Table of Contents
What is a Shillelagh used for?
the Shillelagh was commonly used as a walking cane or walking stick, and can sometimes described as a cudgel. It is typically made from a stout knobbly and knotty stick with a knotty head, which can be used for gripping or striking.
What is an Irish Shelele?
Shillelaghs are clubs or Irish walking sticks crafted from the stout, knobby branches of trees which are shaped into a heavy “hitting” end with varying lengths of handle. Blackthorn and oak, especially the root, are commonly used to craft shillelaghs.
Is a Shillelagh a weapon?
The Shillelagh was a walking stick or cane used by Irish people throughout the centuries. However, it doubled up nicely as a weapon.
What is a Scottish walking stick called?
Kebbie
Kebbie. a rough Scottish walking stick, similar to an Irish shillelagh, with a hooked head.
What is Shilelagh law?
Shillelaghs are sometimes referred to in a similar context in folk songs. In the ballad “Finnegan’s Wake” occurs the phrase “Shillelagh law did all engage”, signifying that a brawl has broken out; “shillelagh law” itself has been explained as meaning the accepted rule governing the usage of the weapon.
What is blackthorn wood?
Blackthorn is a large bush that grows in the British Isles. The twisted, thorny, dark colored limbs have been used to make weapons, called Shillelaghs, for centuries. Blackthorn is a very resilient wood that is naturally resistant to warping which made it a perfect material to be made into a weapon.
Why did Gentlemen carry canes?
In late 17th century and early part of the 18th century, the cane began replacing the sword as the accessory of choice for gentlemen about town in Europe and in the colonies. The more decorative a cane was, the more wealthy the gentleman was and it could still be use as a weapon in dire circumstances.
What is a Scottish Cromach?
The hand with the fingers bent as if to clutch an object or to scratch (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl., cromack; 1908 Jak.
How do you fight a shillelagh?
To use the shillelagh properly in a fight the club is snapped out at the wrist, not swung like a cudgel, and held towards the middle of the weapon. Advanced fighters grab two sticks and throw down in a Troid de Bata or “two-stick fight”. The stick of the offhand is used as a shield.
What type of wood is a shillelagh made of?
blackthorn
Shillelaghs are traditionally made from blackthorn (sloe) wood (Prunus spinosa) or oak. With the scarcity of oak in Ireland the term came increasingly to denote a blackthorn stick, and indeed blackthorn stick is sometimes glossed as equivalent to shillelagh.
Is blackthorn wood strong?
Blackthorn (Prunus Spinosa) – This variety of plum (sloe berry) is a medium sized shrub. The wood was used to make cudgels in England and Ireland, the latter famously known as shillelagh. The wood is very tough, and because it is so twisty, it made for great looking walking sticks.