Mace
mace
A short, ornamental staff whose headpiece is decorated with a coat of arms, borne before eminent ecclesiastical, magisterial and academic bodies as a symbol of jurisdiction. Properly, mazza is a club-shaped beaten silver stick carried by mazzieri (mace-beaters), and Swiss Guards, in papal chapels at bishops’ consecrations, and by papal messengers. Mazzi date from at least the 12th century.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Mace
(1) A short, richly ornamented staff, often made of silver, the upper part furnished with a knob or other head-piece and decorated with a coat of arms, usually borne before eminent ecclesiastical corporations, magistrates, and academic bodies as a mark and symbol of jurisdiction.
(2) More properly, the club-shaped beaten silver stick (mazza) carried by papal mazzieri (mace-bearers), Swiss Guards (vergers), in papal chapels, at the consecration of bishops, and by the cursores apostolici (papal messengers). When in use the mace is carried on the right shoulder, with its head upwards. Formerly cardinals had mace-bearers. Mazzieri, once called servientes armorum, or halberdiers, were the bodyguard of the pope, and mazze (clavae, virgae) date back at least to the twelfth century (virgarii in chapter 40 of the Ordo of Cencius).
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The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IXCopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, CensorImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York