HISTORY OF FOOTWEAR
Vannacalzature: via Vittorio Emanuele, 20/24/26 - 16030
Moneglia - Italia
Chapter 1°: footwear in the prehistoric age
(108.000 BCE - 6.000 BCE)
It's impossible to establish exactly when our ancient
progenitors began to wear a certain type of footwear capable of pro- tecting
the foot during the marches on uneven terrain and to keep it warm and/or dry
in periods of bad weather.
That's why these primitive shoes, presumably consisting of not tanned
leather fastened up the foot with laces made of the same material or layers
of interlaced vegetable fibers fastened in the same way, haven't resisted
the ravages of the time and being made of organic materials, have decomposed
without leaving any trace in the archaeological deposits.
Limiting our treatment to a brief period of the history of the
evolution of man, the advanced Pleistocene that conventionally began about
110.000 years ago, we don't know if the Neanderthal man, who lived in the
same ages, protected his feet with footwear of the aforementioned type even
if we know for certain that he belonged to a race of hunters of large
animals and had flint scrapings in its equipment of tools.
We can therefore presume that he used the hides of the animals he
hunted in order to protect the body from bad weather.
We can make a well-founded supposition on this topic taking into
consideration the oldest specimens of "Homo sapiens sapiens", typical of all
races living anywhere in the temperate zone, belong appeared approximately
30.000 years ago.
They belong to the man of Cro-Magnon whose remains have been found
there and other localities of the Dordogne associated with very advanced
tools.
He had a superior intellectual ability than that of Neanderthal man,
lived on a territory which extended from western Euro- pe to Iran, practiced
activities such as hunting and harvesting and left manufactured articles
made of stone, horn and animal bones such as reindeer, horse and mammoth.
Among these tools many are stone or bone drifts which served to pierce
the skins, bone needles for sewing, stone blades to flay and scrapers used
to remove from the skins the residual flesh and fat.
All this leads us to think that with the skins, it's not known if and
how they were tanned, he also made protection for his feet.
The first images of footwear worn by figures in Spanish rock paintings
go back approximately 15.000 years.
Referring to more recent periods (from 8.000 to 4.000 years ago) our
ancestors began to live a more sedentary life, they learned to tame the
animals and to cultivate the land and had the incentive to use leather to
make shoes.
In the Fort Rock Cave site (Oregon - U.S.A.) have been found some
sandals of sagebrush bark (genus Artemisia) and these have been dated from
9.000 BCE to 7.000 BCE
In the Arnold Research Cave site (Missouri - U.S.A.) finds include 16
pairs of sandals and moccasins woven from plant fibers and 2 hide pairs
ranging in date from 6.000 BCE to about 1.000 CE.
In the Israeli state, near Jericho, on the so-called "Cave of the
warrior", remains of a man have been found buried about 4.000 years BCE.
In the Spanish small town of Albunõl situated in province of Granada,
the archaeologist Manuel de Góngora explored in 1.857 the cave known as
cueva de los Murciélagos that contained a grave going back to the fourth
millennium BCE. The 69 skeletons that contained wore esparto hats, dresses
and footwear.
A pair of sandals were part of the funeral wealth of the deceased; they
have leather rounded and wrapping up toes and the upper is made up of a
piece of hide with cuts on the top for passing of leather straps fastening
the shoes to ankle.
Proof of the assumption that prehistoric man, from at least the
quaternary period, produced rough but efficient footwear was given from the
discovery on the Similaun glacier in Alto Adige (Italy), of the mummified
remains of a man which the C-14 analyses dated back to 3.300 BCE; at the
time of the find the mummy wore, besides clothes suitable to protect him
from the cold of high altitudes, the remains of a kind of boot with rawhide
bear-skin soles and deer-skin uppers strengthened with strings of woven
grass and stuffed with hay to insulate the foot from the cold.
This shoe was made of multiple pieces of leather and woven grass while
the footwear, we mostly see in finds from this period, are single piece
shoes wrapped up around the foot and tied with a thong.
Chapter 2°: footwear
of the ancient Egyptians
(abt. 3.500 BCE - 31 BCE)
The information that we have about the footwear used by
the inhabitants of ancient Egypt we have learned, above all from the study
of the numerous archaeological finds we have attained: statues, bas-reliefs,
tomb-paintings, papyruses and parchments.
All this kept in good condition owing to the very dry climate and/or to
the protection offered by the sand to the materials buried in it, also
organic finds have been preserved, such as textiles, leathers, hides and
wood that, in other zones of the world have been destroyed by the
putrefaction process.
We know that the ancient Egyptians tanned the skins with vegetable oils
and animal fats; they were then cleaned with scrapers to remove the
residues of fat and meat, they were then stretched on a frame and dipped in
a bath of fatty substances for a period of times; after having been removed
from the bath, when the fibres were nearly dry, they were beaten with wooden
mallets in order to penetrate the tannery in the fibres of the skin that
assumed a suede aspect.
They also knew the tannery technique using tannic products,
seemingly extracted from Arabic acacia pods.
The lower classes walked barefoot while the men of high rank wore
shoes, almost always outside of the house they were also a sign of social
distinction and this is proved by the fact that there existed the honorary
office of "bearer of sandals" to the suite of the Pharaoh or the noblemen
and, in the presence of those, one had to remain barefoot; in any case the
Egyptian climate rendered the use of open shoes like sandals necessary and
the common people, probably for their elevated cost, were inclined to save
the use of them and, when he had to go far away, carried them or hung them
from a stick and wore them on arrival.
In general women may not have worn them.
Some small clay statues, dating back to the pre dynastic period (abt.
3.500 BCE), represent a man only wearing a penis sheath and sandals and from
this period they used to place their feet in sand or in wet earth to obtain
a form of mould to take measurements of their soles.
In Narmer's palette (abt. 3.000.BCE) a schist palette for make-up found
at Ieraconpoli (modern Kom al Ahmer) and exhibited at the Egyptian museum of
Cairo, in which is represented Pharaoh Narmer unifying of the high and lows
of Egypt there is also carved the figure of a royal bearer of sandals; in
this find there represents one of the most ancient images of Egyptian
footwear while early hieroglyphs meaning "sandal "seem to appear about 2.000
BCE.
In the tomb of Rekh-mi-re, a Vizier from the 18th Dynasty (abt. 1.450
BCE), is represented a leather-sandal maker and his tools.
The Egyptian sandals could have had a wood sole ( see picture n.° 1), a
leather sole (see picture n.° 2), a papyrus sole, a reed sole (see picture
n.° 3) or a sole of woven palm leaves sometimes covered with burlap (see
picture n.° 4) which were secured to the foot with the " infra finger"
method in which a skin strip, fixed to the sole, passes between the big toe
and the other toes encircling the instep; in subsequent ages to1.300 BCE,
the Egyptians began to wear models with a turned-up toe (see pictures n.° 4
- 5).
The most commonly used material for making them was the papyrus in the
form of woven fibres, abundant and therefore not inexpensive; their model
hasn't changed much in the course of the millenarian era of ancient Egypt.
The priests were imposed to wear only sandals made with the fibres of
this plant.
At the British Museum of London a pair of sandals is exhibited (see
picture n.° 6) found at Beni Hasan in the tomb of Sebekhetepi, probably an
official of the local governor and lived in the period of the medium reign (abt.
2.125 - 1.795 BCE). At the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna a pair of
woven reed insoles is exhibited which was placed at the level of the feet of
the mummy like element of funerary outfit (see picture n°. 9 ter).
They have a cedar wood sole model similar to that of the so-called
"foot shape" with the strips of skin in the infra finger manner colored with
white chalk.
As they were part of the funeral wealth of the deceased, being directly
placed on the cover of inner sarcophagus, at the level of the feet of the
mummy considering their lightness, not suitable for daily use and their lack
of wear and tear, one thinks that, in this particular case, their were only
needed by the owner for use in the reign of the dead men.
In the same museum there is a pair of sandals for a child found at
Thebes, dating back to new reign (abt.1.550 - 1 069 BCE) (see picture n.°7);
they have the soles stitched with a string made from a woven fibres of
papyrus.
The arrangement of the little leather straps that secure the soles to
the foot, look like the symbol of the "Ankh" symbolizing life; the ring at
top of the symbol are the straps surrounding the ankle, the transversal part
are the side-straps fixed to the sole, the upright part is the strap leading
from the instep and joining to the interstice between the big toe and
following toes (see picture n.° 8).
The slippers seen on a male statue of the 8° dynasty (abt. 1.350 BCE)
(see picture n.°9) are part of the collection of the British Museum of
London; they have leather or wood pointed toes and the straps passing around
the instep seem to be stuffed.
The sandals of the elders could be finely decorated with semi-precious
stones and beads and have even a gold sole.
In the tomb of Tutankhamon Pharaoh (died in 1.359 BCE) two life-size
statues wearing gold sandals were found, while in a casket were papyrus and
reed sandals.
On the soles of the sandals of the Pharaoh there were sometimes
engraved or painted images of his enemies so that he could continuously
trample them under foot.
They also used a sort of slipper with turned-up toes manufactured from
interlaced palm leaves (see picture n.° 5).
At the Musées Royaux d' Art et Histoire of Brussels a sole of sandal
is exposed date back to the Ptolemaic age (332- 30 a.C.), made from
interlaced palm leaf and rush sew on the edges with a vegetable string (
see picture n:°. 9 bis).
From the ancient city of Antinoopolis in Egypt (modern Shayk Abadah)
dating back to 3°- 4° century CE there are the black lather slippers with
purple decorations exhibited at British Museum of London (see picture
n.°10).
The Egyptian shoes were lacking in heels except for those worn by
slaughterers who had them in order to not dirty his feet with the blood of
the dead beasts.
As a lot of models of sandals had a rigid sole, in wood or precious
metals, we have information from the papyruses that deal with medicine that
the Egyptians often suffered from sore feet.
COPTIC SHOES
Copts is the name with which the Muslim Arabs called the
inhabitants of conquered Egypt after 641 CE.
Historically the Coptic period extends from Constantine's edict (313
CE) to 641; from that time onwards Copts were only Christian Egyptians.
It seems that Copts has been first to make use of the method of
assemblage of the footwear called "turned work" where the upper and sole are
sewn together reversing upper (inside-out) so that the sewing is protected
by being on the inside; they also made use of the construction on shape.
(see picture).
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HISTORY OF FOOTWEAR
Chapter 3°: footwear of the ancient
peoples of Near East
(abt 3.500 BCE - abt 1.600 CE)
Mesopotamia, land that extends between Tigris and Euphrates rivers, has been
birth-place of civilization.
There the man began to carry on farming and learned to tame animals like the
dog, cattle (abt 8.000 BCE) and sheep (abt 6.000 BCE), there the first
cities rose and so technique and art were developed.
THE SUMERIANS Their
civilization was developed in a period extending approximately from 3.500
BCE to 2.000 BCE in the South of the Mesopotamia where they built the cities
of Ur, Eridu, Lagash, Uruk, Kish, and Nippur.
The inhabitants carried on the farming and breeding of the sheep, but also
commerce and numerous handicraft activities like tanning and the manufacture
of footwear.
The most used tannery techniques were fat tanning with vegetable oils and
mineral tanning with alum, but vegetable tanning with tannin extracted from
gall pods was also used and skins were dyed with black, white and red
colors.
On account of the climate of the region, the Sumerians usually walked
barefoot and, only at the apex of their civilization statues and bas-reliefs
show us figures wearing sandals, starting from 2.600 BCE.
THE HITTITES ( abt 2.000 BCE - abt 1.100 BCE) They were an
Indo-European people living in the mountains of Anatolia where they carried
on sheep-rearing.
They tanned skins with tannin extracted from gall pods, which their
territory was rich and, since they lived in an uneven country they had to
wear hardy shoes which were a characteristic model.
In fact, reliefs of divinity found at Gavorkkale (Turkey), show them wearing
up-turned shoes and the ancient Egyptians like also the Mesopotamian peoples
when they wanted to portray the Hittites in sculptures or paintings,
represented them wearing this model of footwear; many historians wondered
the reason of this shape and some have expressed a theory that they derived
from a snow-shoes model with up-turned toe for a better walk, others have
thought of a phallic motivation, but it is just a matter of suppositions.
In a low relief ( 865 - 860 BCE) exhibited at the British Museum of London
and found in the north-west palace of Nimrud in which a procession of
bearers of tributes is carved, we can see one of these wearing a kind of
ankle-boot with up-tur- ned tips (see picture n.° 11); it can be presumed
that this man belonged to neo-Hittite civilization, succeeded to real
Hittite empire and made up of a group of city states situated in the Taurus
massif zone and in the north of Syria.
Those peoples lost independence just owing to Assyrian expansion.
THE ASSYRIANS (abt 2.000 BCE -
612 BCE) They learned from the Sumerians and Babylonians many technical
knowledge about tanning of skins and treatment of leather and improved them
making good use of these materials.
In a bas-relief displayed at the British Museum of London, representing a
return from hunting, some people wear knee- boots suitable to riding and to
be used in war-chariots (see picture n.° 12).
In the Shamsi-Adad pillar exhibited in the same museum and coming from
temple of Nabo at Nimrud, the king wears "infra-finger" sandals (see picture
n.°13).
THE BABYLONIANS (abt 2.000 BCE - 612 BCE) They learned from the
Sumerians culture and technical knowledge.
Like them, they used, above all, sandals, but, in some cuneiform tablets,
also embroidered and decorated with metallic trimmings shoes are quoted.
THE PERSIANS (ACHAEMENID DYNASTY) (abt
700 BCE - 331 BCE). Towards 700 BCE Achaemenes founded a small reign in the
territory of the present-day Iran which extends at the foot of Bachtyari
mounts; his heirs, Cyrus I and Cambyses I, enlarged it until the son of
Cambyses, Cyrus the Great, unified all Persian tribes and with these forces
began a series of conquests incorporating in his empire Media, Babylon,
Syria and Phoenicia; his son Cambyses II, submitted Egypt (525 BCE); his
successor Darius I conquered the west of India and the Greek cities on the
coasts of Asia Minor and also tried to take possession of Greece beginning
the cycle of the Persian wars which went on for 150 years.
With his successors the decline of the dynasty began which concluded with
the defeat of the last of the Achaemenides by Alexander the Great in the
battle of Gaugamela (331 BCE).
In the royal palace of Susa a ceramic bas-relief exists in which some
soldiers wearing a footwear like that one of the picture n.° 14 are
portrayed.
THE JEWS ( abt 2.000 BCE - 44
CE) Their people consisted of 12 tribes which, towards 2.000 BCE, began the
conquest of the territories of the present-day Palestine where they built
some populous cities even if continued to carry on sheep-rearing and
therefore a half-nomadic way of life.
They knew the same systems of tannery techniques of their neighbors and,
like them, wore, above all, sandals.
Feminine footwear could be adorned with metallic appliqué works and /or
shells and they used to cut the name of the lo- ved person on the sole, so
that, at every step, it remained impressed on the soft ground.
A point of curiosity: when an ancient Jew wanted to seal a transaction, he
unlaced a sandal.
THE PHOENICIANS ( abt 2.000 BCE
- 64 BCE) They were a people probably originating from the Persian Gulf from
which they emigrated towards Eastern Mediterranean coasts.
Here they built many cities like Tyre and Sidon which, later on, set up
colonies on the commercial courses of that sea, the most famous was
Carthage.
We do not know their systems of tannery, but we know that they discovered
purple dyeing method also usable on leather and skins and that they usually
wore sandals.
THE SCITIANS ( abt 1.500 BCE -
100 CE) They were a nomadic people of Iranian extraction that, after many
wanderings in Asian steppes, settled down on the coasts of Black Sea where
they carried on breeding of horses.
They tanned skins with smoking, a technique common to the people of Far East
and north of America, where Asian tribes emigrated through the strait of
Bering beginning the peopling of that continent.
Some frozen finds of skin and leather have been recovered in burials of
Altai, near Pazyryk (Kazakistan) such as soft skin boots for riding
especially red dyed and combined with felt leggings.
THE TURKS ( abt 1.220 - abt
1.600) The Turks reached Asia Minor in first half of XIII century and
settled down in the surroundings of Ankara.
After their conversion to Islam, they began to expand towards Bosphorus
under the leadership of sultan Osman Gazi (1.281 - 1.326).
The sultan Orkan Gazi (1.326 - 1.359) disembarked in Europe at Gallipolis
and, from there, outflanking Constantinople conquered Macedonia and Thrace.
His son, Murad the Great (1.359 - 1.389) fixed his capital in Adrianople,
defeated the Serbs repeatedly, occupied Bulgaria and reduced to vassalage
the Byzantine Empire.
The Turkish conquests had come to a standstill under Bajazid ( 1.389 -
1.403) who, even if he besieged several times Constantinople, did not
conquer it distracted by the advance of Tamerlane's Mongols who defeated and
captured him in the battle of Ankara.
At his death, for about 20 years, his sons competed for inheritance which
handed to Mahomet I (1.413 - 1.421) conqueror of the coasts of Black Sea and
to Murad II ( 1.421 - 1.451) who extended Ottoman provinces also to Thessaly
Epirus and Valachia, threatening Hungary.
Under Mahomet II (1.451 - 1.481) the period of maximum political and
cultural expansion began; he conquered Constantinople in 1.453 and made of
it his capital city with the name of Istanbul.
In this city tanneries were concentrated in the suburb of Yedi Kule, not
only because in this area was situated the greater part of slaughter-houses
of the city, but also because of the stench which derived from tanning
manufactures.
Various types of leather and skins existed: buffalo-hide with hairs ( in
Turkish language: Prebat) coming from Tartaria buffalo-hides coming from
Nicopolis and Constantinople too, leathers coming from Moldavia, mule-hides
and shagreens.
Shoemakers were organized in a corporation which was highly checked up by
state in order to guarantee maximum quality to customer.
The inhabitants of Istanbul, in the days of sultan Suleiman the Magnificent
(1.520 - 1.566) and longer, normally wore a kind of slippers (in Turkish
language: Papuç) which had the advantage, being opened in heel, that they
could be worn without stooping and having to touch one's feet; they had an
up-turned toe and heel was reinforced with a little u-shaped iron plate
which prevented wear and tear; they were sewn very carefully and were very
strong, specially those made with leather coming from east of empire, the
best and the lightest.
Babouches reserved to Muslims were dyed in yellow and was not allowed to
infidels, unless on duty with some ambassadors, to wear ones of the same
color, while Christians, Jews or others could wear them in red, violet or
black
They also used soled stockings (in Turkish language: Este), ankle boots (in
Turkish language: Pasmak), boots (in Turkish language: Çizme), leather or
morocco leather climbing-boots (in Turkish language: Mest and Terlik).
Women of good social rank used, at home, babouches or slippers both made of
embroidered leather or high clogs with an onomatopoeic name Kipkap and,
outside, a sort of ankle boots.
Chapter 3°: footwear of es of
Near East
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HISTORY OF FOOTWEAR
Chapter 4°: footwear of the ancient Greeks
(abt 2.000 BCE - 146 BCE)
Since the Neolithic era the Greek territory was inhabited and from the
very beginning of the second millennium BCE was it invaded by peoples of
Indo-Euro- pean stock like the Ionians, the Aitolians and the Dorians who
initiated the Mycenaean civilization founding towns like Mycenae, Athens,
Sparta, Argos, Delos and Tirynthus and spread it through Aegean Sea and the
coasts of Asia Minor .
These populations were in touch with Mesopotamian peoples, with the
Phoenicians and they disseminated colonies, as well as in Asia Minor, also
Bosphorus Black Sea, Sicily and Southern Italy (Magna Greece) and they were
influenced by these refined civilizations also as regards the shape of the
footwear.
What we know about them, about leather tanning used for their
manufacture and about shoemaker's trade we have learnt from literary sources
and archaeolo- gical finds such as statues and vases with painted figures,
but in no Greek excavation trace of tannery systems has been found.
A Rhodian vase (Pelike 1), kept at Ashmolean Museum of Oxford, displays
a scene of a shoemaker's shop; a shoemaker cuts with a skiving knife a piece
of leather according to the shape of the foot of a boy standing up on the
cobbler's bench.
Hides were tanned with alum and those treated with it were very
appreciated and therefore expensive, with fatty materials like pork fat or
olive oil sludge, which made them very smooth, with tannic extracts coming
from vegetables rich in this substance, like blackberry leaves, bark of
some conifers, pomegranate rinds acorns, wild vine roots and berries
Egyptian acacia fruits and oak bark.
Some of these products tanned only, others, at the same time, dyed
and/or hardened and/or bleached.
The leathers made in Greece generally came from regions washed by
Black Sea, Cyrenaica and, after, also from Sicily and Asia Minor where, as
is well-known, were allocated numerous Greek colonies.
Very frequently tanning was made by the shoemaker himself, but also
industrial tanneries existed, as it were and the tanner's trade, owing to
mephitic vapours which emanated from the systems, had a bad reputation and
that counts also for all the other ancient civilizations.
Homer, in the Iliad (In the 4th canto a woman wearing a pair of sandals
is described ) and Odyssey informs us about the existence and use of many
leather and skin objects: shields, helmets, wineskins, straps and rawhides
worn like clothing, but in these more ancient ages, the Greeks, including
soldiers, walked, above all barefoot and, only in later periods, they began
to use also footwear but continuing to remain barefoot indoors.
Literary sources inform us that the Cretans wore white leather or
shammy ankle boots, that warriors coming from Orcho- menous used red leather
ankle boots and those from Mycenae wore sandals attached with dark leather
leggings.
In the 7th Mimiamb2 by Heronda, Greek poet lived in the 3rd century
BCE, it is a dialogue among the shoemaker Cerdon, business agent Metrò and
two customers which brings us the great variety and refinement of the
feminine footwear in use in the Hellenistic age.
In fact there are mentioned yellow or green shoes from Sicyon and
Ambrakia, shoes without heel, slippers, Ionic shoes high shoes, night shoes,
open shoes, red shoes, Argive shoes, a young man shoes, and stroll shoes.
First footwear to be used was"Upodémata" consisting of a leather, wood
or esparto sole fastened to foot by leather straps which evolved in the "Sandalia"
( see picture n.° 15); a model of "Sandalia" was the "Krepidoi" (see picture
n.° 16) worn by both sexes on a journey, with nasty weather and for long
ways under difficult conditions; feminine "Krepidoi" were made from softer
skin, could be dyed usually yellow and have high cork soles in order to gain
some centimeter in stature; only a free citizen could wear a "Krepis" with
carved tongue.
"Embades" were ankle boots used both by men and by women and had upper
completely closed: those from Sicyon were generally white while those from
Laconia were red and, if intended for women, could be decorated with
gold-lace embroidery.
The sandal represented in the picture n.° 17 is a part of statue (abt
350 BCE) exhibited at British Museum of London representing, maybe, Mausolus
satrap of Caria and coming from his mausoleum at Alycarnassus.
The models of sandals of pictures n.°18 -19 are drawn from terracotta
bottles with foot shape exhibited at British Museum and coming from Samos (abt
575 - 550 BCE).
The "Krepis" represented in the picture n.° 20 is a model drawn from a
statue of 7th century BCE exhibited at archaeological museum of Siracusa
(Italy) and it has an amazingly topical style.
Feminine footwear could be decorated with metal appliqués and also dyed
with purple.
"Ninfides" were white and embroidered shoes worn by brides.
Also a kind of heavier shoes existed suitable to military use or to a
person who had to cover uneven lands called "Koila Upodémata" (see picture
n.° 21) ; they had also an hobnailed sole and parts of upper which covered
heel and sides of foot and were laced by cross-straps.
The sandals represented in the picture n.° 22 belong to a Roman statue
of 2nd century CE copy of a Greek statue coming from Apollo's temple at
Cyrene and kept at British Museum of London.
"Endromides" were ankle boots used only by men held sticking to the leg
by leather straps while "Akatioi" were up-turned shoes, probably of Hittite
prove- nance.
"Kothornoi"of oriental origin, had a leather thick sole and a soft skin
upper high to calf and were laced in front of the leg with red straps;
Aeschylus introduced them in the performances of the tragic theatre; the
theatrical "Kothornoi" had a very high sole, raised with layers of cork and
height, until to tenth of the stature, it changed according to character's
importance who wore them so that gods and heroes seemed to be higher than
common mortals.
Comic actors, instead , wore the "Embades".
Xenophon informs us that shoemakers joined soles and uppers with animal
tendons and that they followed a standardized procedure into assemblage of
shoes.
A rule of etiquette existed by which, who had to take part in a banquet
had to reach the house where had been invited with shoes not to soil his
feet too much, but, as he arrived at the house's lobby, he had to take them
off enabling a slave to wash them before getting on the dining room's bed.
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Chapter 5°: footwear of the Etruscans
(7th c. BCE - 1st c. BCE)
Many theories have been elaborated in order to try to explain the origins of
the Etruscans, the most common belief is that they came from Lydia
(currently Turkey), but from where these people originate is still a
mystery.
They populated wide regions of Italy from the Po River Basin to Tuscany and
from Latium to Campania, where they came in contact with the Greeks and
ended by being assimilated by the Romans.
The information that we have about their footwear has come to us from
paintings which adorn tombs in the necropolis prevailing from Tuscany and
Latium or from bronze, clay and stone statues of same origin.
A lot of the people portrayed inside these hypogea wear up-turned shoes
similar to Hittite footwear which confirms the theory of the oriental
origins of the Etruscans.
In picture n.° 23 a model of such footwear, drawn from a cippus from Chiusi
(Italy) and kept at the British Museum in London is represented and the
model portrayed in picture n.° 24, which is of the same origin, could
represent a predecessor of the Roman shoes called "Perones" even if those
had a slot with leather straps on the back of the foot (see 6th chapter)
Picture n.° 25 shows a pair of sandals which are part of a statue found in
the tomb of Isis at Vulci (Italy) which still bears the signs of the red
pigments with which it was coloured.
Sandals were also used like those worn by dancers in the tomb of triclinium
or like those worn by the flute player in the tomb of leopards, both at
Tarquinia (Italy).
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about the Etruscans...
HISTORY OF FOOTWEAR
Chapter 6°: footwear of the ancient Romans
(abt. 750 BCE - 476 CE)
Rome stood as a settlement for shepherds and farmers on the slopes of
Palatine from about 750 BCE.
Its inhabitants were, from the beginning, in contact with the surrounding
more developed people like the Etruscans and the Greeks of Magna Graecia,
and, under their influence, adopting from them the basis of the technique
and the handicrafts, the first Romans devoted themselves to tanning and the
making footwear.
Plutarch reminds us that, even in the royal period, the leather and hides
craftsmen were organized in a guild that, like others was regulated by the
mythical kings Numa Pompilio and Servio Tullio; these guilds, precursors of
the medieval arts, operated throughout the republican period and had new
rules from Julius Caesar (100 BCE - 44 BCE) so that, in the forum of Ostia
there exists a mosaic illustrating the activities of "Coriarii", that were
the craftsmen who attended to workings of leather and hides.
The Roman tanning technique is well-known, not only by literary and
epigraphic testimonies, but also by the discoveries of archeological relics
which allowed, for instance, to bring to light a tannery covered by cinders
and lapilli from Vesuvius during the eruption that buried Pompeii in 79 CE
and the findings in Nordic peat bogs and in many dry sites of the Middle
East of fragments of hide which it has been possible to analyze.
The Romans tanned skins with alum, fat matters, and vegetables products
containing tannin such as sumach (Rhus coriaria) gall-nuts, oak bark, pine
bark and pomegranate rinds imported from Africa.
The hides could also be preserved for long periods with salting methods
learnt from the Gauls and the Germans.
The first footwear used by the Romans were the "Soleae"; primitive shoes
consisting of leather soles laced to the leg with leather straps which,
later on, ended up being worn only indoors like the "Socci" which were
coloured felt shoes that were also used by comical actors.
With the evolution of social relations, shoes, also for the Romans, became a
characterizing ingredient of status symbol.
This is why, for going outdoors, citizens of a high rank used the "Calcei"
(see picture n.° 26) coupled with a toga or military clothes; they consisted
of soles about 5 mm. thick, without a heel, attached to soft skin uppers
that covered the entire foot; from each side of the sole came two wide
straps which crossed and laced on the back of the foot while other thinner
straps started from the heel, wrapped around the ankle for approximately 15
cm. and laced sometimes with the tips left hanging and decorated with
crescent-shaped ivory buckles.
The Calcei worn by senators were black, those of the highest civil charges
red and there also existed the Calcei Ripandi (or Calcei Uncinati) with
up-turned toe probably of Etruscan origin.
On the Caio Giulio Elio's funerary stone going back to the 1st century CE
and exhibited at the museum of Montemartini power plant in Rome (Capitoline
Museums) are carved two specimens of "Calceus" and "Caliga". (see picture
n.° 37 ter)
At the same museum you can see the colossal foot of a "Fortuna huiusce diei"
statue, 8 meters high and carved in 101 BCE by Skopas, Greek sculptor
working in Rome, that wore a flip-flop sandal, probably a model of a "Krepis"
so we presume that also the Roman matrons wore similar shoes. (see picture
n.° 37 quater)
In the occasion of ceremonies patricians wore the "Mullei" (see picture n.°
27), red " Calcei" with a thicker sole so that the wearers height was
increased as testified by Pliny and Suetonius.
Picture n.° 28, drafted from a statue of Emperor Septimius Severus (146 CE -
211 CE) from Alexandria, exhibited at the British Museum in London, shows a
pair of "Mullei" characterized by the lack of the leather straps which, from
each side of the sole, crossed on the back of the foot, twined round the
ankle and then laced.
Both the "Calcei" and "Mullei" shoes were expensive, complicated,
uncomfortable and difficult to wear, so, every day, they wore sandals (see
picture n.°29) with the soles fixed to the feet by various leather strap
systems.
The women's sandals of those pertaining to wealthy classes could be
decorated with embroidery, pearls and precious stones and even have gold or
silver soles.
A type of sandal of Greek origin was the "Crepidae" (see picture n.° 30)
suitable for marching on uneven lands, those for the women was called "Crepidulae".
The footwear shown in picture n.° 31 could be a model of "Crepidae"; they
are part of a statue of Emperor Adrian (76 CE - 138 CE) taken from Apollo's
temple at Cyrene and exhibited at the British Museum in London.
The same goes for the model illustrated in picture n.° 31 bis, finely
decorated with acanthus leaves motifs, drawn from a reproduction of a bronze
statue of Emperor Septimius Severus (146 CE - 211 CE) exhibited at the
Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire in Brussels where there is also a portable
bronze Roman inkpot found at Willemeau (Belgium) which faithfully reproduces
a "Pero" (see picture n.° 33).
Women also wore footwear (see picture n.° 32) similar to current flat shoes,
but without a heel.
The common people and peasants wore other types of footwear, the most
popular were the "Perones" (see picture n.°33) shoes with a heel-less sole
and ankle high skin uppers laced on the back of the foot with buckles or
laces which could be worn on a barefoot or interposing a kind of felt sock.
Soldiers, up until the rank of centurion, peasants and anyone who had to
cover long distances on uneven land, wore the "Caligae" (see picture n.°
34); they were shoes with a heavy hobnailed sole (hobnails = clavi caligares),
so that, in his satires Juvenal felt pity for anyone who's foot remained
under the sole of a soldier's.
The upper was similar to those of "Perones", but without a buckle opening,
like a modern ankle boot. On the upper edge for comfort, there were two
crescent shaped slits, one at the front and one at the back and, as they
were made from very thick rigid leather, the toe was open so as to avoid
friction and pain to the toes.
For improved fastening and to strengthen them further, the upper was
crisscrossed by a set of straps and fitted out with supports, lightened with
slits, on the heel.
The sides of the sole were connected by a strip of leather that crossed over
the back of the foot; two other narrower strips joined the upper and the
sole towards the toe and were spaced out by a cross-strip placed near the
opening of the toe.
The Emperor Caligula (Caius Caesar Germanicus (12 CE - 41 CE) took his
nick-name from this model of footwear.
The "Carbatinae" (see pictures n.° 35 - 37) made from coarse leather and
with uppers made out of a single piece of skin were also suited to walking
on uneven land and, therefore, used by soldiers.
The "Gallicae" were a version of "Carbatinae" coming from Gaul.
The "Ocreae" (see picture n.°36) were ankle boots laced in front by
crisscrossed laces.
From the excavations of Qasr Ybrim in Egypt, this military ankle boot
possibly dated 1st c. BCE - 1st c. CE and exhibited at the British Museum in
London where it is defined "Caliga"; was made using a single piece of
leather joined to the sole and secured to the foot by leather laces passing
through slits connected to the upper by small straps.
It probably belonged to a soldier, a member of the Roman garrison that was
based in that region.
In Colony (Germany) was found an ankle boot of analogous model that differs
from that one over cited in order not to have in vamp the fissures that
allowed a some aeration of the foot, that for obvious climatic reasons ! (
see picture n.° 37 bis)
Slaves and proletarians used wooden clogs called "Sculponeae" and peasants
used the "Udones" formed by rectangular soles with long leather straps that
fastened them to the calves which were protected by pieces of wool or sheep
hides, sub- stantially the ancestors of the "Ciocie" ! (shoes from Ciociaria
- Italy)
In the edict of Diocletian (301 CE) "Edictum de pretiis venalium rerum", an
official price-list which also listed the maximum prices of all consumer
goods mentions at least 20 types of shoes like: "Calcei patricii", "Calcei
senatorii", "Caligae equestres" "Caligae muliebres", "Campagi", "Urinae".
"Campagi" were military shoes while "Urinae" were cowhide women's sandals.
In the age of the late empire (5th - 6th c.), Roman ladies wore golden clogs
or leather ankle boots which squeaked at every step, as said by Saint Jerome
who condemned this fashion as being frivolous.
In the 14th book, law n.° 2, " de abitu quo uti oportet intra orbem" from
the code of Theodosius (435 - 438 CE), issued by Theodosius II junior,
emperor of Eastern Empire (401 - 450 CE) it is said that Augusti Arcadius
and Onorious forbid the use of the "Zanche" in Rome which, in that time, was
a sort of ankle boot or shoe.
The Roman shoes could be polished with beeswax and have various colors;
ferrous salts and/or tannic extracts were used for black, yellow was
extracted from saffron, blue from woad (Isatis tinctoria); luxury shoes were
dyed red with purpura or orchil (Roccella tinctoria) which was less
expensive.
The uppers were sewn with linen thread and joined to the soles with leather
straps, sinews or gut strings.
The Romans used to take of their shoes during banquets and also before
entering in the baths and a mosaic which was in the entrance of one of those
shows the auspicious inscription "Benelava" and a pair of thongs to remind
the users to remove their shoes and to recover them on leaving.
In Ovid's "Ars amandi" we discover that Roman aristocratic women attributed
a value of great sexuality to tight and close-fitting shoes.
26
27 29
30
32 33
35
34
36
28
31
37
38
31.bis
37 bis
HISTORY OF FOOTWEAR
Chapter 7°: footwear of the native peoples
of Mexico and the south of America
(abt. 2.000 BCE - 1.533 CE)
The ancestors of the populations that the Europeans found settled
in America came there in waves from Siberia through the strait of Bering and
took thousands of years to reach the southern end.
The information that we have about the footwear worn by these peoples
originates from the study of archeological finds: sculptures, paintings,
vases and also from organic materials that, buried in the tombs, are still
in a good state due to the very dry climate in these areas.
THE OLMECOS (abt. 5.000 BCE -
800 C E) It's the oldest documented Amerindian civilization and all the
other mes-American pre-Columbian cultures derive from it.
It was settled on the southern coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and in the
states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, but it has also left traces in Guatemala and
Salvador.
The people portrayed in some statuettes discovered in a necropolis excavated
near the village of Xochiapa in Mexico wear a helmet, a loincloth and a kind
of boot and some anthropologists think that these clothes are typical of
ball players.
THE MAYAN (abt. 2.000 BCE - 1.546 CE) They, undoubtedly, were the
most civilized people among those pre-Columbian as they knew the scripture,
they had worked out a very complex numerical system, they were extraordinary
builders and their calendar vas very exact.
Unfortunately we know very little about their origins and little is known to
us of their artistic and literary production owing to the destructive fury
of the Spanish who destroyed a large number of their works for being pagan.
They lived in Guatemala and in Yucatan and it seems that they did not tan
the hides with which they made their footwear above all sandals with a
leather sole laced to the leg with small hemp ropes which were often
decorated with skins, plumes and gold.
THE AZTECS (abt. 1.000 CE -
1.525 CE) They were warlike people coming from the south west areas of the
current U.S.A. that went into Mexico driven out by stronger tribes; there
the tribe of the Mexicas settled on some islands on Texcoco lake, there
founded their capital Tenochtitlan in about 1.325 CE and were able to
conquer vast territories after battles followed by the ritual sacrifice of
the prisoners of war.
When they came into contact with the Spanish of H.Cortez, they were
defeated, their capital were occupied and the king Montezuma II was captured
and died in captivity.
The little that we know about their tanning technique has been handed down
from the Spanish bishop Bartolomé de Las Casas in his "History of the
conquest of the Indies" in which he reveals how the Aztecs tanned the hides
better than the Spanish and how they knew how to dye them with various
colors; it is believed that they used vegetables dyes like indigo or
quebracho and animal dyes like cochineal.
Also for them footwear was a symbol of social prestige; the poor habitually
walked barefoot, but the notables wore sandals with soles of leather or
interlaced vegetable fibers such as yucca, called "Coatli" (see picture
n.°39).
The "Coatli" of the rich and the king had solid gold, feather and stained
skin appliqués decorations.
The warriors used the "Cozehuatl", sandals joined to a kind of legging that
protected the knee; this was justified by the fact that the Aztec warriors
in battle did not aim to kill their enemies but take them prisoner after
crippling them by hitting them on the legs so they could them sacrifice to
their bloodthirsty gods.
THE INCAS (abt. 1.200 CE -
1.532.CE) They were a small tribe situated in the area of Cuzco (Perù) that,
in the course of a few generations, were able to conquer a territory that
spread from Colombia to Chile, bounded to the east by the Andes range.
Their decline began in 1.532 when the Spanish, led by Francisco Pizarro,
disembarked at Tumbes in the north of Perù and on reaching the resort of
Caxamarca, managed to take prisoner, by trickery, the king, the Inca
Atahualpa who in 1.533 was executed by them not before having extorted an
enormous ransom in gold and precious stones.
We don't know much about tanning and the dyeing of leathers used for shoe
making since the Incas did not know scripture.
They prevalently used sandals (see picture n.°40) with interlaced agave
fiber soles and llama skin uppers and a kind of boot, which covered the
knee, with an llama skin upper.
The women from the royal family also used gold ankle boots.
THE PATAGONIANS They were people who,
at the arrival of the Spanish, occupied the entire southern part of
Argentine, but, at present, are reduced to a few individuals; they bravely
resisted to all the attempts to subject them and had rare contact with the
Europeans.
They are very tall and were in the habit of wrapping their feet with guanaco
hides to protect them from the cold, so the Spanish, seeing their footprints
in the snow and deducing that they were gigantic men, named them "Patagones"
= " with big feet".
Magellan, during his round-the-world voyage, in 1.520 sheltered with his
fleet in a bay of Patagonia where he met a native who Pigafetta described in
his journal asserting that he wore "Albarde" a kind of footwear similar to
the "Ciocie".
Darwin affirmed that they wore moccasins filled with grass as an insulator
from the cold and De Bougainville, in his round -the world voyage of 1.768,
wrote that they wore horse skin ankle boots open at the heel.
Fig. 37 
39
40
HISTORY OF FOOTWEAR
Chapter 9°: footwear of the Europeans
(abt. 500 - 1900)
With the fall of the Roman Empire (476 CE), Europe plunged into a
period of obscurantism.
It was repeatedly invaded by barbarians who moved into her weak or unguarded
territories pilling and stealing land but by coming into contact with a
superior civilization, gradually assimilated her elements.
Also the technical knowledge of tannery and footwear manufacturing started
making progress again, after a decline of the the Roman public structure
using the knowledge of the invaders.
This is evident from literary references and by the examination of finds
especially discovered in tombs.
9.1 from 7th century to 10th century
THE LOMBARDS Were of Germanic extraction originally settled in Pannonia who,
in 548, descended into Italy under the guide of king Alboin and occupied
Lombardy, Emilia and Tuscany setting up duchies that elected a King resident
in Pavia, capital of the kingdom.
Under Agilulf (591 - 616) they converted to Christianity and King Rotary
enacted an edict containing rules of customary law adapted to Latin law.
Their reign finished with Desiderius (756 - 774) defeated by Charlemagne
king of Franks.
Paul Deacon, Lombard chronicler, informs us that they used footwear open
nearly to the big toe fixed to the foot by crossed laces called "Hosis",
over which, for riding, they slipped on gaiters called "Tubrugos".
THE FRANKS Were a Germanic people originally from middle and lower Rhine
from where they passed into the territories of the Roman empire in Germany,
Belgium and France.
In France, under Clovis (466 - 511), first king of the Merovingian dynasty,
the public structure formed and the people converted to Christianity but it
was only under Pepin of Heristal (640 - 714) the founder of the Carolingian
dynasty, that the Franks started the French nation.
In some Merovingians tombs metal buckles were found that were used for
fastening shoes and gaiters.
Aeginard, Frank chronicler, claims that Charlemagne (742 - 814) wore, in
ceremonies, shoes studded with gems.
An example of Frank footwear was found in the tomb of Bernard, son of Pepin,
king of Italy, who died in 818, when the grave was opened in 1618; they
found a pair of calf high boots with a red leather upper trimmed with skin
strips and a wooden sole and an opening from instep to toe fastened with
laces (see picture n.° 42).
Pictures on the Bible of Charles the second known as the bald (823 - 877)
show shoes similar to slippers laced to the ankle and, in that period, "À la
Poulaine" footwear also known or as "Pigaces" became fashionable (see
pictures n.° 43 - 44) with a pointed toe that, at first was half a foot
long, but, later, beca- me so long that it became difficult to walk.
Shoes were wadded with moss, hairs, or wool and sometimes tipped bizzarely
with fish or snake tails or scorpion stings.
The "Poulaines" at first were worn only by noblemen as war shoes and, when
the length of the points increased, in 14th century, laws were issued that
fixed the sizes for noblemen, middle-class persons and common people even if
they were worn above all, by the first, while the common people wore round
toed shoes .
It is said that this fashion was launched by Count Fulco of Anjou who had to
hid his deformed foot, but, in fact, as we have seen in the preceding
chapters existed since the times of the Sumerians and Egyptians and, was
maybe the Crusaders that imported it into Europe.
The fashion also caught on amongst the ecclesiastics so that St. Pier
Damiani (1007 - 1072) condemned the use of the shoe.
The French term "Poulaine" means (point of) Polish shoes and the use of this
footwear reached as far as Poland so in England as since1367 they were also
named "Crakows".
THE ANGLO-SAXONS The Anglians, Saxons and Iutians were Germanic tribes that,
from their settlements in Schleswig and on the Frisian coasts, around the
middle of 400 CE , invaded and colonized England founding kingdoms that were
gradually deprived of Norman authority .
The examination of archaeological finds demonstrates that these peoples did
not make distinction between men or women's shoes, at the most the women's
were trimmed with an embroidered strip from opening to point.
The footwear were made by "Turnshoe technique" sewing together sole and
upper on the back of skins or joining them by leather straps.
They were usually ankle high with round toes and no heels fastened by cord
or laces; nails were not used and, around the middle of 19th century some
were also made with a triangular tongue and fastened with a buckle.
There were also slippers, similar to Roman sandals, rawhide footwear and
others made from a single piece of skin.
The cited system of manufacture was imported to England by the Saxons
towards the 5th century and, little by little supplanted that used by the
Romans who also sewed uppers by string and fixed them to the sole by leather
strips while the Saxons used rawhide leather straps.
Many words in archaic English refer to the footwear of that age but it is
not clear to which type.
The word "Scoh" could mean the shoe in general or an ankle boot or a
slipper. "Swiftlere" and "Staeplescoh" are rawhide slipper shaped shoes.
"Hemming", "Rifeling" and "Socc" (This last one clearly originating from the
Romans, see chapter n.° 6) indicate shoes made by a single piece of skin. "Crinc"
and "Calc" are strip sandals.
THE NORMANS (THE VIKINGS) Were of Germanic origin living in the Scandinavian
area that since the 8th century expanded greatly in Europe moving, above all
by sea, as they were very skilful navigators.
They settled in France, where in 911 Rollon founded the duchy of Normandy
and converted to Christianity.
In 1066 William the Conqueror occupied England while in southern Italy some
younger sons of noble families took possession of vast Byzantine territories
which were then united by Robert Guiscard who took Sicily from the Arabs and
by Roger the second, King of Sicily from 1130.
It can reasonably be asserted that they wore footwear similar to those of
the Anglo-Saxons and, towards 1150, after the conquest of England, they
adopted for a short period, round heels and sharp points while they began to
use the joining method between upper and sole by the welt, probably imported
to north Europe by the Crusaders.
In the Bayeux tapestry that depicts the landing in England, the Normans wore
closed shoes with spurs that, were fur-lined the winter.
The English chronicler Orderic Vitalis (1075 - 1143) who, in his work "Historia
ecclesiastica", left us a precious documentation about the Normans, mentions
the "Pigaciae" and the "Pigatiae".
VENICE In the " Life of Orseolo, doge of Venice" it stated that the doge
wore the "Zanghe" that was a kind of boot suitable for protecting feet and
legs.
CLERICAL FOOTWEAR The catholic priests wore, in that period, closed sandals
with leather uppers that protected their heels and toes.
They were fastened to the foot by leather straps (see picture n.° 45).
43
44 45
HISTORY OF FOOTWEAR
9.2 11th century
Evudence of the footwear worn by noblemen in this period comes from the
works of Donizone of Canossa who, in his poem in hexameters "Vita Mathildis",
quoted the black and white poimted "Calcei" (see chapter n.° 6) worn by an
ancestor of countess Mathilda of Canossa and the long pointed toe shoes, the
red close-fitting shoes and the embroidered "Calcei" of bishop Tealdo, her
ancestor
HISTORY OF FOOTWEAR
9.3 12th century
The "Poulaines" fashion continued ( see chapter n.° 9.1) with even longer
points, some measured more than 90 centime- ters from the heel to the tip,
so, to avoid stumbling, the tips were fixed to the legs by strings or small
chains.
NORMAN KINGDOM OF SICILY In Vienna there is a pair of sandals that belonged
to Queen Constance wife of Henry the Fourth (1050 - 1106) emperor of Germany
that have a mermaid embroidered on the upper.
In the same city, as the Kunsthistorisches Museum, a pair of shoes used for
the coronations of princes of the Holy Roman Empire are on show; their
uppers are made from skin and cream and red-colored cloth and are decorated
with semiprecious stones and glass beads appliqués (see picture n.° 45 ter).
In the royal sarcophagi of Palermo cathedral some models of footwear have
been found; amongst them those of Henry the Sixth (1165 - 1197).
They have silk uppers decorated with gold and pearls and a cork sole covered
with silk.
Those of Frederic the Second (1194 - 1250) were ankle boots with silk uppers
embroidered with a deer and a cork sole covered with silk.
VENICE the Venetians employed the vegetable tanning method using sumach and
durmast extracts, using alum and also grease.
The shoemakers were associated in the guild of the "Caleghéri and Zavateri"
(shoemakers and cobblers) that also inclu- ded some special categories of
shoemakers like that of the "Solarii" who made only shoe soled socks ( see
under the Waldenses) or that of the "Patitari" who made clogs called "Patitos".
The guild imposed on its members the observance of a set of rules that
safeguarded the customers rights.
The "Patitos" had a ram-hide upper and a high sole and were used in every
region of Italy, both in the country and the city as not to spoil and soil
the soled socks ( see under the Waldenses) with the mud of the unpaved
streets.
The Venetian women wore, in that period, a sort of clog called "Socchi" and
"Zanghe"; both models had a wood or cork sole, but, those with a cork sole,
owing to the rules safeguarding of the rights of the customers, had to have
a upper made from Cordovan leather a very soft skin dressed by tannin, while
those with a wooden sole had a ram-hide upper.
THE WALDENSES Were disciples of a religious movement that rose in France in
1175 named after Peter Valdo trader from Lyons, who, in a certain moment of
his life, decided to give all his wealth to the poor and live in accordance
with the Gospel.
At first they were tolerated by the catholic Church, but when they decided
to let women become parsons they were accused of heresy and persecuted
especially after the 1532, when they joined the protestant Reformation.
In the 12th century they moved to Switzerland from the borders between
Piedmont and France and then returned to Pied- mont in1689 when the Duke of
Savoy let them and tolerated their religious activities.
In the 12th century their men began to wear soled socks called in French
"Haut de chausses", a sort of woven tights with a leather sole protection
that made the use of the shoes unnecessary.
CLERICAL FOOTWEAR In that period the Pope wore slippers called "Sandalia";
there are two models the first had a blue silk upper, the second made from
red and golden silk.
With the liturgical vestments "Udones" and "Caligae" were worn (see chapter
n.°.6). They had white wool, linen or silk uppers.
In the Musées Royaux d' Art et d' Histoire in Brussels a pair of liturgical
sandals made in Italy are on show.
They come from the Abbey of Stavelot (Belgium) and have red leather uppers
decorated with gold thread embroidery and golden skin appliqués ( see
picture n.° 45 bis) (take note that some sources define that model as "Calceus").
Fig.
HISTORY OF FOOTWEAR
13th century
The use of soled socks (The Waldenses) and of "Poulaines" ( The Franks)
continued all over Europe.
FLORENCE In this city most of
the commercial activities, handicraft, manufacture but also the practice of
profes- sions such as doctor, lawyer etc., were organized in the form of
guilds that were called "Arti".
There were 21, divided into major, medium and minor.
The shoemakers were part of a one of five medium "Arti" while the tanners
belonged to one of the nine minor "Arti".
Whereas many shop keepers and craftsmen of leather or skin practiced their
trades in wooden shops on the "Ponte vec- chio" (The old bridge) while the
tanners were situated in more suburban areas owing the odour of the tannery
methods.
In fact the rawhides were bated for approximately eight months using also
horse's urine.
At the beginning of the century men and women wore the "Usatti", a sort of
leather boot and the semplicity of their clothes is nostalgically remembered
by Dante Alighieri in his Paradiso (XV, 100 - 116)
Judges and lawyers wore the soled socks while in winter, as well as the "Usatti"
they also wore leather shoes that sometimes had a wooden sole.
The poor, in summer went barefoot and in winter used clogs worn without
socks.
Women wore footwear with very high heels and soles so that the preachers,
always ready to censure the vanities of the fashion, made fun of them for
their stilt-like gait even though a certain justification of this fashion
could be given by the state of the city streets, full of mud and waste
waters that ran along the road way.
KINGDOM OF NAPLES AND SICILY
They wore shoes called "Calzari", sandals, "Pianelle" and "Patitelle" with
leather, wooden or cork soles and cloth, velvet or gilded skin uppers called
"Auripellium".
A document kept in the archives of Palermo states that Charles the First of
Anjou (1226 - 1285) had some sandals with a white embroidered cross on the
uppers.
An ordinance issued in that period reveals the prices of the shoes; those
worn by "Gintilomini et persuni onorati" (Gentlemen and honourable persons)
cost one Tarì (1) and ten grains (2) while she-goat shoes cost only fifteen
grains.
In some contracts that dealt with apprenticeships, the masters had not only
to teach their skills to their apprentices but also to provide them with
board, lodging and "Calciamenta", the shoes.
ROME In the coronation book of
Boniface the Eight (1235 - 1303) a prefect from Rome is mentioned who took
part in a papal procession wearing one golden and one red "Zanga" a name
that related to an ankle boot in those times.
VENICE A capitulary of the
guild of "Calegheri" (shoemakers) dating back to 1221 mentions two types of
shoes; the "Calcarios", leather or cloth leggings sometimes with feet and "Stivallos"
calf high boots with a wooden sole.
ENGLAND In 1984/85 in Newcastle
upon Tyne during excavations along the bank of a river, many leather, cloth
and pottery fragments mixed with dumping materials used in the13th century
for draining the swampy river banks were found.
The leather was very well preserved by the acidic environment and consists
of fragments of uppers and soles of four mo- dels of footwear assembled
using the "Turnshoe Technique" (see chapter n.°4 ), rejected by shoemaker of
that age.
In the Turnshoe Technique of the13th century a skin strip was placed between
the upper and sole that served for proofing the seam.
The shoe was ankle high, without heels and the uppers were either joined or
made with a single or two pieces of skin.
In the first case the two extremities of the upper were connected with a "
head" lateral seam sewn with a leather string (small triangular pieces
completed the shape), in the second case pieced skin was used to shape the
front part of the upper and another piece the back part.
They were then connected by the cited method; some counterforts were then
sewn into the heels.
NOTES (1) Tarì: gold or silver coin of Arabic origin used also by the
Normans and the Aragoneses.
(2) Grain: silver or copper coin in use in the kingdom of Naples and Sicily.
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