Long before in the history, “helmet” has been used for protective reasons, helmet in this context can be the protective gears and armors that that soldiers wore during the Medieval Age. Tracing back in 900BC, the oldest known use of helmet was by Assyrian soldiers. They wore thick leather on their heads to protect the head from sword blows and flying arrows in combat.
The word helmet is diminutive from helm, a Medieval word for protective combat headgear. The Medieval great helm covers the whole head and often is accompanied with camail protecting throat and neck as well. Originally a helmet was a helm which covered the head partly.
Over the course of human history, many different types of helmet have developed. Most early helmets had military uses especially in combat-related purposes, some helmets held ceremonial purposes as well. Two important types of helmets are Corinthian helmet and Roman galea.
Later on the protective gears took different forms and were composed with different materials. The materials including a wide range of substances such as metal, plastic, rubber, leather, and plant fiber. No matter what materials the helmets are made up of, the primary function of helmets is to protect the most important part of human body. As in contemporary society, wearing a helmet became a common practice in recreational activities and sport purposes such as football, water polo, hotkey, baseball, and bicycle. For each specific helmets, it is designed with different intentions. Take bicycle helmet and rock climbing helmet for comparison, one is designed to be particularly against blunt impact forces from the wearer’s head striking the road, another is designed to endure heavy impact from above.
Now that we have provided a clear historical and background information of helmets, what do you think helmets are for? And what are the reasons for people not wearing a helmet in different occasions?
Lin
Helpmet 