05-11-2005, 02:37 PM
Can anyone shed some light on the apparent occasional distinction in literature between the cassis "(metal) helmet" and galea "(leather) helmet"? It's clear that both terms usually meant just "helmet" without distinction, but not always:
Tacitus, Germania 6, describing the Germans: "A few only have corslets, and just one or two here and there a (metal) or (leather) helmet."
Paucis loricae, vix uni alterive cassis aut galea. He's making some kind of distinction here...
Varro in de Lingua Latina says that galea derives from galerus (another Greek loan-word), which definitely means "a cap or hat made of skin."
Isidore of Seville, admittedly a 7th c. AD source, says, cassis de lamina est, galea de corio - "a cassis is made of metal sheet, a galea of leather."
Latin galea seems to come from the Greek word galea meaning "weasel" or "weasel-skin."
So, besides these literary references, what do we have for leather helmets?
Tacitus, Germania 6, describing the Germans: "A few only have corslets, and just one or two here and there a (metal) or (leather) helmet."
Paucis loricae, vix uni alterive cassis aut galea. He's making some kind of distinction here...
Varro in de Lingua Latina says that galea derives from galerus (another Greek loan-word), which definitely means "a cap or hat made of skin."
Isidore of Seville, admittedly a 7th c. AD source, says, cassis de lamina est, galea de corio - "a cassis is made of metal sheet, a galea of leather."
Latin galea seems to come from the Greek word galea meaning "weasel" or "weasel-skin."
So, besides these literary references, what do we have for leather helmets?
Dan Diffendale
Ph.D. candidate, University of Michigan
Ph.D. candidate, University of Michigan
