CGP Grey in this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYzfKiIWN4g&index=5&list=TLTNQ5APc9Fd7zCL6Zj8hwLaja7BEnAP6W video implies that horns on viking helmets is a ridiculous concept because they aren't practical for battle. I went to an art exhibition yesterday and viewed a bunch of samurai armor including helmets. Some of the decoration and adornment on these helmets seemed to be just as impractical for combat or even more so.
While Grey does assert that archaeologists have never found horns on viking helms, it is clear that Samurai helms certainly had adornments that were at least as impractical as horns. So, did Samurai's actually wear these ornate helms to battle and if so why? Were they mounted on horses and therefore not worried about people pulling on their helmets or were they out of the ground combat and mostly generals etc? Or does Grey make a leap in implying that all gear worn in battle must be practical as opposed to having religious significance or something along those lines? Thanks for the responses!
I think the generally accepted anecdotes regarding the headgear of Honda Tadakatsu puts paid to the notion that these extremely ornate helmets were mostly ceremonial.
He wore antlers on his that were a good two feet tall, allowing his men to know where to rally while he was on foot and creating a terror weapon that caused the enemy to fall back whenever they saw them bobbing closer in the melee considering his reputation as one of the most fearsome spearmen in Japan's history.