Heels/treads in 14th-15th c. boots

[Klaus the Red]

Has anyone run across any evidence for the use of either built-up heels or something resembling a tread (ie, cross-cutting the leather or adding hobnails) in 14th and 15th century ankle boots? I glanced through Shoes and Pattens this morning but came up with nothing much, aside from the fact that "clump" soles were added for repairs with a separate heel section sometimes. I bought a new pair of boots from Revival at Pennsic, but after only two days of walking around on asphalt and gravel, the heels are already worn down to the point of exposing the nails. This is how my pair of Alastair boots met their first retirement. I want to reinforce the Revival soles and pre-empt any more degradation. Some documentable traction when slogging uphill in the woods would also be nice.

Klaus

[Klaus the Red]

OK, after casing Shoes and Pattens and Marc Carlson's site, I determined built-up heels are very much un-period, except as part of a 2-part repair sole. Then I figured since my Revival/Alastair boots are made using an un-period technique anyway, the hell with it. I went ahead and added heels to both pairs.

[Kel Rekuta]

Has anyone run across any evidence for the use of either built-up heels or something resembling a tread (ie, cross-cutting the leather or adding hobnails) in 14th and 15th century ankle boots? I glanced through Shoes and Pattens this morning but came up with nothing much, aside from the fact that "clump" soles were added for repairs with a separate heel section sometimes. I bought a new pair of boots from Revival at Pennsic, but after only two days of walking around on asphalt and gravel, the heels are already worn down to the point of exposing the nails. This is how my pair of Alastair boots met their first retirement. I want to reinforce the Revival soles and pre-empt any more degradation. Some documentable traction when slogging uphill in the woods would also be nice.

Klaus

In answer to your first question; No, heels are a later development. An oft cited reference suggests sewing cords to the soles for traction in the sands of the lists. Apparently medieval people walked on the balls of their feet instead of heel to toe like people do today. There didn't seem to be a period solution to a modern gait.

Either change your gait when wearing period shoes (difficult) or add heels. Depending on the style you might need to add heel stiffeners ("counters" in shoe-speak) to support the extra strain imposed by heel strikes.


I often wonder whether medieval men at arms had a specialised form of patten that dealt with traction issues? We may never know.

[earnest carruthers]

Could you not add inner heels to the rear of the shoe? At least they would not be visible.


I find my back aches slightly for a day or two of flat sole shoe wearing, after a few days of wearing them I get used to it and I walk sort of bandy legged kind of, and running in them is different, again something to get used to.

[Klaus the Red]

My problem with period shoes has always been twofold- not enough support, and excessive sole wear. Since I have only recently been informed by a podiatrist that my right leg is shorter than my left (my body suddenly decided to make an issue of this at age 37), I now wear arch supports and a right heel lift in everything, turnshoes included. That takes care of the former problem. As for the latter, when asphalt and gravel meet leather, leather will ultimately lose. I wonder what period shoes would look like after a year of wear on only ploughed fields, dirt roads, grassy battlefields, stone castle floors, and the occasional cobblestone street. In the meantime, I'm resigned to using up a pair of disposable leather heels each year.

Klaus

[Alcyoneus]

The Rohan Book of Hours (this ed. http://www.maggs.com/title/BI14537.asp , pic #4) shows a man wearing shoes with a separate sole and tread added on, one layer each(flat, like the rest of the shoe). It is c1418-1425.

Alcyoneus

[Destichado]

Cool!

You see, some of us are naturaly inclined to walking on the balls of our feet.

[earnest carruthers]

Klaus, funny thing about shoes is that there is an argument to say that a softer sole is more forgiving as it moulds to the ground rather than sliding along it.

Also it would seem that soles were quite thin, I was surprised to see a marked difference in our modern turnshoes and actual shoe soles, and again I wonder if this is because a thinner sole 'moulds' to the ground too.

[T. Finkas]

Personally, I had it with trying to wear period shoes at Pennsic. This year I had 2 pairs of period-construction turnshoes fail. These shoes cost me from $80 to $120 a pair, and they had seen very little use before the failure! I don't know about you guys but I cannot afford to buy new turnshoes every year.

I'm not giving up completely, but some concessions are in order! I am going to reinforced soles and vibram soles on my turnshoes for Pennsic.

I also bought a pair of Revival Leather Riding Boots which look to be very sturdy, and have a very nice appearance. Plus, the folks at Revival Leather couldn't be nicer and more helpful.

[Klaus the Red]

I would not be at all surprised to find that period sole leather was sturdier than the cheap mass-produced brittle stuff coming out of Asia these days. On the other hand, labor was very cheap in period, and the cost of resoling shoes might have been much lower proportionally than the $75-100 it costs one of us to buy a new pair each year. Something like 30 to 50% of the London finds have had sole repairs, and Shoes and Pattens concludes that "Repairs [to the uppers] seem not to have been common, probably because the soles will have worn through long before the uppers, rendering many shoes worthless after only a few months' use." It also speculates that clump soles were made in separate sections for sole and heel so that the heel could be replaced without having to restitch the whole shoe. (Shoes and Pattens, pp. 89-90)

One must also keep in mind that nearly all of our material shoe evidence comes from an urban environment. The shoes of farmers in the fields might have lasted longer than those of townsmen on cobblestones and packed earth, and the notion of a thin sole to allow the foot to grip the ground sounds more plausible to me in that case.

[Derian le Breton]

Using a pair of pattens will considerably lengthen the lifetime of your shoe soles.

-Donasian.

[Thomas Powers]

"The shoes of farmers in the fields might have lasted longer than those of townsmen on cobblestones and packed earth, and the notion of a thin sole to allow the foot to grip the ground sounds more plausible to me in that case."


Actually many illuminations I have seen of peaseants in the fields show them barefoot---as was common in poor areas of the US till fairly recent...

Thomas

[Klaus the Red]

Using a pair of pattens will considerably lengthen the lifetime of your shoe soles.

I know, and I do; but sometimes it's like walking in ice skates, and the impact of coming down on a half inch of wood with every step doesn't help my knees.

[T. Finkas]

In my turnshoes, I am having problems of stitching rotting and giving way on one pair. And on the other newer pair the side seam is stressed and gapping. This, in my experience, is what happens when the seams are butt-sewn hidden through the leather. I don't know why our forefathers made the shoes that way when an overlapped seam would appear to be much stronger.

I am quickly losing faith in period shoe constuction...

[Klaus the Red]

When making feet for my hose, I use seams that lie as flat as possible so I don't feel like I'm standing on a piece of string all the time; I think the same principle applies here. A butted join has no overlap, whereas two overlapped pieces of leather would create a shoulder that one could feel much more distinctly. Again, I'm sure this works better with strong, sturdy leather and sinew than with cheap modern leather and polyester thread.

I also think repro turnshoes come in good and bad batches. I got a pair from Historic three Pennsics ago that needed just a little re-stitching of the uppers during the first few months, and have held together quite well since then. Granted, they have not been getting full time abuse at every event I attend; I alternate between them, my Alastair boots and mundane sneakers, depending on the terrain...