Shillelagh (weapon)
| Shillelagh (weapon) | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Club |
| Designations: | Shillelagh |
| Use: | weapon |
| Region of origin / author: |
Ireland |
| Distribution: | Ireland |
| Overall length: | about up to 100 cm |
| Handle: | Wood |
| Lists on the subject | |
A Shillelagh (pronounced "ski ley -li") is a wooden stick or stick , usually of a nodular piece Schwarzdorn manufactured with a root node as a knob.
The genesis
Originally, the Shillelagh was probably the object and tool of Irish fishermen who used the club to kill caught fish.
The gun and their names
The wood was originally smeared with whiskey butter and smoked over fire. This procedure earned him the name whiskey stick . This is how it got its dark, shimmering surface.
In the modern variant of Shillelagh production, the sticks are usually treated with weather-resistant varnish (preferably boat varnish) after the drying process (which takes up to 3 years); The exclusive impregnation of the wood with oil or wax also occurs.
Shillelaghs are the normal length of a walking stick and have been used as weapons in Ireland and North America . But there were also Shillelaghs that weren't even camouflaged as walking sticks, but were pure weapons in the form of shorter clubs, similar to the Iroquois skullcracker . Such weapons were also simply called cudgel (English "stick") or bata (Irish "bat, stick"). One variant, the 'weighted sticks', was considerably increased in its destructive power by the fact that its root knob was hollowed out and z. B. was filled with liquid lead - which then solidified in the wood.
use
The gangs of Irish immigrants in particular used such deadly weapons in 19th century New York. The root knot is used to block and hit in combat, but also to apply levers, and to choke with the stick body. The methods of Irish stick fighting are related to the ancient Celtic-Irish martial arts which used spear, staff, hatchet and sword. It is believed that stick fighting originated from a mixture of spear, staff and sword techniques. Irish stick fighting was very popular in the 19th century and consisted of three disciplines, fighting with the long, medium and short shillelagh. At the time, Irish gentlemen naturally carried the Shillelagh with them, and the fact that disputes were often fought with this fighting stick until modern times conjured up the stereotypical image of the violent Irishman.
Today shillelaghs are sold in their function as walking sticks and as souvenirs; the martial art Bataireacht is only slowly experiencing a renaissance in Canada, Germany, Greece, Ireland and the United States. In contrast to the general knot sticks , the Shillelaghs are intended and designed as a weapon . This can be seen in the equipment and the shape of some Shillelagh, which are too short as walking aids and cannot be used, or that some were constructed with metal tips or in connection with other striking weapons (see photo info box).
See also
literature
- John W. Hurley: Shillelagh: The Irish Fighting Stick. Lulu. ISBN 978-1-4303-2570-3 .
Web links
- Alan Feuer: GreenCamouflage and Purple Hearts. in the New York Times
- Article Irish Culture in Irish Culture and Customs