Mace

While we may imagine sharp-edged, heavy swords as the standard battle armament of the Medieval era, maces and other polearm weapons were prevalently used among the infantry, with longer maces used among the cavalry. A mace typically appears with a long handle made of wood, or more commonly, with a metal, such as bronze, steel or silver. To inflict damage on the battlefield, the weapon has a metal head at the top of a pole, which may be spiked, knobbed, or flanged like this 7 flanged mace here.   Maces could be produced quite cheaply and could be constructed with relatively little weapon-making skill. This, together with their capacity to inflict blunt force trauma on the body - and in some cases slice through flexible armour - made them an attractive choice of weapon during the Medieval era. However, besides inflciting damage to opponents, maces may also be used for ceremonial purposes, such as in parliament or for ecclesiastical proceedings.   This mace is decorated with patterns of foliage along its shaft, with an opening mid-way through the shaft for a chain or piece of leather.  This would have been sued to secure it to the soldier's wrist during close combat situations.