
    Horns and other jewelery on the helmet was worn for ceremonial and more tournaments. In combat this kind was more of a hindrance and even dangerous.
    If it can not be excluded, so I would pass on the ecclesiastical order of knights quite sure!
    regards

    Hendryk
  5. redrob New Member

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    The orders which governed the 'Order' were issued on several occasions forbidding Brothers from displaying any form of heraldry other than that of the order i.e. black and white. The fact that they were issued on a regular basis suggests that this was a constant subject of annoyance to the Grand Master.
    Many German codices of heraldry of the 13th Century show heraldry alongside fancy head gear. As has been noted above these are likely to have been a hindrance in a real fight.
    As far as I am aware all the surviving helm decorations are either wood or some form of papier mache. It would have been a waste of metal and probably unbalanced the helmet to an unusable degree.
    I think our impression of Teutonic Brothers in fancy hats owes more to Nazi or Soviet films of the 20's and 30's than to reality.
    It is highly unlikely that any superfluous helmet decoration would have been worn in the Holy Land, where western responses to that environment was always practical. I have never seen any contemporary illustrations of such head wear, either in middle eastern context or in a definite battle scene.
  6. fmenardi Active Member

    Country:
    Brazil
    Hello guys! Thank you very much for the help.
    Despite the differents opinions about the use of horned helmets by the Teutonic knights, I think we have e common point: these helmets are hindrance for the fighting performace, making the horns a superfluous item of ornament.
    So it is more plausible to represent my Teutonic knight in the Holy Land wearing a helmet without horns.
    I leave here my desires of a happy New Year. God bless all of you in 2013!
    Sincerely,
    Fabrício
    PS: This figure will be my Teutonic knight during the Sixth Crusade (1228-1229)

    Attached Files:

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  7. Helm A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    That will look fine like that Fabricio (y) I agree re the very big horns the small fan crests I think you could add however if you wanted to.

    Steve

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