Evidence for hobnails on shoes in 15th century

[Tom B.]

This came up in a Facebook group and after I shared this info there I realized I had never posted it here.
I have found a couple of pieces of evidence of the use of hobnails in the 15th century.

It is a biblical scene so there may be some debate about whether the painter was trying to show some anachronistic equipment.
The painting is:
Christ Before Pilate by the Master of St. Severin located in the Wallraf Richartz Museum



This is one of the references that Embelton & Company of Saynt George guys use to justify their use of hobnails.
Apparently there are a couple more paintings they reference but I have not be able to find photos or Artist names and painting titles.

What I have found is:

- the named Triptychon, situated in the "Westphalian Museum of Arts and Culture" in Muenster/Westphalia.
It shows a soldier, kneeling, and fixing somebody on an iron rack.

- a second painting, at the same place
Also a soldier, climbing up a ladder, with a hammer and nails in his hand

- one painting in the "German National Museum" in Nuremberg
A shepherd, standing on a field, close to a stable

The names of the paintings, the dates/years of making and the names of the artists I could send you later.

[Tom B.]

Here is a link to a Company of St. George Blog post that has some relevant info.

Authenticity on the Example of Shoes in the Company of St. George

Photo from Blog post showing a shoe found in Paderborn,Germany during 2008:


PDF of the Full German Language article

Bei weiteren Abklärungen, nachdem ich in Gruyères gewesen war, fand ich heraus, dass im Jahre 2008 in Paderborn (DE) Lederfunde aus dem 15. Jahrhundert durch Archäologin M. Gärtner-Krohn gemacht worden waren.13 Darunter befanden sich mehrere Schuhe mit gena-gelten Sohlen. Die Nägel wurden in Zweitsohlen geschlagen, welche als Aussensohlen an den Rand des Schuhs genäht wurden. Sie verliehen den Schuhen eine längere Lebensdauer und Griffigkeit.

13 Re: Herstellen eines Pechdrahtes (10.07.09) und Fw: Genagelte Schuhe (12.07.2009) E-Mails von Stefan von der Heide [shoes.ad.libitum@t-online.de]

Hier das versprochene Foto, und Kontaktdaten der Archäologin:
M. Gaertner-Krohn
Museum in der Kaiserpfalz
Am Ikenberg 2
33098 Paderborn
Tel. 05252/105110

With further investigation, after I had been in Gruyeres, I found out that in 2008, in Paderborn (DE) leather finds from the 15th Century was made by archaeologist M. Gardener Krohn waren.13 Among them were several shoes with soles gena-apply. The nails were beaten into second soles, which were sewn to the edge of the outer soles of the shoe. They gave the shoes last longer and feel.

13 Re: making a bad wire (10.07.09) and Fw: nailed shoes (12.07.2009) E-mail from Stefan von der Heide [shoes.ad.libitum @ t-online.de]

Here is the promised photo, and contact the archaeologist:
M. Gaertner-Krohn
Museum of the Imperial Palace
On Ikenberg 2
33098 Paderborn
Tel 05252/105110

[Tom B.]

The shape of the sole and the fact that they found several with hobnails intrigues me.
There are so very few extant finds of medieval hobnails but this one had several?
This make me very curious about both the dating and the context of the find.
Was this find associated with a trade that might have used hobnails in their shoes?

[MediumAevum]

Many years ago it was generally agreed that they probably indicate something more rural, as the major works people use on medieval shoes are mostly urban and have no hobails. Another possibility is that they come into use sometime in the late-15th century.

[Signo]

From the shape of the picture, it look like the front of the shoe, this look like a right foot sole, what doesn't fit my idea of medieval shoemaking is the stitching. I think at the time they used to sew in the thickness of the sole and not through it.

[Tom B.]

From the shape of the picture, it look like the front of the shoe, this look like a right foot sole, what doesn't fit my idea of medieval shoemaking is the stitching. I think at the time they used to sew in the thickness of the sole and not through it.

I agree that the exposed stitching seems to be out of the ordinary.
Maybe the hobnail help to keep the thread from wearing?
They do mention that they are clump soles.

[Paladin74]

Didn't the Romans use hobnails in their caligae, or is that a MRL fantasy?

[Tom B.]

Yes, hobnails were used by Romans but there is scant evidence for their usage in medieval footwear.

[MediumAevum]

From the shape of the picture, it look like the front of the shoe, this look like a right foot sole, what doesn't fit my idea of medieval shoemaking is the stitching. I think at the time they used to sew in the thickness of the sole and not through it.

They do mention that they are clump soles.

When do clump soles come about?

[Tom B.]

From the shape of the picture, it look like the front of the shoe, this look like a right foot sole, what doesn't fit my idea of medieval shoemaking is the stitching. I think at the time they used to sew in the thickness of the sole and not through it.

They do mention that they are clump soles.

When do clump soles come about?

Was used at least as a repair during the early 15th century.
http://collections.museumoflondon.org.u ... =23&rows=1

Perhaps a more correct way to refer to what I am talking about is Welted construction.
Came into usage at the end of the 15th century.

From Marc Carlson's Site

Welted Construction

This term is used to describe the manufacture of an unturned modern “welted” shoe. Developed in the 15th century, this technique formed the basis of most shoemaking well into the modern era, and, although no longer the mainstay of shoemaking in this era of exuded plastics and molds, this method is still preferred by traditional hand sewn shoemakers.
This method of shoe construction appears to have been developed in Germany by around 1480 or so, and introduced to England by c.1500. These techniques formed the basis of all shoemaking well into the modern era, and, although no longer the mainstay of shoemaking in this era of exuded plastics and molds, this path is still followed by an impassioned minority.
This type of construction takes place in three stages:
The Upper is lasted, or placed on a last rightside out, and held in position temporarily by nails or bracing thread;
The lasted upper is sewn together with a welt (q.v.) to the edge of the insole (early examples use the actual edge itself with an edge/flesh seam (q.v.) but later ones use an upstanding rib, or Holdfast, set in a short distance from the edge);
The sole is then stitched to this welt. [Thornton/Swann, 1983]

[Signo]

Tom, maybe I didn't understood well, but the sole you posted, is of the type I was referring to. The stitches protude only on the upper side. You can see that it's the upper side, because the stitches pulled the sole edge upward under the tension of the now missing vamp. So, in this piece, the stitches are from the side of the sole to the upper face, in fact, the other pictures show the outer side of the sole, and it has no stitches.

[Signo]

Tom, maybe I didn't understood well, but the sole you posted, is of the type I was referring to. The stitches protude only on the upper side. You can see that it's the upper side, because the stitches pulled the sole edge upward under the tension of the now missing vamp. So, in this piece, the stitches are from the side of the sole to the upper face, in fact, the other pictures show the outer side of the sole, and it has no stitches.

[MediumAevum]

I was thinking the same thing Signo but not really my forte, so the question still stands, when did clump soles come into use.

[Tom B.]

The reason I linked to that sole is that the text says it shows signs of a "clump (repair) sole" being attached.
The sole in the picture would be the inner sole not the clump sole. I admit that can't say I can be sure I am seeing what they are referring to in the text.
I also agree this is not exactly the same as a second sole added to the shoe during initial construction.

There is tunnel stitching on the outer surface of the sole in the waist area for the attachment of a clump (repair) sole. The tunnel stitching probably originally extended around the outer edges as well but these are now very worn.

Looking at the painting in my initial post, it looks like I am seeing separate hob nailed leather pieces added to the front of the shoe and to the heel.
I can see what looks like 2 layers of leather at the edges of both the heel section and the forefoot. The shadow of the wooden pole obscures this a bit but I think that the narrowest part of the shoe only has one layer. This kind of fits with my badly translated info from the Paderborn find.

I just found out the painting is dated 1500-1505, so it is early 16th century.
The artist was active from 1480 until 1520.

[Jason Grimes]

Those two decades from 1490 to 1510 are real fuzzy anyway. So many changes in clothing and armour there isn't any definite cutoff date. If they had hobnails in 1500 to 1505 then chances are that they had them earlier as well.

[Tom B.]

I was thinking the same thing Signo but not really my forte, so the question still stands, when did clump soles come into use.

Clump soles as repairs were used widely through out the medieval period.
I have found several references for 15th century being the time when clump soles were beginning to be used for initial construction.

Clump.JPG (20.56 KiB) Viewed 1929 times

Leather and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian & Medieval York

[James B.]

There is a patten with hobnails dated to the 13th century in Shoes and Pattens. Also several pattens with cleats and steel reinforcements with nails in them from the 15th century in Stepping Through Time. At the end of the 15th century we start seeing welted shoes which the extant sole with nails looks to be a welted bottom.

[Tom B.]

I just spotted this one on my Pinterest feed it was pinned to a friends board about quivers / bow cases but I spotted the hobnails on the shoe at the top.
I am still backtracking the source.

[Mac]

It looks like a St. Ursula.... of just maybe a St Catherine. I have not been able it down yet either.

Mac

[Mac]

Bingo!

Martyrium der Hl. Ursula und der elftausend Jungfrauen

Kunstwerk: Temperamalerei-Holz ; Tafelbild ; Wien ; Ursula:03:005-009
Dokumentation: 1480 ; 1490 ; Wien ; Österreich ; Wien ; Österreichische Galerie ; IN 4973
Anmerkungen: 73x48,5 ; Lilienfeld(?) ; Baum 1971: S. 161



Mac

[Tom B.]

Great work, thanks Mac

[Ian L]

Just a little aside on welted construction... It might appear much earlier than the late 15th century, at least on leather pattens. Everyone's eye zooms in to the wooden pattens on the bottom left of the Arnolfini wedding portrait, but there's another pair of red leather pattens in the center back that look an awful lot like they are of welted construction as early as 1434 (likely of the cork-filled variety, but put together on the same principles):