This morning star was photographed in Luhansk, Ukraine and was one of the pictures of the day at The Telegraph. I found more information on the history of the weapon at Wikipedia:
The spikes distinguish it from a mace, which can have, at most, flanges or small knobs... The morning star first came into widespread use around the beginning of the fourteenth century, particularly in Germany where it was known as Morgenstern... Although it is often assumed that the morning star was a crude peasant weapon, that is not entirely correct...Photo credit: Vailey Fedosenko/Reuters.
Interesting. From Wikipedia:
ReplyDelete"It is popularly believed that maces were employed by the clergy in warfare to avoid shedding blood (sine effusione sanguinis). The evidence for this is sparse and appears to derive almost entirely from the depiction of Bishop Odo of Bayeux wielding a club-like mace at the Battle of Hastings in the Bayeux Tapestry, the idea being that he did so to avoid either shedding blood or bearing the arms of war. The fact that his brother Duke William carries a similar item suggests that, in this context, the mace may have been simply a symbol of authority. Certainly, other Bishops were depicted bearing the arms of a knight without comment, such as Archbishop Turpin who bears both a spear and a sword named "Almace" in The Song of Roland or Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy, who also appears to have fought as a knight during the First Crusade, an expedition that Odo also joined."
I had been under that misconception. You learn something new every day.
I think the bearer of the morningstar plans on going medieval on someone's arse.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the flowers depicted are intended to be the symbolic Mallow.
ReplyDelete