A bata or alpeen is a special type of blackthorn cudgel carried by many in Ireland and certain other parts of Northwest Europe as a walking stick going back to at least the 7th Century AD. It also functions well as a weapon. Batas are relatively light, but dense, and well balanced for fighting. Blackthorn is a relative of the rose bush, blackthorn clubs have the nubs of thorns down their shaft (the thorns themselves are removed) and are soaked in oil to prepare them for use as fighting sticks. One method used in the 19th Century was to cover them in butter, wrap them in brown paper and put it up the chimney or bury it in a compost heap, the idea being to drive out some of the moisture and replace it with fat from the butter. Due to the shape, hardness, and (enhanced) density of the blackthorn wood a bata packs the same punch of an equivalent length hardwood club for half the weight.

Name	Size	Reach	Speed	Defense	Base Damage	Attack Types	Primary Attack Types	Armor Pierce	Grapple	Hardness	HP
Bata / Sail-Eille	M	4	5	3	1-4	B	B	0	1	6	3

Blackthorne cudgel aka “Bata”, Ireland 19th Century