Mace
Encyclopedia
A mace is a blunt weapon
, a type of club
or virge
—that uses a heavy head on the end of a handle to deliver powerful blows. A development of the club
, the military mace differs from a hammer
in that the head of a mace is radially symmetric so that a blow can be delivered just as effectively with any side of the head. A mace consists of a strong, heavy, wooden or metal shaft, often reinforced with metal, featuring a head made of stone, copper, bronze, iron, or steel.
The head of a military mace can be shaped with flanges or knobs to allow greater penetration of plate armour. The length of maces can vary considerably. The maces of foot soldiers were usually quite short (two or three feet, or 70 to 90 cm). The maces of cavalry
men were longer and thus better suited for blows delivered from horseback. Two-handed maces could be even larger. The terms flail
and mace are often, though incorrectly, used interchangeably.
Maces are rarely used today for actual combat, but a large number of government bodies (for instance the British House of Commons
, the U.S. Congress
), universities
and other institutions have ceremonial mace
s and continue to display them as symbols of authority. They are often paraded in academic, parliamentary or civic rituals and processions.
The mace was developed during the Upper Paleolithic
from the simple club
, by adding sharp spikes of flint
or obsidian
.
It was the first weapon designed specifically for killing humans (as opposed to hunting weapons).
In Europe, a flint mace-head was one of the artifacts discovered in excavations of the Neolithic
mound of Knowth
in Ireland, and Bronze-age archaeology cites numerous finds of perforated mace-heads.
In ancient Egypt
, stone mace heads were first used nearly 6,000 years ago in the predynastic period. The earliest known are disc maces with oddly formed stones mounted perpendicularly to their handle. The Narmer Palette
shows a king swinging a mace. See the articles on the Narmer Macehead
and the Scorpion Macehead
for examples of decorated maces inscribed with the names of kings.
The problem with early maces was that their stone heads shattered easily and it was difficult to fix the head to the wooden handle reliably. The Egyptians attempted to give them a disk shape in the predynastic period (about 3850-3650 BC) in order to increase their impact and even provide some cutting capabilities, but this seems to have been a short lived improvement.
A rounded pear form of mace head known as a "piriform" replaced the disc mace in the Naqada II period of pre-dynastic Upper Egypt (3600-3250 BC) and was used throughout the Naqada III period (3250-3100 BC). Similar mace heads were also used in Mesopotamia around 2450-1900 BC. The Assyrians used maces probably about 19th century B.C. and in their campaigns; the maces were usually made of stone or marble and furnished with gold or other metals, but were rarely used in battle unless fighting heavily armoured infantry.
An important, later development in mace heads was the use of metal for their composition. With the advent of copper mace heads, they no longer shattered and a better fit could be made to the wooden club by giving the eye of the mace head the shape of a cone and using a tapered handle.
The Shardanas or warriors from Sardinia
who fought for Ramses II against the Hittities were armed with maces consisting of wooden sticks with bronze heads. Many bronze statuettes of the times show Sardinian warriors carrying swords, bows and original maces.
Ramayana
and Mahabarata. Unique types of maces known as "Gada
" were used extensively in ancient Indian warfare
.
The ancient Romans
did not make wide use of maces, probably because of the influence of armour, and due to the nature of the Roman infantry fighting style which involved the pilum
(or spear) and the gladius
(short sword used in a stabbing fashion). The use of a heavy swinging-arc weapon in the well-disciplined tight formations of the Roman infantry would not have been practical.
Persians used a variety of maces. One simple explanation is the mode of Persian warfare. Unlike Romans
, Persians fielded large numbers of heavily armoured and armed cavalry (see cataphract
s). For a heavily armed Persian knight
, a mace was as effective as a sword or battle axe. In fact, Shahnameh
has countless references to heavily armoured knights facing each other using mace, axe, or swords.
metal armour and chain mail
protected against the blows of edged weapons and blocked arrows and other projectiles. Solid metal maces and war hammer
s proved able to inflict damage on well armoured knights, as the force of a blow from a mace is large enough to cause damage without penetrating the armour.
One example of a mace capable of penetrating armour is the flanged mace. The flange
s, (protruding edges of metal) allow it to dent or penetrate even the thickest armour
. This variation of the mace did not become popular until significantly after knobbed maces. Although there are some references to flanged maces (bardoukion) as early as the Byzantine empire c. 900 it is commonly accepted that the flanged mace did not become popular in Europe
until the 12th century, when it was simultaneously developed in Russia
and the Middle East
.
Maces, being simple to make, cheap, and straightforward in application, were quite common weapons. Most examples found in museums are often highly decorated.
It is popularly believed that maces were employed by the clergy in warfare to avoid shedding blood (sine effusione sanguinis). The evidence for this is sparse and appears to derive almost entirely from the depiction of Bishop Odo of Bayeux wielding a club-like mace at the Battle of Hastings
in the Bayeux Tapestry
, the idea being that he did so to avoid either shedding blood or bearing the arms of war. The fact that his brother Duke William carries a similar item suggests that, in this context, the mace may have been simply a symbol of authority. Certainly, other Bishops were depicted bearing the arms of a knight
without comment, such as Archbishop Turpin who bears both a spear and a sword named "Almace
" in The Song of Roland
or Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy
, who also appears to have fought as a knight during the First Crusade
, an expedition that Odo joined and died during.
Maces were very common in eastern Europe, especially medieval Poland
, Ukraine
and Russia
. Eastern European maces often had pear shaped heads. These maces were also used by Moldavian king Stephen the Great who used the mace in some of his wars (see Bulawa
).
The Pernach
was a type flanged mace developed since the 12th century in the region of Kievan Rus'
, and later widely used throughout the whole of Europe
. The name comes from the Russian word перо (pero) meaning feather
, reflecting the form of pernach that resembled a fletched arrow
. The most popular variety of pernach had six flange
s and was thus called a shestopyor (from Russian shest' and pero; that is, six-feathered). Pernachs were the first form of the flanged mace to enjoy a wide usage. It were well suited to penetrate plate armour and chain mail
. In the later times it was often used as a symbol of power by the military leaders in Eastern Europe
.
The warriors of the Moche
state and the Inca Empire
used maces with bone,
stone or copper heads and wooden shafts.
of World War I
. Trench maces were hand-made and often crude weapons and used in the hand-to-hand combat of trench raiding
operations.
s are important in many parliament
s following the Westminster system
. They are carried in by the sergeant-at-arms or some other mace-bearer and displayed on the clerks' table while parliament is in session to show that a parliament is fully constituted. They are removed when the session ends. The mace is also removed from the table when a new speaker is being elected to show that parliament is not ready to conduct business.
will signal specific orders to the band he or she leads. The mace can signal anything from a step-off to a halt, from the commencement of playing to the cut off.
. They are typically carried in at the beginning of a convocation ceremony and are often less than half a meter high.
Thus, in France:
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
, a type of club
Club (weapon)
A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times....
or virge
Virge
A virge, from the Latin virga, is a type of rod, made of wood.Originally it was one or more branches used as an instrument for corporal punishment, or as a riding crop.It is presently best known as the ceremonial staff of the Anglican...
—that uses a heavy head on the end of a handle to deliver powerful blows. A development of the club
Club (weapon)
A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times....
, the military mace differs from a hammer
War hammer
A war hammer is a late medieval weapon of war intended for close combat action, the design of which resembles the hammer.The war hammer consists of a handle and a head...
in that the head of a mace is radially symmetric so that a blow can be delivered just as effectively with any side of the head. A mace consists of a strong, heavy, wooden or metal shaft, often reinforced with metal, featuring a head made of stone, copper, bronze, iron, or steel.
The head of a military mace can be shaped with flanges or knobs to allow greater penetration of plate armour. The length of maces can vary considerably. The maces of foot soldiers were usually quite short (two or three feet, or 70 to 90 cm). The maces of cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
men were longer and thus better suited for blows delivered from horseback. Two-handed maces could be even larger. The terms flail
Flail (weapon)
The flail is a hand weapon derived from the agricultural tool.The handle is attached to the striking part of a weapon by a flexible chain or cord...
and mace are often, though incorrectly, used interchangeably.
Maces are rarely used today for actual combat, but a large number of government bodies (for instance the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, the U.S. Congress
Mace of the United States House of Representatives
The Mace of the United States House of Representatives is one of the oldest symbols of the United States government.-History:In one of its first resolutions, the U.S. House of Representatives of the 1st Federal Congress established the Office of the Sergeant at Arms...
), universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and other institutions have ceremonial mace
Ceremonial mace
The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...
s and continue to display them as symbols of authority. They are often paraded in academic, parliamentary or civic rituals and processions.
Prehistory
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. Very broadly it dates to between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, roughly coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity and before the advent of...
from the simple club
Club (weapon)
A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times....
, by adding sharp spikes of flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
or obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
.
It was the first weapon designed specifically for killing humans (as opposed to hunting weapons).
In Europe, a flint mace-head was one of the artifacts discovered in excavations of the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
mound of Knowth
Knowth
Knowth is a Neolithic passage grave and an ancient monument of Brú na Bóinne in the valley of the River Boyne in Ireland.Knowth is the largest of all passage graves situated within the Brú na Bóinne complex. The site consists of one large mound and 17 smaller satellite tombs...
in Ireland, and Bronze-age archaeology cites numerous finds of perforated mace-heads.
In ancient Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, stone mace heads were first used nearly 6,000 years ago in the predynastic period. The earliest known are disc maces with oddly formed stones mounted perpendicularly to their handle. The Narmer Palette
Narmer Palette
The Narmer Palette, also known as the Great ierakonpolis Palette or the Palette of Narmer, is a significant Egyptian archeological find, dating from about the 31st century BC, containing some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found. It is thought by some to depict the unification of...
shows a king swinging a mace. See the articles on the Narmer Macehead
Narmer Macehead
The Narmer macehead is an ancient Egyptian decorative stone mace head. It was found during a dig at Kom al Akhmar, the site of Hierakonpolis It is dated to the reign of king Narmer whose serekh is engraved on it...
and the Scorpion Macehead
Scorpion Macehead
The Scorpion macehead refers to a decorated ancient Egyptian macehead found by British archeologists James E. Quibell and Frederick W. Green in what they called the main deposit in the temple of Horus at Hierakonpolis during the dig season of 1897/1898...
for examples of decorated maces inscribed with the names of kings.
The problem with early maces was that their stone heads shattered easily and it was difficult to fix the head to the wooden handle reliably. The Egyptians attempted to give them a disk shape in the predynastic period (about 3850-3650 BC) in order to increase their impact and even provide some cutting capabilities, but this seems to have been a short lived improvement.
A rounded pear form of mace head known as a "piriform" replaced the disc mace in the Naqada II period of pre-dynastic Upper Egypt (3600-3250 BC) and was used throughout the Naqada III period (3250-3100 BC). Similar mace heads were also used in Mesopotamia around 2450-1900 BC. The Assyrians used maces probably about 19th century B.C. and in their campaigns; the maces were usually made of stone or marble and furnished with gold or other metals, but were rarely used in battle unless fighting heavily armoured infantry.
An important, later development in mace heads was the use of metal for their composition. With the advent of copper mace heads, they no longer shattered and a better fit could be made to the wooden club by giving the eye of the mace head the shape of a cone and using a tapered handle.
The Shardanas or warriors from Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
who fought for Ramses II against the Hittities were armed with maces consisting of wooden sticks with bronze heads. Many bronze statuettes of the times show Sardinian warriors carrying swords, bows and original maces.
Antiquity
The usage of maces in warfare is also described in the ancient Indian epicsIndian epic poetry
Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya . The Ramayana and Mahabharata, originally composed in Sanskrit and translated thereafter into many other Indian languages, are some of the oldest surviving epic poems on earth and form part of...
Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
and Mahabarata. Unique types of maces known as "Gada
Gada
GADA: A term used to describe Kevin Gill and Dippy Grewal's awesome crew.Members of group: 2Members since: 2005Open group: nobody else is allowed in the club, and nobody in the club is allowed to leave...
" were used extensively in ancient Indian warfare
Military history of India
The military history of India dates back several millennia. The first reference to armies is found in the Vedas and the epics Ramayana and Mahabaratha. From the ancient period through to the 19th century, a succession of powerful dynasties rose and fell in India as smaller rulers also struggled for...
.
The ancient Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
did not make wide use of maces, probably because of the influence of armour, and due to the nature of the Roman infantry fighting style which involved the pilum
Pilum
The pilum was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about two metres long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long with pyramidal head...
(or spear) and the gladius
Gladius
Gladius was the Latin word for sword, and is used to represent the primary sword of Ancient Roman soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early...
(short sword used in a stabbing fashion). The use of a heavy swinging-arc weapon in the well-disciplined tight formations of the Roman infantry would not have been practical.
Persians used a variety of maces. One simple explanation is the mode of Persian warfare. Unlike Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Persians fielded large numbers of heavily armoured and armed cavalry (see cataphract
Cataphract
A cataphract was a form of armored heavy cavalry utilised in ancient warfare by a number of peoples in Western Eurasia and the Eurasian Steppe....
s). For a heavily armed Persian knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
, a mace was as effective as a sword or battle axe. In fact, Shahnameh
Shahnameh
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
has countless references to heavily armoured knights facing each other using mace, axe, or swords.
European Middle Ages
During the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
metal armour and chain mail
Mail (armour)
Mail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
protected against the blows of edged weapons and blocked arrows and other projectiles. Solid metal maces and war hammer
War hammer
A war hammer is a late medieval weapon of war intended for close combat action, the design of which resembles the hammer.The war hammer consists of a handle and a head...
s proved able to inflict damage on well armoured knights, as the force of a blow from a mace is large enough to cause damage without penetrating the armour.
One example of a mace capable of penetrating armour is the flanged mace. The flange
Flange
A flange is an external or internal ridge, or rim , for strength, as the flange of an iron beam such as an I-beam or a T-beam; or for attachment to another object, as the flange on the end of a pipe, steam cylinder, etc., or on the lens mount of a camera; or for a flange of a rail car or tram wheel...
s, (protruding edges of metal) allow it to dent or penetrate even the thickest armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
. This variation of the mace did not become popular until significantly after knobbed maces. Although there are some references to flanged maces (bardoukion) as early as the Byzantine empire c. 900 it is commonly accepted that the flanged mace did not become popular in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
until the 12th century, when it was simultaneously developed in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
Maces, being simple to make, cheap, and straightforward in application, were quite common weapons. Most examples found in museums are often highly decorated.
It is popularly believed that maces were employed by the clergy in warfare to avoid shedding blood (sine effusione sanguinis). The evidence for this is sparse and appears to derive almost entirely from the depiction of Bishop Odo of Bayeux wielding a club-like mace at the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
in the Bayeux Tapestry
Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth—not an actual tapestry—nearly long, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings...
, the idea being that he did so to avoid either shedding blood or bearing the arms of war. The fact that his brother Duke William carries a similar item suggests that, in this context, the mace may have been simply a symbol of authority. Certainly, other Bishops were depicted bearing the arms of a knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
without comment, such as Archbishop Turpin who bears both a spear and a sword named "Almace
Almace
In the legendary Song of Roland, Almace, Almice or Almacia is the sword of Turpin, Archbishop of Reims, one of the last three Franks to die at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass, along with Roland and Gualter de Hum....
" in The Song of Roland
The Song of Roland
The Song of Roland is the oldest surviving major work of French literature. It exists in various manuscript versions which testify to its enormous and enduring popularity in the 12th to 14th centuries...
or Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy
Adhemar of Le Puy
Adhemar de Monteil , one of the principal figures of the First Crusade, was bishop of Puy-en-Velay from before 1087...
, who also appears to have fought as a knight during the First Crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
, an expedition that Odo joined and died during.
Eastern Europe
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Eastern European maces often had pear shaped heads. These maces were also used by Moldavian king Stephen the Great who used the mace in some of his wars (see Bulawa
Bulawa
The bulawa is a ceremonial mace or baton. The word is of Turkish origin....
).
The Pernach
Pernach
Pernach was a type of flanged mace developed since the 12th century in the region of Kievan Rus' and later widely used throughout Europe. The name comes from the Russian word перо meaning feather, reflecting the form of pernach that resembled an arrow with feathering.The most popular variety of...
was a type flanged mace developed since the 12th century in the region of Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
, and later widely used throughout the whole of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The name comes from the Russian word перо (pero) meaning feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
, reflecting the form of pernach that resembled a fletched arrow
Arrow
An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...
. The most popular variety of pernach had six flange
Flange
A flange is an external or internal ridge, or rim , for strength, as the flange of an iron beam such as an I-beam or a T-beam; or for attachment to another object, as the flange on the end of a pipe, steam cylinder, etc., or on the lens mount of a camera; or for a flange of a rail car or tram wheel...
s and was thus called a shestopyor (from Russian shest' and pero; that is, six-feathered). Pernachs were the first form of the flanged mace to enjoy a wide usage. It were well suited to penetrate plate armour and chain mail
Chain Mail
"Chain Mail" is a single by Mancunian band James, released in March 1986 by Sire Records, the first after the band defected from Factory Records. The record was released in two different versions, as 7" single and 12" EP, with different artworks by John Carroll and, confusingly, under different...
. In the later times it was often used as a symbol of power by the military leaders in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.
Pre-Colombian America
The cultures of pre-Columbian America used clubs and maces extensively.The warriors of the Moche
Moche
'The Moche civilization flourished in northern Peru from about 100 AD to 800 AD, during the Regional Development Epoch. While this issue is the subject of some debate, many scholars contend that the Moche were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state...
state and the Inca Empire
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
used maces with bone,
stone or copper heads and wooden shafts.
World War I maces
Mace-like weapons made a brief reappearance in the trench warfareTrench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Trench maces were hand-made and often crude weapons and used in the hand-to-hand combat of trench raiding
Trench raiding
Trench raiding was a feature of trench warfare which developed during World War I. It was the practice of making small scale surprise attacks on enemy position. Raids were made by both sides in the conflict and always took place at night for reasons of stealth...
operations.
Ceremonial use
Parliamentary maces
Ceremonial maceCeremonial mace
The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...
s are important in many parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
s following the Westminster system
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
. They are carried in by the sergeant-at-arms or some other mace-bearer and displayed on the clerks' table while parliament is in session to show that a parliament is fully constituted. They are removed when the session ends. The mace is also removed from the table when a new speaker is being elected to show that parliament is not ready to conduct business.
Ecclesiastical maces
The term mace is also used for:- The ceremonial maceCeremonial maceThe ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...
, a short, richly ornamented staff, often made of silver, the upper part furnished with a knob or other head-piece and decorated with a coat of arms, usually borne before eminent ecclesiastical corporations, magistrates and academic bodies as a mark and symbol of jurisdiction.
Parade maces
Maces are also used as a parade item, rather than a tool of war, notably in military bands. Specific movements of the mace from the Drum MajorDrum Major
A drum major is the leader of a marching band, drum and bugle corps, or pipe band, usually positioned at the head of the band or corps. The drum major, who is often dressed in more ornate clothing than the rest of the band or corps, is responsible for providing commands to the ensemble regarding...
will signal specific orders to the band he or she leads. The mace can signal anything from a step-off to a halt, from the commencement of playing to the cut off.
University maces
University maces are employed in a manner similar to Parliamentary maces. They symbolize the authority and independence of a chartered university and the authority vested in the provostProvost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
. They are typically carried in at the beginning of a convocation ceremony and are often less than half a meter high.
Heraldic use
Like many weapons, especially from feudal times, once heraldry originated as a military discipline, maces have been used in blazons, either as a charge on the shield or as external ornament(s).Thus, in France:
- the city of CognacCognacCognac is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Cognac is situated on the river Charente between the towns of Angoulême and Saintes. The majority of the town has been built on the river's left bank, with the smaller right...
(in the CharenteCharenteCharente is a department in southwestern France, in the Poitou-Charentes region, named after the Charente River, the most important river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns, Angoulême and Cognac, are sited.-History:Charente is one of the original...
département): Argent on a horse sable harnessed or a man proper vested azure with a cloak gules holding a mace, on a chief France modern - the city of ColmarColmarColmar is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is the capital of the department. Colmar is also the seat of the highest jurisdiction in Alsace, the appellate court....
(in Haut-RhinHaut-RhinHaut-Rhin is a département of the Alsace region of France, named after the Rhine river. Its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less populated of the two departements of Alsace, although is still densely populated compared to the rest of France.-Subdivisions:The department...
): per pale gules and vert a mace per bend sinister or. Three maces, probably a canting device (Kolben means mace in German, cfr. Columbaria the Latin name of the city) appear on a 1214 seal. The arms in a 15th c. stained-glass window show the mace per bend on argent. - the duke of RetzRetzRetz is a town with a population of 4,168 in the district of Hollabrunn in Lower Austria, Austria.- Geography :Retz is located in the north western Weinviertel in Lower Austria. The municipality's area covers 45,01 km². 11.83 percent of this area is forested...
(a pairiePairieThe French word pairie is the equivalent of the English word peerage, in the sense of an individual title carrying the rank of Pair , which derives from the Latin par 'equal', and signifies the members of an exclusive body of noblemen and prelates, considered to be the highest social order -not...
created in 1581 for Albert de Gondy) had Or two maces or clubs per saltire sable, bound gules - the Garde des sceaux ('keeper of the seals', still the formal title of the French Republic's Minister of Justice) places behind the shield, two silver and gilded maces in saltire, and the achievement is surmounted by a mortier (magistrate's hat)
External links
- The Hunt Museum (enter "Mace" in Keyword in Description)
- Heraldica.org