Ceremonial mace

A court official holds the mace of the Lord President of the Court of Session, Scotland, during a Doors Open Day. Also known as the Old Exchequer Mace, it was made in London in 1667, of silver gilded with 24 carat gold, and weighs around 8 kg (17 lb).

A ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon. Processions often feature maces, as on parliamentary or formal academic occasions.

History

Head of a French ceremonial mace, 18th century

Mughal ceremonial mace (or "chob"), wood overlaid with mother-of-pearl; copper handle, c. 1600

The ceremonial mace was used as a symbol of authority of military commanders.

The earliest ceremonial maces were practical weapons intended to protect the king's person, borne by the Sergeants-at-Arms, a royal bodyguard established in France by Philip II, and in England probably by Richard I. By the 14th century, these sergeants' maces had started to become increasingly decorative, encased in precious metals. As a weapon, the mace fell out of use with the disappearance of heavy armor.

The history of the civic mace (carried by the sergeants-at-arms) begins around the middle of the 13th century, though no examples from that period remain today. The oldest civic mace in England (still remaining today) is that of Hedon. It was granted (along with an important charter) in 1415. At the time, ornamented civic maces were considered an infringement of one of the privileges of the king's sergeants, who alone deserved to bear maces enriched with costly metals, according to a House of Commons petition of 1344. However, the sergeants of London later gained this privilege, as did later those of York (1396), Norwich (1403–1404), and Chester (1506). Records exist of maces covered with silver in use at Exeter in 1387–1388; Norwich bought two in 1435, and Launceston others in 1467 and 1468. Several other cities and towns subsequently acquired silver maces, and the 16th century saw almost universal use.

Early in the 15th century the flanged end of the mace (the head of the war mace) was carried uppermost, with the small button bearing the royal arms in the base. By the beginning of the Tudor period, however, the blade-like flanges, originally made for offence, degenerated into mere ornaments, while the increased importance of the end with the royal arms (afterwards enriched with a cresting) resulted in the reversal of the position. The custom of carrying the flanged end upward did not die out at once: a few maces, such as the Winchcombe silver maces, which date from the end of the 15th century, were made to be carried both ways. The Guildford mace provides one of the finest of the fifteen specimens of the 15th century.

Craftsmen often pierced and decorated the flanged ends of the maces of this period beautifully. These flanges gradually became smaller, and by the 16th or early 17th century had developed into pretty projecting scroll-brackets and other ornaments, which remained in vogue until about 1640. The next development in the embellishment of the shaft was the reappearance of these small scroll-brackets on the top, immediately under the head of the mace. They disappear altogether from the foot in the last half of the 17th century, and remain only under the heads, or, in rarer instances, on a knob on the shaft. The silver mace-heads were mostly plain, with a cresting of leaves or flowers in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the reign of James I of England they began to be engraved and decorated with heraldic devices and similar ornamentation.

As the custom of having sergeants' maces began to die out about 1650, the large maces borne before the mayor or bailiffs came into general use. Thomas Maundy functioned as the chief maker of maces during the English Commonwealth. He made the mace for the House of Commons in 1649. This mace is still in use today, though without the original head. The original head, which was not engraved with regal symbols, was replaced by one with regal symbols at the time of the Restoration of the monarchy. Oliver Cromwell referred to the House of Commons mace as "a fool's bauble" when he dissolved the Rump Parliament in 1653.

United Kingdom

Top of a mace bearing the cypher of Charles II

There are 10 large silver-gilt maces of the sergeants-at-arms kept as part of the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. Two date from the reign of Charles II, two from the reign of James II, three from William and Mary's reign, and one from Queen Anne's reign (the royal cypher of George I has been added to the latter). All these are of a type almost universally adopted, with slight variations, at the Restoration. Each mace weighs an average of 10 kilograms (22 lb). In the Houses of Parliament, two ceremonial maces represent the monarch's authority. The monarch is referred to as the "third part of Parliament" and signs into law the Bills which are voted on and passed in Parliament. Parliament cannot lawfully meet without the Mace, representing the monarch's authority, being present in the chambers. The maces are carried into, and out of, the two chambers in procession at the beginning and end of each day. The House of Lords has two maces, one of which is carried by the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod and placed behind the Lord Speaker on the Woolsack when the House is sitting. In the House of Commons, a mace, carried by the Serjeant-at-Arms, is placed on brackets at the end of the Table of the House in front of the Speaker. When the Commons sits as a Committee of the Whole House, or when Finance Bills are discussed, the Mace sits under the table. Two maces from the Jewel House are carried in procession at State Openings of Parliament and at coronations.

Incidents with the Mace in the House of Commons

In 1653, during the Rump Parliament, Oliver Cromwell derided the Mace as a "fools' bauble" and ordered his troops to take it away.

In 1930, John Beckett, a member of the Labour Party, was suspended from the House of Commons for showing disrespect to the Mace by trying to leave the chamber with it as a protest against the suspension of another member; it was wrestled from his grip at the door.

In 1976, Michael Heseltine, a member of the Conservative Party, seized the Mace from the table and held it above his head after Labour MPs on the government side started to sing The Red Flag, the traditional anthem of the Labour Party, during a heated debate on the controversial Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Bill, which nationalised large parts of the UK aerospace and shipbuilding industries.

In 1988, Ron Brown, Labour MP for Leith, Scotland, picked up the mace during a debate on the so-called poll tax and threw it to the floor in protest at the government's proposals. The mace was damaged, and Brown was ordered to pay £1,500 toward the cost of repairs.

In 2009, John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, in which Heathrow Airport is located, was suspended from the Commons after disrupting a debate on the proposed expansion of the airport. Following the Transport Secretary's announcement that the government had decided to approve a new runway without a vote in the Commons, McDonnell took the Mace and dropped it on an empty bench. He was named by the Deputy Speaker and suspended from the Commons for five days for contempt of Parliament.

England

The Lord Mayor of London is preceded by both a Mace Bearer and a Sword Bearer. This is only for his status as head of the City of London Corporation, and as an Alderman he is also accompanied, as are the other 25 Aldermen, by his Ward Beadle, carrying the Ward Mace. All are displayed and used on the City's eight grand ceremonial occasions of each year. There are many more maces in store than the current number in use, because each division of the Wards and their Parishes also had their own Maces. The City also has a Crystal Sceptre, not strictly a mace, made of crystal and gold set with pearls; the head dates from the 15th century, while the mounts of the shaft are older, dating from the early Middle Ages. These various maces take many forms and are from different periods, but most are no earlier than the Restoration of King Charles II, and one of a most unusual form from that period is the mace of the Tower Ward of London, which has a head resembling the White Tower in the Tower of London, complete with tiny cannons. Mayoral and Aldermanic maces are widely used, e.g., carried in ceremonial processions, in other boroughs and cities as symbols of the authority of the Mayor or Lord Mayor and Council, albeit that the office of Alderman has largely been abolished. Commonly a mace is of silver gilt, the largest examples being those of the City of Oxford and the City of Winchester.

Scotland

The present Scottish Parliament has a silver mace, which was designed in 1999 and incorporates a gold wedding ring. The Scottish Parliament was presented with this mace by Queen Elizabeth II at the opening ceremony on 1 July 1999. It was designed and crafted by Michael Lloyd, a renowned silversmith who has a studio in south-west Scotland. The mace is constructed of Scottish silver with an inlaid band of gold panned from Scottish rivers. The gold band is intended to symbolise the marriage of the Parliament, the land, and the people. The words "Wisdom, Justice, Compassion, Integrity" are woven into thistles at the head of the mace to represent the aspirations of the Scottish people for the Members of their Parliament. The head of the mace bears the words: "There shall be a Scottish Parliament – Scotland Act 1998".

The Lord President's Mace (sometimes known as the Old Exchequer Mace) dates from 1667. It is made of gilt solid silver, measures 4 ft 8 inches and weighs 17 lb 5oz. In 1856, on the merging of the courts, it was transferred from the Court of Exchequer to the First Division of the Court of Session to be used by the Lord President. The mace remains in daily use in the court. The mace, and lesser ones used in the other courts, are borne by Macers, officers of the court who act as assistants to the judges. The Lord President's Mace is borne by the Falkland Macer. A new mace was presented to the Court in 2006.

The silver mace with crystal globe of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, at Holyrood Palace, was made about 1690 by Francis Garthorne.

Wales

National Assembly for Wales ceremonial mace

The National Assembly for Wales has a gold, silver and brass mace which bears the Assembly's official symbol at its head. The mace was presented to the assembly by the Parliament of New South Wales at the ceremony to mark the official opening of the Assembly Building, the Senedd, in Cardiff on St David's Day in 2006. Melbourne goldsmith Fortunato Rocca was commissioned in 2002 to design it. The mace took 300 hours to craft and is made of gold, silver and brass. In 2006, it was worth around £10,500 (A$25,000) and was handed over to the National Assembly during the opening ceremony. Before then, the assembly used a glass, gold, iron and coal sculpture known as the "Tlws" as its mace. The Tlws was presented to the assembly by the Queen at the official opening of the First Assembly in 1999 and currently resides in the Siambr Hywel debating chamber in the Tŷ Hywel building adjoining the Senedd.

Northern Ireland

Some district councils in Northern Ireland, e.g. Belfast, also meet with maces present.

Ireland

The Great Mace of Galway, Ireland, presented to the city by Mayor Edward Eyre in 1712. Next to it is the Civic Sword.

The silver gilt mace of the old Irish House of Commons, which dates to 1765/1766 is now displayed in the old Irish House of Lords Chamber in the old Parliament House which since 1803 has been Bank of Ireland, College Green in Dublin. The silver gilt mace of the old Irish House of Lords is on permanent display at the National Museum, Collins Barracks. City councils and universities in Ireland often possess a ceremonial mace.

Australia

The ceremonial maces of the Australian House of Representatives and the Australian Senate symbolise both the authority of each chamber and the Royal authority of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of Australia.

Senate

The ceremonial mace of the Senate of Australia is the Black Rod. The ceremonial custodian of the Black Rod is the Usher of the Black Rod.

House of Representatives

The Sergeant-at-Arms of the Australian House of Representatives is the ceremonial custodian of the Mace of the House. At the beginning and end of every day the House sits, the Speaker of the House enters and leaves the House preceded by the Sergeant-at-Arms carrying the mace on his or her right shoulder. The current Mace is made of gilded silver, and was a gift to the House from King George VI on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Federation in 1951. It was presented to the House by a delegation of members of the British House of Commons.

Bahamas

The ceremonial maces in the Bahamas symbolise both the authority of each chamber and the Royal authority of Elizabeth II, the Queen of the Bahamas.

On 27 April 1965, a day known in the Bahamas as "Black Tuesday", Lynden Pindling, then Opposition Leader, threw the 165-year-old Speaker's Mace out of a House of Assembly window to protest against the unfair gerrymandering of constituency boundaries by the then ruling United Bahamian Party (UBP) government. The Speaker tried to restore order but he was reminded by Labour leader Randol Fawkes that the business of the House could not legally continue without the mace. The badly damaged mace was recovered by the Police and returned to the House.

On 3 December 2001, Cassius Stuart and Omar Smith, leader and deputy leader of the Bahamas Democratic Movement, a minor political party, charged from the public gallery onto the floor of the House of Assembly and handcuffed themselves to the Mace in protest against "unfair gerrymandering" of constituency boundaries by the Free National Movement (FNM) government. The Mace was unable to be separated from the men and the sitting of the House had to be suspended. The pair were jailed for almost two days but no charges were brought against them.

Canada

The ceremonial maces in the Canadian Senate and the House of Commons embody the authority each chamber derives from the country's sovereign. The mace in the Commons is a replica of the one destroyed by fire at the Centre Block in 1916. A similar practice is employed in each of the provincial and territorial legislatures, with a mace representing the authority and power of the respective legislature.

Protocol surrounding the mace

In Canada, each of the legislatures follow a relatively standard protocol in relation to the ceremonial mace; the speaker of the house normally enters following a mace-bearer (normally the sergeant-at-arms), who subsequently sets the mace on the clerks' table to begin the sitting. When the sergeant-at-arms removes the mace from the table, the House has either adjourned, recessed, or been resolved into a committee of the whole. Before the reigning monarch or one of his or her representatives (the governor general or one of the lieutenant governors) may enter a legislative chamber, the mace must be completely hidden from view. This is done by draping the mace in a heavy velvet cloth, a procedure performed by the house pages. During the election of the speaker, the mace is removed from the table to show that the house is not fully constituted until the new speaker takes the chair and the mace is laid on the table.

Incidents with the Mace in the House of Commons

Being a symbol of the power and authority of a legislative assembly, a precedent was set in 2002 as to the severity of acts of disrespect toward the mace in Canada and, by proxy, the monarch. After Keith Martin, federal Member of Parliament for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, seized the ceremonial mace of the House of Commons from the clerk's table on April 17, 2002, the speaker of that chamber ruled that a prima facie breach of the privileges of the house had occurred, and contempt of the house been committed. Martin was not permitted to resume his seat until he had issued a formal apology from the bar of the house, pursuant to a motion passed in response to the incident.

Guyana

The National Assembly, the lower chamber of the Parliament of Guyana, has a ceremonial mace. In March 1991, Isahak Basir, a member of the People's Progressive Party (in opposition at the time), was expelled from parliament for removing the mace from its place on the table, and also for throwing his drinking glass at the Speaker.

Philippines

Mace of the House of Representatives

The House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines each have a respective mace. The maces are almost identical.

The mace of the House of Representatives serves as a symbol of authority and in the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms. It serves as a guarantee for the Sergeant-at-Arms in enforcing peace and order in the House upon the Speaker's instruction. Upon every session, the mace is placed at the foot of the Speaker's rostrum. The mace is topped by the official seal of the House of Representatives.

The mace of the Senate also serves as a symbol of authority. It is also displayed at the Senate President's rostrum every session. As with the House of Representatives, the Sergeant-at-Arms also serves as the custodian of the mace. When there is disorderly conduct in the Senate, the Sergeant-at-Arms brings the mace from its pedestal and presents it to the senator(s) causing the disorder, a signal to stop such behavior. The official seal of the Senate also tops the mace.

Sri Lanka

The ceremonial jeweled Mace, symbolizes the authority of Parliament of Sri Lanka, is kept in the custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms. The Mace, when kept on its stand in the Chamber signifies that the House is in session. At the commencement of a Session, the Serjeant-at-Arms bearing the Mace accompanies the Speaker when entering and leaving the Chamber. The Mace has to be legally brought into the House at the appointed time and removed at the end of the Session. Therefore, unauthorized removal of the Mace cannot invalidate proceedings.

United States

The Mace of the US House of Representatives

See also: Mace of the Virginia House of Delegates

The civic maces of the 18th century follow the British type, with some modifications in shape and ornamentation. Examples of English silver maces in North America include one dating to 1753 at Norfolk, Virginia, and the mace of the state of South Carolina, dating to 1756. (In addition, there are two maces in Jamaica, made in 1753 and 1787; one belonging to the colony of Grenada, made in 1791, and the Speaker's Mace at Barbados, dating from 1812.)

The current Mace of the United States House of Representatives has been in use since December 1, 1842. It was created by William Adams at a cost of $400 to replace the first mace, which was destroyed on August 24, 1814 when the Capitol was destroyed in the burning of Washington by the British during the War of 1812. A simple wooden mace was used in the interim.

The current mace is nearly four feet tall and is composed of 13 ebony rods tied together with silver strands criss-crossed over the length of the pole. It is topped by a silver eagle, wings outspread, standing on a world globe.

When the House is in session, the mace stands in a cylindrical pedestal of green marble to the right of the chair of the Speaker of the House. When the House is meeting as the Committee of the Whole, the mace is moved to a pedestal next to the desk of the Sergeant at Arms. Thus Representatives entering the chamber know with a glance whether the House is in session or in committee.

In accordance with the Rules of the House, when a Member becomes unruly the Sergeant at Arms, on order of the Speaker, lifts the mace from its pedestal and presents it before the offenders, thereby restoring order. This occurs very rarely.

Churches

Among other maces (more correctly described as staves) in use today are those carried before ecclesiastical dignitaries and clergy in cathedrals and some parish churches. Other churches, particularly churches of the Anglican Communion, a verger ceremoniously precedes processions.

In the Roman Catholic Church maces used to be carried before Popes and Cardinals.

Universities

The University of Glasgow coat of arms

Ceremonial maces, symbols of the internal authority over members and the independence from external authority, are still used at many educational institutions, particularly universities. The University of St Andrews in Scotland has three maces dating from the 15th century. The university also has four other maces of a more recent origin. These are on permanent display at the Museum of the University of St Andrews. The University of Glasgow has one from the same period, which may be seen in its arms. University of Innsbruck and its sister Medical University are in possession of maces from 1572, 1588 and 1833, which were confiscated by the Habsburgs from the University of Olomouc in the 1850s. At the University of Oxford there are three dating from the second half of the 16th century and six from 1723 and 1724, while at the University of Cambridge there are three from 1626 and one from 1628. The latter was altered during the Cromwellian Commonwealth and again at the Stuart Restoration. The mace of the general council of the University of Edinburgh has a threesided head: one with the seal of the University; one with the university's coat of arms and the third with Edinburgh's coat of arms of the City of Edinburgh. The wood for the shaft of the mace is from Malabar and was presented by the Secretary of State for India (R. A. Cross) at the First International Forestry Exhibition (1884). The mace of the Open University reflects its modernist outlook, being made from titanium.

In the United States, almost all universities and free-standing colleges have a mace, used almost exclusively at commencement exercises and borne variously by the university or college president, chancellor, rector, provost, the marshal of the faculty, a dean or some other high official. In those universities that have a number of constituent colleges or faculties, each college, faculty or school often has a smaller mace, borne in procession by a dean, faculty member or sometimes a privileged student.

Royal Roads Military College ceremonial mace, on loan to Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia

In Canada, some universities have a mace that is used as part of the ceremonial process of conferring degrees during convocation and other special events. The mace is carried by a special university official like a beadle.

In South Korea, Pohang University of Science and Technology has a mace as a part of its ceremonial functions.

In the Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas has a pair of twin maces belonging to the Rector Magnificus. These symbolize his spiritual and temporal power as the highest authority of the university. Made of pure silver and measuring 95 centimeters by 15 centimeters in diameter, the maces have existed since the 17th century and have been used in academic processions ever since. Candidates for doctoral degrees were accompanied by the Rector in a parade called Paseo de los Doctores from Intramuros to Santo Domingo Church, where University commencement exercises were held until the 17th century. Today, faculty members hold processions at the opening of each academic year and during solemn investitures in academic gowns, following the style of Spanish academic regalia. The maces, carried by beadles or macebearers, were included in the parade for their academic symbolism.

Other maces

• The mace of the Cork guilds, made by Robert Goble of Cork in 1696 for the associated guilds of which he had been master, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The museum also has a large silver mace dating to the middle of the 18th century, with the arms of Pope Benedict XIV. This mace is said to have been used at the coronation of Napoleon as king of Italy at Milan in 1805.
• Judiciary of Hong Kong opens its legal year with a ceremonial mace carried by the mace bearer and used since the early 20th century.
• Hetmans of Ukrainian Cossacks also had a ceremonial mace, called a bulava.
• The drum major at the front of a marching band may use a mace to communicate movement and musical cues.

See also

• Baton (symbol)
• Ceremonial weapon
• Sceptre
• Staff of office
• Heraldry

External links

• Media related to Ceremonial maces at Wikimedia Commons
• German horseman's parade mace at the Royal Collection.
• English mace at the Royal Collection.
• Indian mace at the Royal Collection.
• Zambian mace at the Royal Collection.