Helmet (heraldry)

[1][2] In some traditions, especially German and Nordic heraldry, two or three helmets (and sometimes more) may be used in a single achievement of arms, each representing a fief to which the bearer has a right.

Jousting was abandoned as a courtly practice in the early years of the 17th century, and since then the various types of heraldic helmets are purely driven by convention, and no longer tied to improvements or fashions in armoury.

These barred helmets were restricted by the imperial chancellery in Vienna to the nobility and certain doctors of law or theology, while the jousting helm was freely adopted by anyone.

[5] The direction a helmet faces and the number of bars on the grille has been ascribed special significance in later manuals, but this is not a period[clarification needed] practice.

From the 19th century onwards, ancient Russian families began to use the yerikhonka [ru], the "cap of Jericho", a medieval conical Slavic helmet similar to the Middle Eastern shishak.

Asian noble families non-Slavic origin who were integrated in the Empire were also allowed an ethnic helmet, usually a misyurka [ru], similar to the yerikhonka in shape but rounder and with an obtuse tip.

[13] In the modern Russian Federation, while private heraldry remains officially unregulated, both Western and ethnic helmets (called sheloms in modern Russian heraldic language) are considered acceptable by prominent heraldists such as Mikhail Medvedev and Dmitry Ivanov, but only in their simplest forms, and stripped of any details that may be perceived as symbols of nobility.

However, none of these restrictions apply to direct descendants of old Russian aristocracy, who can use the same helmets as their ancestors alongside the rest of their family arms.

[20] In the Roman Catholic Church, clerics entitled to a coat of arms use a galero instead of a helmet, which is considered too belligerent for men in holy orders.