Extract from Robinson's Oriental Armour
(p115)
'The madu or maru was a small fist-shield mounted upon a pair of roebuck horns with steel tips. It was primarily for parrying, and in some instances a pair of flamboyant (that is, flame-like) blades replaced the horns. The shields were of steel, chiselled and gilt, with four small bosses. Pairs of horns were also used, without a shield, for the same purpose. Their use was mainly confined to northern and central India.'
Extract from Stone'sGlossary
(p423)
'MADU, MARU, SINGAUTA. An Indian parrying and thrusting weapon consisting of a pair of black buck horns fastened together with their points in opposite directions. Usually the horns overlap, but sometimes they are fastened to the opposite ends of a short handle. In either case the hand is protected by a small circular shield of leather or iron. The horns usually have steel points on the ends. It was used by the Bhils and other wild tribes and was a favorite with Hindu religious beggars. It was also used by swordsmen for guarding, being held in the left hand.'
When weilded as a secondary weapon in the off-hand the madu can be used to parry, giving the weilder a bonus to his defense. When used offensively the madu acts as a short double tipped spear.
Magical Properties:
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? Responses (7)
Interesting addition...
Hmmm. Should of been enetered in the exotic weapons thread, since it is a type of item, rather than a special class of item or a one off item.
It is an interseting weapon that only shows up in the more complete weapons lists. Palladium books and GURPs being the only two places I have ever seen it.
Interesting. One does grow sort of weary of rapiers and two-handed swords after a time.
Not going to vote on this as it is incomplete and what is there appears to be nothing more than text pasted from other sources. Despite that, I do like this weapon and am glad to come across a mention of it. I had never heard of it and had to do an image search to even get an idea of what it looked like. Interesting, to say the least.
While I appreciate that macaroni is making people aware of a little-known weapon, the whole piece is made of two snippets quoted from texts on armor and weapons. This would be better treated as a stub entry.
Agreed. You really need to add something to an item like this apart from adding together external references.
Gives new meaning to 'wiki-style' sub. To say something positive...India does and did have some pretty cool and unusual weapons. No vote necessary here.