PROCEEDINGS of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Our full archive of freely accessible articles covering Scottish archaeology and history is available at http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/psas/volumes.cfm National Museums Scotland Chambers Street, Edinburgh www.socantscot.org Charity No SC 010440 440 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MAY 9, 1892: IX, AN ACCOUNT OF THE MACES OF THE UNIVERSITIES OF ST ANDREWS, GLASGOW, ABERDEEN, AND EDINBURGH, THE COLLEGE OF JUS- TICE, THE CITY OF EDINBURGH, &c. BY ALEXANDER J. S. BROOK, F.S.A. SCOT, (PLATES III.-XII.) e mac Th r clus unquestionablo e bwa e earliesth f o t e weaponsyon ; and. the rod or baton claims an almost equally high antiquity as an emble authorityf mo t seemI . s probabl connectes i e e on tha e dtth with, unlikelt developmena no os s ri wa yothere t thai th weapo e r f to th fo t; n originally used to enforce power came in time to be used as an emblem or a symbol of power. The word " mace " is simply the Saxon for a lump-^-a mass or weight, —the Latin massa. e e primitivclubth Th f so e savage were oftef o n wood alone, but at different times and in .different places they underwent many developments, so that we find them frequently made with wooden handle massivd an s e stone heads. Weapons answerin thago t t descrip- tion—lignis imposita saxa1— mentionedchronicled ol n a uses y a b ry db the Saxons at the battle of Hastings, are figured in the Bayeaux tapestry. Numerous.specimens of knobbed stone balls, which it is supposed may have forme e headdth f similaso r weapon r primitivso e maces, have been discovere thin i d s country. Another varietmace th alss ef i o yo figured in the tapestry as borne by the Normans. In form it is a long notched or lobed club, and is assumed to be of iron. One of these is shown in the hands of Odo, the Norman Bishop of Bayeaux. Some writers regard this mac s simpla e badgya f commano e bishop'a r o d s baton; an f thii d s assumptio s correctni e havw , e at this classedato tw e f so maces in use—one for active warfare, and the other merely as an emblem of authority. It is not necessary, in connection with this paper, to enter into a detailed account of the development of the war-mace ; but it may be interesting to state a theory propounded by a distinguished English antiquary, Chancellor Ferguso f Carlisleo n o regardwh , s e "civith c 1 Froc. Soc. Aniiq. Scot.,. 57 . volp . .xi PROC. Soc. ANTIQ. SCOT. VOL. XXVI. PLATE III. e FacultMac1 th f eo f Artsyo , Universit t AndrewsS f yo . 2. e FacultMacth £ eo Canof yo Theologicae nth Laww no , l Faculty, Universit t AndrewsS f yo . 3. Mac Sf eo t S;ilvator's College, Universit t AndrewsS f yo . 4. Mace of the University of Glasgow. ACCOUN MACEE TH F SO T OF SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES, 1 ETC44 . mac e s nothinmilitara eth e t turneon bu gy d upside down."r M 1 Ferguson traces the development of the war-mace through the different forms whic weapoe hth n assumed from those with plain globular heads, battle useth t f Senlac dea o flangee th o r laminatet , do d war-mace th f eo sixteenth century e thee peculiaH th e n mac.s th show wa erw ho s weapo king'e th f nso sergeant-at-arms, bot Englann hi d Francean d s a , e fourteentearlth s ya t hbecami centuryw ho e d usual an ,mara s f a ,k o high favour, to grant to mayors and others, to whom royal authority was delegated, the right to have one or more sergeants-at-arms or at-mace. governine Th g charte f Carlisl o rtime th f Charle eo f eo . directsI s that e executio mace th th r efo f procesno s should beae royath r l armsr M . Ferguson then points out how there was no very suitable place in a war- mace on which to place the arms, and that one was found by swelling e mace th e foof th o t t int ou osmala l bel r bowo l whicn o l placo ht e e themmacTh e. then assume e stil on e forl th f dpreservemo t da Carlisle. civie th cs maceA gradually predominated ovee militarth r y oneo s , increasbele d th en laminatee l d th sizedi n ed i d diminishan , en d , until ultimately the flanges and laminaB survived alone in meaningless scrolls, subsequentld an y assume fore bala dr knoth f m o lo p with fluting. Englan s veri d y ric n macesi h , havin o lesn gs than about three. hundred old civic maces still preserved, and Mr Ferguson has no difficult n pointini y o mant g y example n illustratioi s s theoryhi f o n . There are, however maceo n , n Scotlani s d which show this transition and development. It is possible that the maces of the fifteenth cen- tur ye Lor th referre dn i Treasurer'o t d s accounts wer f thio e s semi-, militaryn i typet conjectur w f theBu o no . me s i on s fruitless ei t no r fo , existence. e e bell-headeoldesth Th f .o t possesdw macey no e ma s w s have been modelled from these still older ones r thehavy o , yma e been made—as is more probable—after the pattern of contemporary maces in England. An examination of the maces in Scotland makes it clear that the. ceremonial mace was not in all instances derived from the war-mace. In addition to the bell-headed maces, there is an older and different type Archaeological Journal, vol. xli. pp. 370-3. 1 2E2 - PROCEEDING . E SOCIETY 2 , 18929 44 TH , Y F .,O S. MA , in Scotland modelled on totally different lines, all the examples of which excel, boiji in antiquity and in the magnificence of their designs, the finest of the English specimens. e threTh e maces belongin Universite th o gt t AndrewS f yo thad san t of the University of Glasgow are all of older date than even the oldest of the English maceSi They were made and used at a time when military maces wer n actuaScotlandn t i ethei ye e y us l d cannot'ban ^ e said in any sense of the word to be a development of them, or even to beae leasth r t resemblanc o theme t origie Th f thei.o n r type must evidentl soughe yb r elsewherefo t . t I appear e thae differenm th t o t s t form f maceo s s depended very much upo e positioe th individuan th f o n l whose office they wero t e magnify upod e purposan ,n th e they were intende serveo dt . In university ceremonials they were borne before the rector, who in pre-Reformation times was always a Churchman, and they were for use, as we read, at " solemn times." It is not therefore surprising to find them designe e prevailinth n di g characte f Gothio r c ornament whicn i , h not only the edifices but also all the vessels and other insignia of, the Church were made( ; With regard to the civic and other maces still preserved in Scotland, it is very evident that they were intended purely for the purpose of ceremonial, and to enhance the dignity of those upon whom the royal favour was bestowed. ' . '. The charter granted to Edinburgh by James VI., dated at Whitehall, Novembe followin e , 1609th 10 rs ha , g preamble :--• "clearls Thawa t yti known and made manifest to him^ that in all well-constituted common- wealths the whole Magistrals were not only permitted; but .were ordered to carr bead yan r bundle f rodso s 1 and such ensigns before them . .... allusioe bundle 1Th th interestin n o rodnf t a e o s si g onedoubtlesd an , s refero t s the fasces of" the Roman lictors borne before kings, consuls, praetors, and dictators, lu these were combined both the symbol of office and the rod for punishment ; and it is curious to note that the mace of the Lower House of the United States Congress t Washingtoa fashiones ni d on this model, It consist thirteef o s n ebony sticks- re , presentin e thirteegth n original e UnionStateth f o s . Thes surmountee ar e a y b d globe of silver, on which an eagle with outstretched \viiigs is pei'ched. This'mace mads wa 1834n ei . ........ .... ACCOUN E MACETH F SCOTTISF O SO T H UNIVERSITIES, 3 ETC44 . as sign tokend san f theiso r magistracy induco t d commoe ean th , n people to greater reverence ...,." e samth als s en I oyeawa t ordainedi r a lette n i ,r addressee th o dt privy council l suc, al tha hn o toccasion e Lorth ds a sTreasure r "sail come ony way abroad in ony of the streitis of ony burgh, citie, or toun of this kingdome," a, silver-gilt mace shall be carried before him. It is therefore quite clear that the university, the civic and other maces in Scotland were intended only for the purposes of ceremonial, t contemplateno s wa t i d dan that they should eve usee b r weapons da f so attack, any more than it was thought likely that the civic sword should be drawn for the defence of the Lord Provost.