Mace #3. Rus / Europe / Byzantium / Nomads, X-XIII century.
€ 181
Rus
X-XI century
The mace as an impact weapon dated back to the Bronze Age, spanning at least three millennia. In the XII— XIII centuries maces were quite common weapons, especially in the middle Dnieper region. 102 finials of iron and bronze maces of the XI—XIII centuries were found on the territory of ancient Rus. In medieval Europe maces appeared from the Asian East. We do not undertake to judge how true this statement is for Western Europe, but with regard to Eastern Europe, we can agree with it. Rus was one of the first European countries where the mace appeared in the XI century, and the origin of this weapon, in all probability, is connected with the Southeast. Bronze products which can be considered as prototypes of ancient Russian maces, were found in east Turkestan and in the Khazar layer of the Sarkel—Belaya Vezha. These finds differ somewhat in shape from each other, but they have one common feature that distinguishes many medieval maces from samples from earlier eras, namely, protruding pyramid—shaped spikes.
Material: brass, ash wood, wire, leather, oiling.
Dimensions: 5×6 cm
