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Some officials of the medieval Eastern Roman Empire carried maces for either practical or ceremonial purposes. Notable among the latter is the protoallagator, a military-judicial position that existed by about the 10th century A.D. and whose symbols of office were reported by the Palaiologan writer Pseudo-Kodinos in the 14th century to include a silver-gilt mace (matzouka).
Articles relating to ceremonial maces, highly ornamented staffs of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high officials in civic ceremonies by mace-bearers, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon.
Ceremonial maces in the United Kingdom began as lethal weapons of medieval knights in England, Scotland, and Wales, evolving into ceremonial objects carried by sergeants-at-arms. In the United Kingdom , they now represent the monarch's authority in parliaments and councils, and royal maces are borne in procession at the State Opening of ...
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 ecclesiastical corporations, magistrates, and academic bodies as a mark and symbol of jurisdiction.
A man holding the mace, to show scale. The design of the mace is derived from an ancient battle weapon and the Roman fasces.The ceremonial mace is 46 inches (120 cm) high and consists of 13 ebony rods—representing the original 13 states of the Union—bound together by silver strands criss-crossed over the length of the pole.
The original mace used in the House of Delegates was a silver ceremonial mace presented by the Royal Governor to the House of Burgesses of the Colony of Virginia in 1700. [2] Following the Declaration of Independence and the establishment of the Commonwealth of Virginia, this mace continued to be used by the House of Delegates as a symbol of ...
With ceremonial swords, an example of this is that the sword may be poorly balanced. Historically, however, many ceremonial weapons were also capable of actual combat, most notably in the military. Maces , halberds , daggers , and swords are the most common form of ceremonial weapons, but in theory almost any weapon can become ceremonial.
Ceremonial uses [ edit ] A pernach or shestoper ( Russian : шестопeр , "six-feathered") was often carried as a ceremonial mace of rank by certain Eastern European military commanders, including Polish magnates , Ukrainian Cossack colonels and sotniks (cf. centurion ).