Editing Mace (bludgeon)

{{Short description|Blunt striking weapon}}
[[File:Various Indo-Persian maces.jpg|thumb|220px|Various Eastern maces, from left: Bozdogan/buzdygan (Ottoman), tabar-shishpar (Indian), shishpar (Indian), shishpar (Indian), gurz (Indian), shishpar (Indian).]]
[[File:A powerfully built figure, probably Bhíma, with a bushy moustache,and Vaishnava namams (emblems) on forehead, arms and chest, rests his huge club on his left shoulder..jpg|thumb|220px|right| A mural of [[Bhima]] with his mace]]

A '''mace''' is a blunt [[weapon]], a type of [[Club (weapon)|club]] or [[virge]] that uses a heavy head on the end of a handle to deliver powerful [[Strike (attack)|strikes]]. A mace typically consists of a strong, heavy, wooden or metal shaft, often reinforced with metal, featuring a head made of stone, bone, copper, bronze, iron, or steel.

The head of a mace can be shaped with flanges or knobs to increase the [[pressure]] of an impact by focusing the force on a small point. They would bind on metal instead of sliding around it, allowing them to deliver more force to an armored opponent than a traditional mace.<ref name=":0">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tvK7rwDJMY |title=Tods Gothic mace – hitting armour |language=en |access-date=2024-04-01 |via=youtube.com}}</ref> This effect increased the potential for the mace to injure an armored opponent through weak spots in the armor, and even damage plate armor by denting it, potentially binding overlapping plates and impeding the wearer's range of motion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gregory |first=Thomas |date=2023-02-21 |title=Medieval Weapons: What Common Weapons Were Used in the Medieval Period? {{!}} History Cooperative |url=https://historycooperative.org/medieval-weapons/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |language=en-US}}</ref> Medieval historian and re-enactor Todd Todeschini (AKA Todd Cutler) demonstrated this effect with period accurate equipment in a series of tests on video.<ref name=":0" /> 

Maces are rarely used today for actual combat, but many government bodies (for instance, the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|British House of Commons]] and the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]]), [[University|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.

==Etymology==
The modern [[English language|English]] word ''mace'' entered [[Middle English]] from [[Old French]] ''mace,'' ("large [[mallet]]/[[sledgehammer]], mace") itself from a [[Vulgar Latin]] term ''*mattia'' or ''*mattea'' (cf. [[Italian language|Italian]] ''mazza,'' "club, baton, mace"), probably from [[Latin]] ''mateola'' (uncertain, possibly a kind of club, hammer, or "[[hoe (tool)|hoe]] handle/stick"). Possibly influenced by Latin ''mattiobarbulus'' ("type of [[javelin]]"), ''mattiarius'' ("soldier armed with said javelin"), from ''mataris, matara'' ("[[Gauls|Gallic]] javelin"), from a [[Gaulish]] or [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] word.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MACE English Definition and Meaning {{!}} Lexico.com |url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/mace |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427213552/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/mace |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 April 2022 |access-date=27 April 2022 |website=Lexico Dictionaries {{!}} English |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Masse: Définition de masse |dictionary=Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language] |year=2012 |publisher=Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales |location= |id= |url=https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/masse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214033541/https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/masse |archive-date=14 Feb 2022 |access-date=15 Feb 2024 |language=fr }}</ref>

==Development history==
===Prehistory===
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2021}}
[[File:Egyptian disk macehead 4000-3400 BCE.jpg|thumb|220x220px|Disc-shaped stone macehead, Egypt, [[Amratian culture|Naqada culture]]]]
The mace was developed during the [[Upper Paleolithic]] from the simple [[club (weapon)|club]], by adding sharp spikes of either [[flint]] or [[obsidian]].

In Europe, an elaborately carved ceremonial 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 [[Ukraine]], stone mace heads were first used nearly eight millennia ago. The others known were 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.

[[File:Moche stone mace-heads.jpg|thumb|220px|left|[[Moche (culture)|Moche]] stone maces, [[Larco Museum]], Lima, Peru]]

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&nbsp;BC) in order to increase their impact and even provide some cutting capabilities, but this seems to have been a short-lived improvement.

[[File:Mace head MET vs1985 356 24.jpg|thumb|right|Calcite mace head, 7th–6th millennium BC, [[Syria]]]]

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&nbsp;BC) and was used throughout the Naqada III period (3250–3100&nbsp;BC). Similar mace heads were also used in Mesopotamia around 2450–1900&nbsp;BC. On a Sumerian Clay tablet written by the scribe Gar.Ama, the title Lord of the Mace is listed in the year 3100&nbsp;BC.<ref>[https://www.schoyencollection.com/scribes-collection/scribal-training/lexical-list-oldest-autograph-ms-2494-4 The Schoyen Collection: MS 2429/4]</ref> The Assyrians used maces probably about nineteenth century BC 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 Hittites 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.

===Ancient history===
[[File:Assyrian soldier holding a mace and a bow. Detail of a basalt relief from the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. 744-727 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg|thumb|right|Assyrian soldier holding a mace and a bow. Detail of a basalt relief from the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. 744–727 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.]]

[[Persian people|Persians]] used a variety of maces and fielded large numbers of heavily armoured and armed cavalry (see [[Cataphract]]). For a heavily armed Persian [[knight]], a mace was as effective as a sword or [[battle axe]]. In fact, [[Shahnameh]] has many references to heavily armoured knights facing each other using maces, axes, and swords. The enchanted talking mace [[Sharur (mythological weapon)|Sharur]] made its first appearance in Sumerian/Akkadian mythology during the epic of [[Ninurta]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ninurta |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Ninurta/ |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Indian epic poetry|Indian epics]] ''[[Ramayana]]'' and ''[[Mahabharata]]'' describe the extensive use of the ''[[gada (mace)|gada]]'' in ancient [[Military history of India|Indian warfare]] as gada-yuddha or 'mace combat'.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

The ancient [[Roman Empire|Romans]] did not make wide use of maces, probably because of the influence of armour, and due to the nature of the Roman infantry's fighting style which involved the ''[[Pilum]]'' (spear) and the ''[[Gladius]]'' (short sword used in a stabbing fashion), though auxiliaries from [[Syria Palestina]] were armed with clubs and maces at the battles of Immae and Emesa in 272 AD. They proved highly effective against the heavily armoured horsemen of Palmyra.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

===Post classical history===
====Western Europe====

[[File:Drevnosti RG v3 ill082 - Pernath and Shestopiors.jpg|thumb|upright|220px|right|[[Pernach]] (left) and two shestopyors]]

During the [[Middle Ages]] metal armour such as [[Mail (armour)|mail]] protected against the blows of edged weapons.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=DeVries|first1=Kelly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ifmRDwAAQBAJ&q=During+the+Middle+Ages+metal+armour+such+as+mail+protected+against+the+blows+of+edged+weapons&pg=PA29|title=Castagnaro 1387: Hawkwood's Great Victory|last2=Capponi|first2=Niccolò|date=2019-07-25|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4728-3357-0|language=en}}</ref> Though iron became increasingly common, copper and bronze were also used, especially in iron-deficient areas.

One example of a mace capable of penetrating armour is the flanged mace. The [[flange]]s allow it to dent or penetrate thick [[armour]]. Flange maces did not become popular until after knobbed maces. Although there are some references to flanged maces (''bardoukion'') as early as the Byzantine Empire c. 900<ref>{{cite book|first=Ian|last=Heath|title=Armies of the Byzantine Empire, 886–1118}}</ref> it is commonly accepted that the flanged mace did not become popular in Europe until the 12th century, when it was concurrently developed in Russia and Mid-west Asia.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

Maces, being simple to make, cheap, and straightforward in application, were quite common weapons.

It is popularly believed that maces were employed by the clergy in warfare to avoid shedding blood (''sine effusione sanguinis'').<ref>{{cite book|last=Disraeli|first=Isaac|title=Curiosities of Literature, Volume 1|year=1834|publisher=Lilly, Wait, Colman, and Holden|location=Boston|url=https://archive.org/details/curiositieslite01disrgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/curiositieslite01disrgoog/page/n238 230]}}</ref> 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 1066 in the [[Bayeux Tapestry]], the idea being that he did so to avoid either shedding blood or bearing the arms of war.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Character and Career of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux (1049/50-1097) |journal=Speculum |date=1975 |last=Bates |first=David R. |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=1–20 |doi=10.2307/2856509 |jstor=2856509 |s2cid=163080280 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2856509 |accessdate=2022-01-19 }}</ref>

In the 1893 work ''Arms and Armour in Antiquity and the Middle Ages'', Paul Lacombe and Charles Boutell state that the mace was chiefly used for blows struck upon the head of an enemy.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Lacombe|first1=Paul|title=Arms and armour in antiquity and the Middle Ages|last2=Boutell|first2=Charles|publisher=Reeves and Turner|year=1893|location=London|pages=121}}</ref>

====Eastern Europe====

[[File:MWP Buzdygan Radziwillow.JPG|thumb|220px|right|[[Shestopyor]]-type mace (in literal translation ''six-feathers)'' used by the [[rotmistrz]]s of the private army of the [[Radziwiłł]] family]]

Eastern European maces often had pear shaped heads. These maces were also used by the Moldavian ruler [[Stephen the Great]] in some of his wars (see [[Bulawa]]).{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

The mace is also the favourite weapon of [[Prince Marko]], a hero in [[South Slavic languages|South Slavic]] epic poetry.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

The [[pernach]] was a type of 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 Slavic word ''pero'' (''перо'') meaning [[feather]], reflecting the form of pernach that resembled a fletched [[arrow]]. Pernachs were the first form of the flanged mace to enjoy a wide usage. It was 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]].<ref>[http://otlichnik.tripod.com/medmace3.html Medieval flanged maces] by Shawn M. Caza.</ref>

====Pre-Columbian America====
The cultures of pre-Columbian America used clubs and maces extensively. The warriors of the [[Moche (culture)|Moche]] state and the [[Inca Empire]] used maces with bone, stone or copper heads and wooden shafts.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}} The [[quauholōlli]] was used in Mesoamerica.

====Asia====

[[File:Pageantry Figurine, Tomb of Ming Prince Zhu Tan (10144514616).jpg|thumb|220px|right|Mace polearm-wielding figurine from the tomb of [[Ming dynasty]] prince Zhu Tan, 10th son of the [[Hongwu Emperor]]]]

Maces in Asia were most often steel clubs with a spherical head. In Persia, the "Gorz" (spherical-head mace) served as a primary combat arm across many eras, most often being used by heavy infantry or Cataphracts. In India a form of these clubs was used by wrestlers to exercise the arms and shoulders. They have been known as [[gada (mace)|gada]] since ancient times.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

During the Mughal era, the flanged mace of Persia was introduced to South Asia. The term ''shishpar'' is a Persian phrase which literally translates to "six-wings", to refer to the (often) six flanges on the mace. The shishpar mace was introduced by the [[Delhi Sultanate]] and continued to be utilized until the 18th century.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

<gallery>
File:Indian shishpar (flanged mace).jpg|Indian shishpar (flanged mace), all-steel construction, with eight knife-edged, hinged flanges, 18th-19th century, {{convert|26|in|abbr=on}} long
File:Indian shishpar (flanged mace) 3.jpg|Indian shishpar (flanged mace), steel with solid shaft and eight-flanged head, {{convert|24|in|abbr=on}}
File:Indian tabar-shishpar 4.jpg|Indian (Deccan) tabar-shishpar, an extremely rare combination tabar axe and shishpar eight-flanged mace, steel with hollow shaft, {{convert|21.75|in|abbr=on}}, 17th to 18th century
</gallery>

===Modern history===

[[File:World War One trench raiding club.JPG|thumb|World War I trench raiding club]]
[[Trench raiding club]]s used during [[World War I]] were modern variations on the medieval mace. They were homemade mêlée weapons used by both the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] and the [[Central Powers]]. [[Club (weapon)|Clubs]] were used during night time [[trench raiding]] expeditions as a quiet and effective way of killing or wounding enemy soldiers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Clubs and Blades - Trench Club |url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/objects-and-photos/weapons-and-ammunition/clubs-and-blades/trench-club/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=Canadian War Museum}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title='Morning star' trench club, 1915 |url=https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1983-04-102-1 |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=National Army Museum, London}}</ref>

Makeshift maces were also found in the possession of some [[Football hooliganism|football hooligans]] in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mace of Evil|newspaper=Daily Mirror|date=27 March 1986|page=1}}</ref>

In [[2020 China–India skirmishes]] personnel of [[People's Liberation Army Ground Force]] were seen using makeshift maces (batons wrapped in barbed wire and clubs embedded with nails).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Biswas|first=Soutik|date=16 June 2020|title=An extraordinary escalation 'using rocks and clubs'|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-53071913|access-date=27 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Chatterjee|first=Sanchari|date=17 June 2020|title=Two nuclear-armed states with chequered past clash: How foreign media reacted to India-China faceoff|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/how-foreign-media-reacted-on-india-china-faceoff-in-ladakh-1689818-2020-06-17|access-date=21 June 2020|website=India Today}}</ref>

Some units of the [[People's Police of China]] carry two-handed maces. Reportedly these are used for disabling errant martial artists.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Loh |first1=Matthew |title=A police officer brought an 'electro-sword' to stand guard outside an exam center as Chinese students took the tests of their lives |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/police-officer-brings-electro-sword-guard-exam-center-china-2023-6 |access-date=17 March 2025 |work=Business Insider |date=8 June 2023}}</ref>

==Ceremonial use==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2016}}
Maces have had a role in ceremonial practices over time, including some still in use today.

===Parliamentary maces===

[[File:RoyalSocMace20040420.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Mace of the [[Royal Society]], granted by [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]]]

The [[ceremonial mace]] is a short, richly ornamented staff often made of silver, the upper part of which is furnished with a knob or other head-piece and decorated with a coat of arms. The ceremonial mace was commonly borne before eminent [[Ecclesiology|ecclesiastical corporations]], [[magistrates]], and academic bodies as a mark and symbol of jurisdiction.

Ceremonial maces are important in many [[parliament]]s following the [[Westminster system]]. They are carried in by the [[Sergeant-at-Arms|sergeant-at-arms]] or some other mace-bearers 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 (politics)|speaker]] is being elected to show that parliament is not ready to conduct business.

===Ecclesiastical maces===
Maces may also be carried before clergy members in church processions, although in the case of the Roman Catholic pope and cardinals, they have largely been replaced with [[processional cross]]es.

===Parade maces===
[[File:Buława Rydza-Śmigłego.JPG|thumb|[[Marshal of Poland]] mace]]
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 major (military)|drum major]] will signal specific orders to the band they lead. The mace can signal anything from a step-off to a halt, from the commencement of playing to the cut off.

===University maces===
[[File:Ustmuseummemmorabilia13.JPG|thumb|Ceremonial maces of the Rector Magnificus of the [[University of Santo Tomas]] in Manila, Philippines.]]
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 [[provost (education)|provost]]. They are typically carried in at the beginning of a convocation ceremony and are often less than half a meter high.

==Heraldic use==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2015}}
Like many weapons from feudal times, maces have been used in heraldic blazons as either a [[Charge (heraldry)|charge]] on a shield or other item, or as external ornamentation.

Thus, in France:
* the city of [[Cognac, France|Cognac]] (in the [[Charente]] 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 [[Colmar]] (in [[Haut-Rhin]]): ''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-century stained-glass window show the mace per bend on argent.
* the duke of [[Seigneurs and Dukes of Retz|Retz]] (a [[pairie]] 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)

==See also==
* [[Barsom]]
* [[Bulawa]]
* [[Ceremonial maces in the British Isles]]
* [[Gada (weapon)]]
* [[Flail (weapon)]]
* [[Kanabō]]
* [[Horseman's pick]]
* [[Mace of the United States House of Representatives]]
* [[Morning star (weapon)]]
* [[Shillelagh (club)]]
* [[Tokotoko]]
* [[War hammer]]
* [[Meteor hammer]]
* [[Chuí (Chinese weapon)]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* ''Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry'' by Bradford Broughton (NY, [[Greenwood Press]], 1986, {{ISBN|0-313-24552-5}})
* ''Hafted Weapons in Medieval and Renaissance Europe: The Evolution of European Staff Weapons Between 1200 and 1650'' by John Waldman ([[Brill Publishers|Brill]], 2005, {{ISBN|90-04-14409-9}})
* ''Medieval Military Technology'' by [[Kelly DeVries]] (Broadview Press, 1998, 0-921149-74-3)

==External links==
{{Commons category|Maces}}
* {{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Mace}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mace (Club)}}
[[Category:Maces (bludgeons)| ]]
[[Category:Clubs (weapon)]]
[[Category:Weapons of the Ottoman Empire]]