“The Yelovtsy of Their Helmets Bristle Like Fiery Flames”: On the Crest Decoration of the Helmet from Gorodets

The paper is devoted to the analysis and reconstruction of the crest and plume of a medieval helmet from Gorodets (Gorodets Historical and Art Museum Complex, Inv. No. GRM 3397). The crest was studied using X-ray radiography and with comparative analysis of existing analogues among archaeological and iconographic materials. Crests with metal rings on helmets were particularly widespread in the 13th – 15th centuries. They served as fasteners for attaching a helmet ornament in the form of decorative cloth ribbons, threaded through a ring in such a way that a plume consisting of two dangling ends of one ribbon was formed. The linguistic analysis allows us to correlate these cloth ribbons with cloth flags called “Yalovets” or “Yelovets,” which were attached to the high spikes of helmets. At the same time, the crest of the helmet from Gorodets features a unique design with an imitation of a ball-“apple” on the spike in the form of intersecting metal strips in the form of semicircular eyelets. In M.V. Gorelik’s reconstruction, this element has a purely practical purpose, intended to suspend small decorative tassels made of horsehair. However, this reconstruction does not take into account the peculiarities of the ornamental decoration of the helmet bowl and completely covers one of its important quatrefoils positioned at the base of the crest. This element is part of the apotropaic protection of the helmet and its owner in the direction of all four sides of the world. Given these observations, the reconstruction of M.V. Gorelik seems to be incorrect, and the author of the paper presents his own version of the reconstruction of the crest and plume.