Mace-handgonne

[Matchlock]

I'm afraid all it would provide would be another terminus post quem.

As studies in combination weapons have proved - and this was doubtlessly a combined weapon - , they seem to reflect the earliest possible shapes of the basic (!) weapon.

This means that when you investigate a combined mace and wheellock gun, the mace head - as a relic of the basic weapon - will reflect the latest development of maces while the wheellock will closely mirror the taste of the period of actual manufacture.

I will do research into the shape of the flanges on the mace head, as I have been planning on getting back to this topic soon anyway, with good basic material of course.

What I can state with authority today is the fact that the pronounced sectioning of this barrel points toward the end of the 15th century. No such sectioning by moldings or other stages can be found on pre-1460 barrels.

For today, I would like to link you with

http://otlichnik.tripod.com/medmace3.html

The attached 14th-15th c. samples, which come pretty close to our combination weaon in discussion, are from this site.

On the other hand - and this I hope makes the dichotomy understood that I have been talking about - , they are very close to the sample attached, ca. 1500!

And: in order to make the similarity of mace heads thru the millenniums perfectly clear, please see here for a nearly identical Byzantine sample, 12th-15th c. (attachments at bottom):

http://www.google.de/imgres?q=mace+h...:0&tx=30&ty=58


Best,
Michael