Did Ancient Warriors Really Go to Battle Wearing Winged Helmets?

Ancient Origins

The winged helmet is a type of helmet that is found in mythology as well as history. In the realm of mythology, such helmets are associated with the Greek god Hermes (known also as Mercury by the Romans), as well as the Norse gods. Historically, the winged helmet is often associated with the Celts and Vikings, though erroneously so. Variations of the winged helmet were also used by different peoples during various periods of history.

 Greek and Roman Winged Helmet
In mythology, the winged helmet is perhaps most famously associated with the Greek god Hermes, and his Roman counterpart Mercury. The Greeks and Romans believed that this was the emissary and messenger of the gods. In this role, Hermes is required to travel swiftly from one place to another. Thus, to aid him in this, Hermes has a pair of winged sandals, which is said to have been made by Hephaestus using imperishable gold. Hermes’ status as a traveller is further enhanced by the hat said to be worn by him, either a broad-brimmed traveller’s hat, known as a petasos, or a winged cap.

Hermes carrying Pandora down from Mount Olympus wearing traveller hat. (A medal based on a design by John Flaxman). ( Public Domain )

Winged Helmets of the Norse Gods
Apart from Hermes and Mercury, the Norse gods are also depicted as wearing winged helmets. Such gods as Odin and Thor are often portrayed with such helmets. Additionally, the Valkyries (beings who chose, and brought those slain on the field of battle to Valhalla) are also commonly shown with winged helmets. It may be said, however, that the depiction of Norse mythological figures with winged helmets may be traced back to the artists of the Romantic Movement.

The vivid imagination of these Romantic artists not only influenced the artistic portrayal of the Norse gods , but also that of actual, historical Viking warriors. Today, it is common for people to imagine that the Vikings wore winged helmets (horned helmets are another popular, though equally erroneous, motif). This misconception is extended also to the Celts, the cartoon character Asterix being its most famous example. In a way, the winged helmet has become a symbol of the ‘barbarians of the north’.

hors Helmet at the Marvel booth at San Diego Comic-Con. ( CC BY-ND 2.0 )

Were Winged Helmets Actually Used?
Despite these representations in art, there is a dearth of archaeological evidence to support the imaginings of the Romantic artists. For instance, there has been no discovery so far of actual winged helmets, as we would imagine, from either the Viking or the Celtic realms. It has been suggested that the notion of northern barbarians wearing winged helmets comes from ancient Greek and Roman texts. The priests of the Celts, for instance, are said to have used winged helmets during certain religious ceremonies. Still, such headgear would not have been used by warriors in battle, as they would have been cumbersome, and would be more of a liability than an asset.

A 3 rd century B.C. Celtic winged helmet from Romania. Image: CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Be that as it may, there is at least one example of a winged helmet from the world of the ancient Celts. This helmet was found in Romania, and has been dated to the 3 rd century BC. This ‘winged helmet’ is in fact a typical Montefortino helmet with a bird, possibly an eagle or a raven, mounted on the top as a crest. The ingenious design allowed the wings of the bird to flap up and down as the wearer moved. It is unclear, however, if this helmet was worn on the battlefield, or was used in a non-military context, i.e. as a status symbol, or for certain ceremonies. Another example of a winged helmet is a 4 th century Attic helmet from southern Italy, which has two small wings on the sides. This helmet is believed to have been used for ceremonial purposes.

Greek helmet made in South Italy, 350-300 BC. Bronze. The elaborate decoration on this helmet suggests that it was strictly ceremonial and not intended to be worn into battle. ( CC BY 2.0 )

Finally, it may be said that the winged helmet belonged not only to the ancient worlds but is also thought to be found in the Medieval world, in particular in the Teutonic realm. The knights of the Teutonic Order are known to have used a type of helmet known as the great helm, and popular imagination has added either horns or wings to this form of headgear. Like the ancients, it is unlikely that such helmets were used in battle. An example of a medieval great helm with wings is that belonging to the von Pranckh family of Austria, and serves as a ‘funeral helmet’.

Great helmet with decoration of Albert of Prankh, Austria, 14th century (Replica) ( CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Top image: Illustration of a winged helmet. Credit: Game of Thrones Ascent Wiki

By: Wu Mingren

Is it Better to Die in Battle or to Flee? A Medieval View

Medievalists

How far should a warrior in battle? It has been a question that every soldier has probably thought about, and many have had to face. Even in the Middle Ages this was a question that was debated.

One view comes from Honoré Bonet, a French scholar living around the end of the 14th century. He composed a work in the 1380s called The Tree of Battles, which looked at warfare and how it should be fought. He examined dozens of questions about chivalry, including what were the duties of a good knight, whether a vassal is obliged to aid his lord, and even if priests and clerics should fight in war. In this section, he asks:

Whether a Man should prefer the death to flight from Battle?

Now we must consider a rather difficult question: that is, whether a man ought to choose death, rather than flee from the battle.

 I show, first, that he should choose flight in preference to awaiting death, and the reason is this. It is better, according to the philosopher, to choose what gives most delight. It is plain that to live is more agreeable and pleasant than to die, so that it is better to flee than to wait for death. As to the second reason: death is the most terrible and strongest of all things, and hence the most feared; but, since this is not, in the nature of things, a pleasure, it follows that it is not desired; for choice is, influenced by pleasure, and by freedom of choice.

Yet Aristotle, prince of philosophers, holds the contrary, for the following reason: “I say that for nothing in the world should a man do what is dishonourable and reprehensible. But it is plain that to flee is wicked, and brings great reproach and shame.” On this matter I wish to bring forward certain reasons which support the philosopher’s opinion. First, our decrees say that it is better to suffer and sustain all ills rather than consent to evil. But to flee and quit the right is an evil thing. Plainly then, he must by no means flee. A stronger proof is this: of two things a man must choose the better, and: if he does he will have life everlasting. So it is better to remain than to take flight to save the life of this mortal body, which is but meat for worms.

In this discussion I wish to add my own opinion, and it seems to me that if a knight is engaged in battle with Christians against Saracens, and thinks that by his flight he Christians may lose the battle; he must await death rather than take to flight, because he knows he will die for the Faith and be saved. If, on the other hand, he knows that by remaining he will not be helpful to the extent of preventing the loss of the battle, and he finds that he can save himself, and escape the hands of his enemies, I say he should go. If, however, he sees and recognises clearly that flight will not mean escape, indeed he would do better to stay; for it is better that he should await the issue defending himself and others, and die with his comrades, if God permits it, than that in such case he should flee. If a knight is fighting against Christians in his lord’s service, I tell you, as I said before, that he should be willing to die to keep the oath of his faith to his lord. I say the same of the knight in receipt of wages from the king or other lord, for since he has pledged to him his faith and oath he must die in defence of him and his honour; and thus does he maintain in himself the virtue of courage, so that he fears nothing that may befall in fighting for justice.

The entire work has been translated by G.W. Coopland in The Tree of Battles of Honoré Bonet, published by Liverpool University Press in 1949.

10 Facts About Medieval Knights

Made from History

Tournaments were not the kind of events you’re thinking of.

 BY TOM CROPPER

 Knights in the Medieval period were pledged to their kings or lieges to carry out military service. In return they were granted a position in court, an estate and/or loot acquired in battle. Knights could either inherit their knighthood or earn it through deeds on the battlefield. But how much much do we know about medieval knights? Here are 10 facts about knights and combat in the Middle Ages.

 1. Tournaments were not what you think
 We have a clear view of medieval tournaments, but they were not what you’re thinking. Instead they were vast recreations of battles and could last for hours and even days.

 2. Tournaments were mass entertainment These tournaments were wildly popular and successful knights became rich and famous. They earned their money by taking another knight hostage for ransom and stealing his horse.

 3. William Marshal was the biggest hero in England

William Marshal as played by William Hurt in the movie Robin Hood (2010).

 His name has slipped almost into obscurity, but William Marshal was the biggest hero of his day. He was the best tournament knight out there, unseated Richard I in battle, and drove the French away when they invaded. These days you normally get to see him as a bit part character in Robin Hood movies.

 4. The longbow came from Wales
 The longbow is thought to have been used most effectively by the Welsh before 1066. However, when Edward I sought to put down rebellion in Wales he was so impressed by the skill the Welsh archers ranged against him that he gave them jobs fighting in Scotland.

 5. It was hard to become a knight

Becoming a knight was a long process, but could be worth the effort.

 Every boy dreamed of becoming a knight, but it was a long road. First of all you’d have to serve seven years as a page followed by seven years as a squire.

 6. The Term ‘coup de grace’ originates in the Middle Ages

Two knights coming to blows on the tournament field.

 The term coup de grace refers to the final blow delivered to an opponent during a joust.

 7. The code of chivalry was real

The classic idea of a Knight taking his vows.

 When a man became a knight he took an oath to protect his king, women, the weak and to defend the Church. However, they did not always put this into practice.

 8. Women sometimes did the fighting

In true Game of Thrones style some women were pretty handy knights. Countess Petronella of Leicester donned some armour and fought alongside her husband during a rebellion against Henry II. Another damsel, Nicolaa de la Haye, defended Lincoln Castle against the French invaders. With William Marshal, the most famous knight of the time, she fought them off and helped to save England for Edward III.

 9. Knights were violent and anything but chivalrous
 The idea of chivalry did exist, but it only extended to other knights. In reality there was nothing worse than a bunch of knights with no war to fight. They’d spend their time looting and pillaging and often massacring local villagers just for the pure fun of it.

 10. Peasants killed off the knights

The Battle of Crecy where the longbow held the balance of power

 When Edward III attacked France in 1337 he brought about a complete change in warfare. While the French had the finest aristocratic knights in the finest armour he scoured the prisons and backstreets for violent soldiers promising pardons if they came to fight. England’s trained longbowmen proved too good for the France’s knights at Crecy, Poitiers and, later, Agincourt.

Rumours about Richard I’s sexuality have persisted since his death.

12th Century Inscribed Sword Found on English Golf Course is Remnant of a Deadly Battle

Ancient Origins

A digger team dredging a pond on the golf course where the bloody Battle of Fornham took place in England, discovered an old sword engraved with words, birds and animals inlaid in silver. It is believed that the Medieval sword is a remnant of the deadly battle where forces loyal to Henry II drove the rebel Earl of Leicester’s mercenaries into a marsh and slaughtered them.

 Newly Found Sword Sticking Up Just Like Excalibur
The site where the Battle of Fornham took place back in 1173 is nowadays a golf course at All Saints in Fornham St Genevieve, a village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk in eastern England. So, it came as a pleasant surprise to the diggers who were working in the area to bring up a bucket from the pond they were dredging and see an ancient sword sticking up just like Excalibur. “It was sticking out of the digger bucket with the cross handle upwards – it was weird, really,” Mr. Weakes told Bury Free Press. David Weakes of Weakes Construction was the banksman to digger driver Dominic Corcoran when they found the sword and couldn’t hide his excitement for being part of such a historic discovery, “It’s lucky the digger bucket didn’t break it. I’ve found coins, old bottles, things like that, before but nothing like this. It’s very rare for something that old to be in that condition after all those years,” he said.

The sword was found sticking out of the digger bucket with cross handle upwards, like King Arthur’s legendary Excalibur sword (parsons.peggy / flickr)

The Bloody Battle of Fornham
The Battle of Fornham took place during the Revolt of 1173–74, a rebellion against King Henry II of England by three of his sons, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their rebel supporters, after the king attempted to conquer new lands for his youngest son, Prince John. John's three older brothers, obviously insulted by their father’s act, fled to the court of King Louis VII of France, where they raised a rebellion. The rebelling sons and the French king gathered a respectable amount of allies and invaded Normandy, while the Scottish king invaded England. These invasions didn’t go well and negotiations between the rebels and the English king didn’t produce any peace. In the autumn of 1173 a third battle took place when the Earl of Leicester landed a large Flemish mercenary force at Walton near Felixstowe, quickly uniting with troops under the Earl of Norwich to push inland after resting at Framlingham .

That combined force mainly comprised foot-soldiers. When the rebels reached Fornham about three miles north of Bury St Edmunds, a small royalist force led by the man Henry left in charge of England in his absence, Richard de Lucy, along with the Royal Constable Humphrey de Bohun, seized the opportunity to attack them in the flank. This was a bold move given the loyalists fielded perhaps fewer than a thousand men, but those men included around four hundred trained cavalry against some eighty mounted warriors on the rebel side.

Action on the initial field of battle may have been brief, the Earl of Leicester was rapidly captured and the loyalist cavalry charges dispersed the inexperienced foot-soldiers. The small groups of Flemish fighters fleeing the fight were easy prey for the local peasantry whose motivation must have been in part a desire to rob those who had come to plunder them, and in part a furious drive to prevent a return to the anarchy of Stephen’s reign just a generation earlier. The invaders were slaughtered in droves.

Sword Has Stunning Silver Engravings
Fast forward to 2017, David Harris, who is in charge of the work at the hotel, said that the sword was sent to a conservator for further examination. During its cleaning, the conservator found engravings of words, birds and animals inlaid in silver. That means the sword, complete with parts of its scabbard, will now go through the Treasure Act process and will be subject of an inquest, while it is currently held by Suffolk County Council’s Archaeological Service.

Inscribed words in inlaid silver. Credit: Suffolk County Council

 “It’s wonderful – you can see all the silver emblems over it,” Harris told Bury Free Press. He added, “We would like to retain the sword on the premises. Our restaurant, The View, looks out over the battlefield so people could see it and look out over where it was found while they drink their coffee. Museums are great but it would be nice to have it here on the site where it was found.”

According to Bury Free Press, if an inquest concludes that the sword was riches hidden by someone intending to reclaim it, then it automatically becomes Crown property. However, the finders and land owner of the land are entitled to a reward based on a British Museum valuation.

This is the second 12th century sword to have been found from the Battle of Fornham. The first one, called ‘The Fornham Sword’. It was found in 1933 in mud at the bottom of a ditch in Fornham Park. The Fornham Sword is also engraved with inlaid silver and translates to ‘Be thou blessed’ on one side and ‘In the name of the Lord’ on the other.

The Fornham sword discovered in 1933, currently displayed in Moyse’s Hall Museum.

Top image: Main: The Fornham All Saints golf course. Inset: The newly-discovered Medieval sword. Credit: Suffolk County Council.

By Theodoros Karasavvas