Pernach

A pernach is a flanged mace that originated in the 12th century in the region of Kievan Rus and was later used widely across Europe. Its name comes from the Slavic word for feather, pero, because the head resembles a feathered arrow, and a six-flanged form is called a shestoper, meaning six-feathered. Among comparable weapons developed in the Persian and Turkic dominated lands of the 12th century the pernach became pre-eminent, and the article says it could penetrate plate armour and plate mail. It also took on a ceremonial role as a mace of rank carried by certain Eastern European commanders, among them Polish magnates and Ukrainian Cossack colonels and sotniks. In Ukraine it symbolised the authority of the polkovnyk, a regional leader or officer, in contrast to the bulawa, which was linked to the Hetman.