Mace
Maces were not conventional melee weapons in the British Isles during the period covered by the Vikings Society, but rose in prominence after the Norman Conquest and with the development of more comprehensive armour.
Maces in the Vikings Society
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Norman Mace
The Bayeux Tapestry shows leading Norman commanders (including Duke William and Bishop Odo of Bayeux) armoured, mounted and carrying what might be described as a staff, club or mace. The caption for one scene reads: "Odo eps baculum tenens" ("Bishop Odo holding a club/staff"). Whether these were intended as melee weapons or symbols of authority (like the 20th century officer's swagger-stick) or a mixture of both (perhaps like the Roman centurion's vine-staff, frequently used to beat recalcitrant troops into line) is unclear.
Maces should not be primary combat weapons for ordinary Norman combatants. They should be restricted to high-status Normans, ideally officers or commanders.
The exact design of Norman maces is unclear. They may be a simple heavyweight wooden club, or a flanged mace on a wooden shaft. Normans should not carry small steppe maces.
Flanged Mace
In eleventh and twelfth century Europe, maces are most commonly depicted in the hands of Islamic warriors, or in regions with strong Islamic influence (Sicily and Spain).
Only in the thirteenth century do maces become more common weapons in western Europe, though they do not seem to have replaced swords and spears as the most common melee weapons. Such maces were usually flanged or spiked, and could have a with a steel head and steel shaft, or a steel head on a wooden shaft.
Steppe Mace
In eastern Europe, in particular the Slav territories and the plains of Hungary, relatively small bronze maces seem to have been popular weapons. The exact dating of many of these finds is open to question, but they seem to have been widespread for a considerable time, at least the twelfth to fifteenth centuries (and potentially longer). Examples can be found in David Nicolle's "Arms & Armour of the Crusading era, 1050-1350" volume 2 (Islam, Eastern Europe and Asia) – see pages 98, 105, 306, 307 for examples.
The maces were small, either knobbed or spiked, and in some cases filled with lead to provide greater weight. From their position in grave-finds, relative to other weapons’ head positions (such as axes), it seems that they had longer hafts than the axes. On the face of it, a small metal blob on a long stick may not seem a very dangerous weapon. In practice, this kind of mace could be very effective – imagine the impact of a golf ball on a light two- or three-foot shaft, swinging at considerable speed. Such an impact would be magnified if the wielder was mounted on a fast-moving horse.
Although there is evidence for this type of small mace-head from the Baltic region in the eleventh century (see below), maces have not been found in Scandinavia itself. Eastern or ‘Slav’ maces should therefore be restricted to eastern or Rus vikings.
Three mace-heads of this type have been found in Gotland (a Scandinavian-controlled island in the Baltic, whose position made it an important and wealthy commercial centre), dating from c.1000-1100. Two mace heads came from a single cemetery (Barshalder) in Gotland, as well as an unstratified find nearby that is possibly of the same date. In both graves the mace is the only weapon present and there is no evidence of the owner being particularly high status (other grave goods include a bronze strap end in one grave and a penannular brooch in the other); neither has evidence of a helmet or other military equipment.
The mace heads were hollow cast bronze, filled with lead, with the remains of wooden shafts (ash and maple). One had four pyramidal protrusions and another four animal heads. The heads were small (71 x 44 mm, 61 x 52 mm and 80 mm respectively).
The relevant section of the excavation report (Rundkvist M, Barshalder 2: Studies of Late Iron Age Gotland (Stockholm, 2003), pp 65-8) follows:
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4.1.4 Maces
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