[MR] History Blog: Medieval Mace Head Found in Poland

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble friends,

My apologies for not picking up on this sooner. I set this story aside,
meaning to come back to it when "real" life intruded into my posts. Then
other interesting stories popped up. So a week later, you finally get to
learn about this fascinating find.

Recently during barn construction near the village of Wilków in east
Poland, a youngster saw an unusual object in a spoils pile. It turned out
to be the head of a bulawa (Polish: *buława*), a type of medieval mace. The
youth's parents alerted archaeological authorities, and the find was
confirmed as medieval.

A bulawa (also called a *bulava*) was an elite weapon usually carried only
by high-ranking officers, and evolved into a ceremonial weapon. Sort of
like a British swagger stick, but with an attitude. This particular bulawa,
however, was not just for show. It is disfigured by heavy use,
possibly from pounding on some enemy's helm.

Sadly for the youngster, he wasn't allowed to keep the mace. After study
and conservation it will go on display in an as-yet to be determined museum.

The illustrated story can be read at
https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/68991 .

More about bulawas is found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulawa .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing the quest to keep Merry Rose relevant and in business.