Helm of Cannae

Last updated April 06, 2019

The Helm of Cannae is an artefact in the antiquities collection of Franz, Count of Erbach-Erbach, at Erbach Palace in Erbach im Odenwald. It is, reputedly, one of the few surviving helmets from the field of the Battle between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginians under Hannibal in 216 BC. It is most famous for a legend about its acquisition by the count.

Franz Graf zu Erbach-Erbach was a German nobleman and art collector.

Erbach Palace is a palace in Erbach im Odenwald and the seat of the Count of Erbach. It was originally built in the Middle Ages, but most of the buildings today date back to the early 18th century. The palace houses the extensive antique collection of Franz, Count of Erbach-Erbach.

Erbach is a town and the district seat of the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany. It has a population of around 13,000.

Legend has it that the helm was stolen from the Vatican Museum by a member of Count Franz I's staff at his direction during his second tour of Italy in 1791. The story of the preparation and commission of this theft was dealt with repeatedly and partially dramatised in nineteenth century literature. The earliest surviving written source is an account by Otto Müller, which was produced before 1868.^[1]

Art theft is usually for the purpose of resale or for ransom. Stolen art is sometimes used by criminals as collateral to secure loans. Only a small percentage of stolen art is recovered—estimates range from 5 to 10%. This means that little is known about the scope and characteristics of art theft.

Otto Müller was a German novelist.

The servant who is said to have committed the theft was Friedrich Louis (1759–1846)^[2] who later became a forester and great-grandfather of the author Ludwig Ganghofer.^[3] He had other descendants too, including Elly Heuss-Knapp, wife of Theodor Heuss, the first President of Germany.^[4]

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In serious literature about Count Franz, on the other hand, nothing is said about this event and how he acquired the famous helm is not mentioned at all.^[5] It is assumed therefore that the story is a Jägerlatein (a cock and bull story), which was recorded by Otto Müller and handed down as local tradition, perhaps based on an actual story told by Forester Friedrich Louis. The story of the Adlerstein of Würzberg is probably also derived from Louis.

Bibliography

Ernst Franz. Forstrat Louis. 2nd Edition. 1959.
Otto Müller. Der Helm von Cannä.^[6]

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References

↑ Ernst Eckstein (ed.): "Humoristischer Hausschatz für’s deutsche Volk". NF Vol. 6. Leipzig [undated], p. 186.
↑ On whom, see Ernst Franz Forstrat Louis.
↑ Ludwig Ganghofer wrote about him in his memoirs, Lebenslauf eines Optimisten, Chapter 1, "As a young gamekeeper, my great-grandfather helped his lord, then a count with imperial immediacy and a fanatical collector of antiquities, to steal the fabled helm of Hannibal from the Vatican. Otto Müller wrote an exciting novel, Der Helm von Cannä about this bold adventure, balanced between death and grotesque humour, which the aged forester Louis recounted to him in Odenwald. But in that book, a good deal may have been embellished"
↑ Friedrich Höreth, "Der Verwandten- und Freundeskreis um Friedrich Louis". In: Ernst Franz, Forstrat Louis. p, 6.
↑ See L. Ferdinand Dieffenbach: Graf Franz zu Erbach-Erbach. Ein Lebens- und Culturbild aus dem Ende des XVIII. und dem Anfange des XIX. Jahrhunderts. Darmstadt 1879; Eduard Anthes Die Antiken der Gräflich Erbach-Erbachischen Sammlung zu Erbach i[m] O[denwald]. Darmstadt 1885.
↑ Title mentioned in Ernst Eckstein (ed.). "Humoristischer Hausschatz für’s deutsche Volk". NF Vol 6. Leipzig [undated], p. 186.

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[1] Ernst Eckstein (ed.): "Humoristischer Hausschatz für’s deutsche Volk". NF Vol. 6. Leipzig [undated], p. 186.

[2] On whom, see Ernst Franz Forstrat Louis.

[3] Ludwig Ganghofer wrote about him in his memoirs, Lebenslauf eines Optimisten, Chapter 1, "As a young gamekeeper, my great-grandfather helped his lord, then a count with imperial immediacy and a fanatical collector of antiquities, to steal the fabled helm of Hannibal from the Vatican. Otto Müller wrote an exciting novel, Der Helm von Cannä about this bold adventure, balanced between death and grotesque humour, which the aged forester Louis recounted to him in Odenwald. But in that book, a good deal may have been embellished"

[4] Friedrich Höreth, "Der Verwandten- und Freundeskreis um Friedrich Louis". In: Ernst Franz, Forstrat Louis. p, 6.

[5] See L. Ferdinand Dieffenbach: Graf Franz zu Erbach-Erbach. Ein Lebens- und Culturbild aus dem Ende des XVIII. und dem Anfange des XIX. Jahrhunderts. Darmstadt 1879; Eduard Anthes Die Antiken der Gräflich Erbach-Erbachischen Sammlung zu Erbach i[m] O[denwald]. Darmstadt 1885.

[6] Title mentioned in Ernst Eckstein (ed.). "Humoristischer Hausschatz für’s deutsche Volk". NF Vol 6. Leipzig [undated], p. 186.