Cheek flap
Cheek flap refers to the part of a helmet that should protect the cheeks . This primarily means a helmet for military purposes.
Appearance and use
The cheek flaps were each attached to one side of the main helmet. Strictly speaking, they are only called “flaps” if they are not rigidly connected to the main part of the helmet (as was the case with the Corinthian helmet ). In the Roman army , the cheek flaps were attached with movable rivets. They were only of limited use for intercepting blows and blows from the opponent's handguns. However, the force of a hit on the cheek flap is distributed over a large area. This will reduce the damage. The part of the face covered by the cheek flaps is protected from cuts and weaker stitches. Cheek flaps were also decorative items with elaborate decorations. They made the helmet easier to attach to the chin. In a single find of a Roman helmet of a centurion, a name was found.
history
Cheek flaps have existed since the disappearance of the Greek helmet, which as yet had no flaps but consisted entirely of a rigid, chased piece of iron. The cheek flaps experienced their greatest heyday in the Roman Empire, when such helmets were mass-produced. In the Roman legions , helmets were worn hanging over the chest while marching through peaceful areas; the foldable cheek flaps allowed the helmet to be made flatter than it would be, for. B. would be possible with Corinthian helmets. Even at the time of the Great Migration, helmet types with this cheek protection were mainly worn by the Goths.
The cheek flap disappeared with the advent of the visor and the accompanying chin guard.
literature
- Peter Connolly : The Roman Army. Tessloff, Nuremberg 1991, ISBN 3-7886-0180-9 .
- Christian Miks, Hans G. Frenz: From showpiece to scrap metal. A depot of late Roman helmets from Koblenz (= mosaic stones. Vol. 4). Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-7954-2143-4 .
- Wolf-Rüdiger Teegen, Rosemarie Cordie, Olaf Dörrer, Sabine Rieckhoff-Hesse, Heiko Steuer: Studies on the World of the Iron Age , Walter de Gruyter, 2008, ISBN 9783110202809 .