Funeral helmet

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Funeral helmet of the von Pranckh family
Funeral helmet of the von Pranckh family

A funeral helmet or death helmet is a helmet that was placed in the grave or crypt of a high-ranking warrior or noble knight as a grave gift and symbol of the power of the deceased , or hung over his grave. The name Funeralhelm is derived from the Latin word funus , which means " burial ".

description

The most famous medieval funeral helmets include the pot or bucket helmets with crests ( heraldic helmets ) of the black prince from the second half of the 14th century in Canterbury Cathedral in England and that of the von Pranckh family (who probably belonged to Albert von Pranckh) from the 14th century (around 1350) in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna , Austria . Medieval funeral helmets were placed over a knight's grave together with death shields . Death helmet and death shield together are called funeral weapons . The deceased nobles were brought their funeral weapons to their home chapel, church or cathedral to hang them over the grave or to put them on the coffin . When a king or emperor died, a burial crown was added to the funeral helmet (crown helmet). Emperor Charles V, for example, had such a crown helmet (a piston tournament helmet with a grave crown attached) at his funeral. For monarchs , funeral helmets were often brought to the funeral ceremonies by envoys from the countries over which the deceased had ruled and remained there in the cathedral church . Funeral helmets can often be recognized by their design. They are often made of thin material and equipped with immobile visors or connecting parts. These helmets would be completely unsuitable for combat. However, helmets were also used that were made as combat or tournament helmets, such as the helmet of the von Pranckh family (see photo above right).

  • Human skull with funeral helmet and grave goods of the Chinchorro culture , approx. 500–1000 AD (Anker Nielsen Museum in Chile )

  • Bronze Funeralhelm a warrior from southern Italy with engraved dead symbols as Sphinx , satyrs and crypts , 400-375 v. Chr.

  • Prussian crown insignia , you can see the gilded death helmet which was worn on the coffin when a monarch died (February 1932, Hohenzollern Museum in Berlin)

  • Archduke Charles II. Of Inner Austria's funeral weapons with a funeral helmet are usually on the outer wall of the Habsburg mausoleum of the Seckau basilica , but are currently part of the permanent exhibition The World of Monks in the Benedictine Abbey of Seckau , Styria .

  • Funeral jacket helmet Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria (1540–1590)

literature

  • Elmar Mittler , Wilfried Werner (Ed.): Codex Manesse. (The Great Heidelberg Song Manuscript. Texts, Images, Things) (= Heidelberger Bibliotheksschriften 30). Exhibition of the University of Heidelberg; Catalog for the exhibition from June 12 to September 4, 1988, Heidelberg University Library. Braus, Heidelberg 1988, ISBN 3-925835-20-2 .
  • Rhenish yearbook for folklore. Volume 13/16, ISSN  0080-2697 , 1963.

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