Why was the mace important to medieval society?

Answer 1

The mail and armor of the medieval knights was designed with the hope of preventing penetration by swords, spears of various types and arrows.

A mace did not need to penetrate armor to inflict damage on the person wearing it. Often, a mace dented the armor, breaking bones beneath it in the process. But in fact, the mace could injure or kill even if the armor was left undamaged. The mace's energy was transferred to the person, and even if it was distributed by the armor, the person's body had to absorb it somehow. So a blow to a helmet could break a knight's neck, even if the helmet was undamaged.

The power of the mace made it a symbol in society, and symbolic maces were held by monarchs as they sat on their thrones in ceremonies.

Ultimately, the mace was not the weapon that ended the time of knights on horseback. Archers did that, because the bows and arrows had progressed to the point that they could go through the armor. Knights began to fight dismounted with heavy pole arms to act as protectors to the archers. And in the end, muskets and cannons made all of these weapons useless.