What does the Roman helmet mean?

As you might know, the backbone of the Roman legion was infantry, which wore heavy armor, consisting of a helmet, a bib, knee pads on the right leg and the left hand of the buckler. The helmet performed a protective function for the warrior's head and neck. Initially, the helmet was made with leather or untanned skin, strengthened and adorned by bronze or gold.

Later, to provide greater protection for the soldiers, Roman helmets became beaten out of a single sheet of iron or brass. Helmets were often crowned with a knob or spike for the attachment of crests or tubes for feathers.

The most famous are The Roman helmets of the commanders. Their hallmark is a crest made of horse-hair or feathers. The crests were attached to the Roman helmets by a central support called a crest block or plume holder. Italic and Gallic forms of helmets had fittings to enable the attachment of decorative crests, by differing means, either slot or twist.

The crests served not only for ornament, but to distinguish the different centurions. The centurion wore a transverse crest, meaning that it ran from side to side across his helmet. It is believed that centurions wore these crests in battle during the early Empire as the crests served as a visual reference and rallying point for their men.

Lower ranking soldiers only wore the crests for special occasions such as parades or triumphs. The colors used for crests of Roman helmets are believed to include red, purple, black, white and yellow, although in art they always appear to be depicted as red.



Thanks for reading!