It could be all three. We think of walking sticks and canes today primarily as tools to help us move and walk, but there was a time when a well-chosen gentleman's cane was a status symbol or a basic accessory for a smart appearance.

The walking stick has been one of our most basic tools since prehistoric times: it has been the mainstay of the bipedal man, and its use is still one of the most basic, although it has undergone many changes and evolutions, such as the crutches we use today.
The offensive and self-defensive function of sticks also dates back to the beginning of human history: sharpened as pikes, equipped with a larger stone they can be used as maces, and equipped with a stone with a pommel they can be used as spears. It can be used for striking, deflecting blows, disciplining and herding, and is also a fighting and working tool. In the Middle Ages, for example, the shepherd's crook became a religious symbol and, within the ecclesiastical hierarchy, the form of the spear got a symbolic meaning. But the shepherd's crook remained in its basic form as a shepherd's tool, with only minimal changes over the centuries, its decoration adapting to the spirit of the age and culture.

The sceptre was used as a badge of power by religious and secular rulers alike: the sceptre is a symbol of justice, basically an ornate, thick stick made of precious wood with a head.
It is only a step from this to the use of a staff to symbolize other status and privileges within a given society, such as military rank or nobility.

From the 16th century onwards, the walking stick became a clothing accessory in European royal circles, and from then on its carving, the material it was made of, the decoration of its knob or handle, and the range of its ornamentation became ever wider. In time, the sticks also became aesthetically pleasing, but also self-defensive, and types of walking stick appeared from which a blade or dagger could be drawn.
The European revolutions, especially the French Revolution, brought about the democratisation of the walking stick, which lost its noble and royal character and became part of civilian dress. By the 19th century, straight-headed and curved-headed light canes had become widespread, and the industrial revolution made mass production possible, making walking sticks widely available. In the early 20th century, the English dictated male fashion, requiring walking sticks to be chosen to suit the occasion and the attire.
The decline of walking sticks also began with the First World War: the now changed, increasingly cumbersome walking stick, which constantly occupied one hand, slowly disappeared from everyday use.

At least in urban life nowadays. For pilgrims, hikers and tourists were still keen to buy and use walking sticks, often decorated with metal sticks to commemorate the places they had visited on their journeys.

KF

translated by László Gönczi

 Sources:

• Magyar Néprajzi Lexikon: pásztorbot, fokos
• Füleki Zsuzsa, Kaposi József: Viselettörténeti mozaikok
• A bottól a sétapálcáig – karpataljalap.net
• setabot.hu