The morning star is a medieval weapon that consists of a spiked ball on the end of a chain attached to a pole. It is a derivative of the mace.

A combatant would swing the ball on the pole around his head and attempt to strike his opponent with it, often with deadly force.

Sometimes, instead of one large spiked ball, the pole was attached with 3 spiked metal balls connected in chains. This modification is called "flail".