Mace is a club-shaped staff used as a symbol of authority. It is most often seen in legislatures where it is used chiefly to restore order. The mace originally was a weapon of the Middle Ages. It was a long-handled club, heavily weighted at one end. As the science of war developed, the weighted end became an iron ball. Archers and other unmounted warriors used the mace as a hand arm. Sergeants at arms, who guarded kings and other officials, and some church officials carried maces. Gradually the mace gained a ceremonial character. The mace used in the United States House of Representatives is about 3 feet (90 centimeters) long. It consists of ebony rods bound with a silver band. A longer ebony rod in the center of the bundle has a silver globe mounted on it with a silver eagle on top.
