shoes&pattens6

Shoes and Pattens

36

53, 54 Late 14th-century shoes. Scalę 1:3 approx.

seems to have been morę common. Most shoes of this type were only slightly pointed at the toe, but the second illustrated example (Fig. 54) has a tiny ‘poulaine’ stuffed with hair - perhaps human hair. In this instance the lace is of the bifurcated ‘latchet’ type.

It remains to discuss the ankle-shoes and Iow boots which are a smaller and much less dis-tinctive part, at least of the ‘Baynards Castle’ assemblage. Buckled ankle-shoes were found in very smali numbers (Table 6) and are described in detail below (p. 41), sińce they anticipate a fashion of the early 15th century. Of the other two main methods of fastening, side-lacing appears to have been marginally less common (Tables 6-7), and the examples of this datę are so similar in con-struction and styling to those of both earlier and later times - except insofar as they may have modest ‘poulaines’ - that no further description is necessary. It was during this period, however, that front-lacing seems first to have developed as an important method for fastening ankle-shoes; and as with front-laced shoes, a modification of the latchet principle was adopted.

The illustrated ankle-shoe (Fig. 55) and the Iow boot (Fig. 58) share a similar one-piece ‘wrap-around’ construction, with an angled main seam on the inner side. There was a heel-stiffener but no topband, and large reinforcement-pieces were secured on the inside to protect the area around the lace-holes. On the boot this can be seen only from impressions and stitch-marks, but on the ankle-shoe, which is much better preserved, the reinforcements partially survive in place (cf. Fig.

55, 56, 57 Late 14th-century ankle-shoes. Scalę 1:3 approx.

100); one is a simple strip, probably applied after the shoe had been assembled, but the other is much morę substantial and is an integral part of the construction, being attached by the main seam. The lace-holes on either side of the ankle-shoe are arranged in two pairs, corresponding to a pair of bifurcated latchet-type tags which remain intact on the inner side; the tongue, which rosę to the fuli height of the shoe, was sewn edge-to-edge along this side also (Fig. 55). The fastening arrange-ments on the boot are not entirely elear, sińce on the surviving side there are seven lace-holes, evenly spaced. The smali child’s ankle-shoe (Fig. 56) and the child’s boot (Fig. 57) are almost iden-tical in style to their adult counterparts, although there seem to have been no heel-stiffeners, lace-hole reinforcements or tongues.