Medieval Mace : A Short History

Bronze age archaeological digs have uncovered flint and perforated mace heads originating from the period. Ancient Egypt also employed the mace using stone mace heads over 6,000 years ago. Maces as battle weapons were used incessantly in Egypt and Canaan but in places where armor and helmets were employed the mace became limited.

The early limitations of the mace were the fact that stone heads were easily broken or shattered and the head was difficult to attach to the handle without fail. The pear shaped stone mace, known as a piri-form was used in Upper Egypt in 3600-3200 BC in order to improve their destructiveness and were effective.

The most important advancement in the mace as a weapon was the origination of copper mace heads. They did not shatter and could be more easily affixed to the wood handle.

Metal armor and chainmail protected the knights of middle age combat from edged weapons and for the most part could block arrows. War hammers and medieval mace s proved effective in combating armor and became prevalent in Eastern Europe because of this. A flanged mace could actually penetrate the armor and a solid mace could inflict damage without penetration from the massive force of the blow. The flanged mace did not become prevalent until the 12th century but the other variations were.