The Symbolism of the spike on the Pickelhaube

Gustaf

Gustaf

Well-known member
Staff member
I had a thought on the symbolism of the spike on the Pickelhaube, maybe I am the only one who has not figured this out, but I think it is wrong to say it is a symbol of a weapon, I think it is something much more important.

When you think about the man who leads the battle, whether it is in front of the Army, or the Regiment, he is the most important person there, he is the flag bearer, or standard bearer. When he falls, the soldier closest to him drops his weapon and picks up the flag.

My thought is that the spike is a symbol for the flag pole finial, now I know that the finial is a vestige of the point of a lance, but I suggest that the spike represents the flag pole, and not the lance.

If you study the Pickelhaube a bit more, the Wappen represents the flag, and the addition of the Bandeau on special Regiments backs that up, as they are added to the Regimental Standards, so what is on the flag is also on the Wappen.

What would be better than a regimental standard that did not require the soldier to drop his weapon to carry, and every soldier in the regiment / army would be a standard / flag bearer.

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Gus
 
Yes Joe, I am suffering from sleep deprived insanity, something that I think might be close to the insanity that the royals have from inbreeding.
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Gus
 
Hey Gus, I think we all suffer from some sort of addiction here on the Forum, the least of which is the PDS (Pickelhaubes Disorder Syndrome)...

However, what you posted might make sense somehow... I used to think the spike was merely to 'scare' the enemy while increasing the soldier's height but your theory also sounds plausible.
 
Hey Ron,
I can not see how the spike can be related to the older helmets that had a spike for a weapon, the Pickelhaube was never constructed to be a weapon, and while the headgear of the time was constructed to make the soldier look taller (the Grenadier's mitre for example) the spike dose not make the soldier look taller. So the spike must have a symbolic significance. I need to do a bit of study, the Kugel is related to the cannon ball, but I think that it may have appeared on a flag pole before it did on a helmet, and if that is the case, the Kugel then represents the flag pole finial not the cannon ball.
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gus
 
As the first Pickelhauben were manufactured (1842-43), it´s a fact that the metal spike on leather helmets had a very specific function: it was supposed to divert hits of swords, sabers and all sort of edged weapons sideways.
By the way, the old metal epaulettes had the same function.
Symbolism (if existing) came later...
I only know one symbolism about Pickelhauben: the "spike sign" over the head in sign language means the word "german".
Philippe :salute:
 
Hey Philippe,
I can not see the spike as being for protection from edged weapons, the cruciform base, yes, but not the spike, as it protects too little of the crown of the helmet, and would require a very centered hit to do any good. It also gives a larger target, as a saber passing horizontally over the top of the wearer's head would result in a "hit".
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Gus
 
Gus, maybe it's all just glamour and glitter... In the early days an army also had a lot to do with "making an impression"... When soldiers were poorly dressed, the army also looked poor...
That's just a wild guess of course, but nevertheless it's a possibility I think...
Adler
 
I would say the influence for the spike comes from outside of Germany, but is the idea that the spike on infantry helmets represents the old foot soldier's pike and the lance for kurassiers gone? I can't see that either the spike or base was used for protection, or that a leather helmet was seen as anything but distinctive... certainly wouldn't stop anything in the way of a weapon.

Also, the Ottoman and Polish (Winged Hussaria) helmets were very similar.... who knows who invented what, in reality? But I will agree that the idea of a spike goes very far back in history! It is pretty dynamic.

:D Ron
 
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