A Fantastic Looking Knight's Mounted Weapon, Medieval 15th Century Form 'Scorpion Tail' Chained Mace, or Battle Whip Head

A superb knight's 'scorpion tail' or 'battle whip' iron mounted knight's chained mace with screw pin to imbed into a wooden haft, composed of a carinated and facetted head with trapezoidal suspension loop, chain with figure-of-eight links with coiled wire collars, screw with tapering twisted shank and suspension loop with a facetted collar. This chained battle mace had the name of a Scorpion in England or France, or sometimes a Battle-Whip. It was also wryly known as a 'Holy Water Sprinkler'. King John The Ist of Bohemia used exactly such a weapon as well as his sword, but as he was blind, and the act of 'Flailing the Mace' meant lack of site was no huge disadvantage in close combat. Although blind he was a valiant and the bravest of the Warrior Kings, who perished at the Battle of Crecy against the English in 1346. On the day he was slain he instructed his Knights both friends and companions to lead him to the very centre of battle, so he may strike at least one blow against his enemies. His Knights tied their horses to his, so the King would not be separated from them in the press, and they rode together into the thick of battle, where King John managed to strike not one but at least four noble blows. The following day of the battle, the horses and the fallen knights were found all about the body of their most noble King, all still tied to his steed.
According to the Cronica ecclesiae Pragensis Benesii Krabice de Weitmile, when told by his aides that the battle against the English at Crécy was lost and he better should flee to save his own life, John the Blind replied: "Absit, ut rex Boemie fugeret, sed illuc me ducite, ubi maior strepitus certaminis vigeret, Dominus sit nobiscum, nil timeamus, tantum filium meum diligenter custodite. --Far be it that the King of Bohemia should run away. Instead, take me to the place where the noise of the battle is the loudest. The Lord will be with us. Nothing to fear. Just take good care of my son-.

It is difficult to block with a shield or parry with a weapon such as this on a chain because it can curve over and round impediments and still strike the target.

It has a faceted orb mace head connected by a chain, and bar for holding in the hand or affixing to a wooden haft. . Modern works variously refer to this particular weapon as a "mace-and-chain" or "chain mace," and sometimes erroneously label them as simply a "mace" or morning star, terms which technically apply only to rigid weapons. Some historians refer to this weapon as a kettenmorgenstern ("chain morning star") to distinguish it from the rigid weapon. Despite being depicted in medieval manuscripts they were very likely most rare bespoke weapons in their day, and infrequently encountered, as rigid maces, iron or bronze weighted heads, affixed to a wooden hafts, were far simpler to make and thus much less expensive to create.
After several decades of relative peace, the English had renewed their war effort in 1415 amid the failure of negotiations with the French. In the ensuing campaign, many soldiers perished due to disease and the English numbers dwindled, but as they tried to withdraw to English-held Calais they found their path blocked by a considerably larger French army. Despite the disadvantage, the following battle ended in an overwhelming tactical victory for the English.

King Henry V of England led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. The French king of the time, Charles VI, did not command the French army himself, as he suffered from severe psychotic illnesses with moderate mental incapacitation. Instead, the French were commanded by Constable Charles d'Albret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party.

This battle is notable for the use of the English longbow in very large numbers, with the English and Welsh archers forming up to 80 percent of Henry's army. The decimation of the French cavalry at their hands is regarded as an indicator of the decline of cavalry and the beginning of the dominance of ranged weapons on the battlefield.

Agincourt is one of England's most celebrated victories. The battle is the centrepiece of the play Henry V by Shakespeare. Juliet Barker in her book Agincourt: The King, the Campaign, the Battle ( published in 2005) argues the English and Welsh were outnumbered "at least four to one and possibly as much as six to one". She suggests figures of about 6,000 for the English and 36,000 for the French, based on the Gesta Henrici's figures of 5,000 archers and 900 men-at-arms for the English, and Jean de Wavrin's statement "that the French were six times more numerous than the English". The 2009 Encyclopædia Britannica uses the figures of about 6,000 for the English and 20,000 to 30,000 for the French

Sir Walter Scott describes the flail in the hands of an unhinged Crusader in his 19th-century novel The Talisman:

“I am Theodorick of Engaddi,” he said,—“I am the walker of the desert—I am friend of the cross, and flail of all infidels, heretics and devil-worshippers.” … So saying, he pulled from under his shaggy garment a sort of flail or jointed club, bound with iron, which he brandished round his head with singular dexterity.

“Thou seest thy saint,” said the Saracen, laughing, for the first time, at the unmitigated astonishment with which Sir Kenneth looked on the wild gestures and heard the wayward muttering of Theodorick, who, after swinging his flail in every direction, apparently quite reckless whether it encountered the head of either of his companions, finally showed his own strength and the soundness of the weapon, by striking into fragments a large stone which lay near him.

“This is a madman,” said Sir Kenneth.

The gallery contains photos of original medieval paintings of chained maces used in knightly combat, and another of a Renaissance tapestry of another chained mace, and an original 17th century engraving. Another final variety the Iberian flail or mangual. This can be seen below at the feet of the figure on the frontispiece of the Handbook of the True Skill of Arms in Thirty-Eight Assertions by Miguel Perez de Mendoza y Quixada, published in 1675. This weapon was a specialized armament meant primarily to oppose rapiers and perhaps two handed swords like montante in combat, the figure standing amongst an armoury of weapons including a zweihander great sword, a maine gauche, numerous swept hilt and cup hilt rapiers, and at his feet, a multi chained mace battle-whip or mangual. Picture 10 in the gallery is another a capture taken from a Renaissance painting

Very good, surface russetted condition, 22 inches long approx., and with great heft.

Code: 24107