Chaplet (headgear)

In ancient times, chaplets made from branches and twigs of trees were worn by victors in sacred contests; these were known as pancarpiae.

According to Pliny, P. Claudius Pulcher[3] In Chapter 5 of Naturalis Historia, titled “The great honour in which chaplets were held by the ancients”, Pliny explains how these head dresses were perceived: Chaplets, however, were always held in a high degree of estimation, those even which were acquired at the public games.

Hence it is that we find it thus written in the laws of the Twelve Tables: "If any person has gained a chaplet himself, or by his money, let the same be given to him as the reward of his prowess."

It was the right secured by the victor, for himself and for his parents, after death, to be crowned without fail, while the body was laid out in the house, and on its being carried to the tomb.

The crown took the form of a chaplet made from plant materials taken from the battlefield, including grasses, flowers, and various cereals such as wheat, which was presented to the general by the army he had saved.