Mace John Zizka, 15th century

Mace John Zizka, 15th century

The mace is made entirely of steel. Its head is equipped with 6 sharp flanges/blades with heart-shaped perforations. Stabbing with a mace is possible thanks to the tip of a square section with a sharp point. The grooved steel shaft is grooved into a shape of twisted bars. The handle is reinforced with a spiral-wound leather layer and covered with cowhide on the surface. There is a metal loop under the handle for tying a strap around the wrist against accidental loss in battle. The finish of the mace is flame blackened for an authentic look.

• Total length approx. 615mm
• The leather wrapped handle is approximately 145mm long
• The head has 6 flanges (blades) measuring approx. 82 x 58mm
• Blade thickness approx. 5.2mm
• The cutting edge of the blade/flange is approx. 1mm thick
• A heart of approx. 34x37mm is filed into each of the blades
• The spike at the end of the mace is approx. 58mm long
• The spike is made of a prism of approx. 12x12mm
• The handle has a diameter of approx. 14mm
• Outside diameter of the two sleeves on the handle is approx. 34.5mm
• The handle has a diameter of approx. 29mm
• The metal loop at the end of the handle has an inner diameter of approx. 10mm and is made of wire with a thickness of approx. 4.5mm
• The carved crowns in front of and behind the mace head have an outer diameter of approx. 28mm
• The center of gravity of the mace is approximately in the middle (approx. 31cm from the tip)
• Weight approx. 1380g

The Hussite Warlord's Mace is back! In 2017, the monastery library in Plasy was enriched with a very interesting exhibit, a mace, the original owner of which should have been John Zizka (Jan Žižka) himself. The object returned to Plasy after more than 230 years, thanks to the administration of the Kynžvart State Castle, which lent it to the monastery in Plasy. After the monastery was dissolved in 1785, the last local abbot took it away.

The mace has been kept as a rare relic by Cistercian monks since the 15th century. Then the Hussites burned down the monastery. "They kept the mace in one of the chapels and for them it was probably a symbol of the determination with which they tackled the restoration of the monastery," said Monika Tuková, the castellan's representative.

When the monastery was abolished by Emperor Joseph II in 1785, the last local abbot, Celestin Werner, took the mace with him. He hoped to be able to rebuild the monastery with its help. On his deathbed he then gave this weapon to his servant Schissel.

What happened to the mace is not known, but in 1826 the monastery of Prince Metternich acquired it and the mace became an exhibit in his museum of curiosities at Kynžvart Castle near Cheb (Czech Republic). From there it was loaned to Plasy.