14de-eeuws harnas met knots en zwaard uit het leger van Jan II van Frankrijk, uit de collectie van het Musée d'Artillerie in Parijs before 1882

This photograph captures a 14th-century suit of armour, complete with a mace and sword, once belonging to the army of John II of France, and now housed in the Musée d'Artillerie in Paris. Observe the mace, a brutal weapon whose origins trace back to the simple club, yet it resurfaces time and again across cultures. Consider the Egyptian sceptre, a symbol of power and authority. Does it not echo in this instrument of war? Such symbols, born from humanity’s primal urges, reveal how our subconscious is steeped in archetypes. We may tell ourselves we have evolved, but the mace serves as a potent reminder that at a deeply psychological level, we remain tethered to these primitive expressions. It shows us that progress is not a linear march but a spiral dance.