shoes&pattens1

101

Pattens

140 Leather patten (early 15th-century). Four-layer sole (five layers at the heel). The top layer was madę from two parts butt-stitched together. Scalę 1:3.

Leather pattens, 14th-15th centuries

(Figs. 139-40)

In later medieval times a new form of patten with a composite leather sole and narrow heel and toe straps became fashionable. As Table 21 shows, these were probably introduced in the late 13th or early 14th century but were extremely rare before the early 15th; thereafter they seem to have been quite common, although it should be remembered that the large number of fragments, mainly from the composite soles, probably represents no morę than a fifth as many complete pattens. The soles themselves were madę from layers of thick cattle hide, generally between 5 and 7 but sometimes as many as 10, and it is likely that they were sewn together with a pair of threads (Fig. 141), which have left deep impressions in the upper and lower

surfaces of the top and bottom layers respectively (Figs. 139-40). An additional layer was often added at the heel only, so as to raise it higher off the ground. The straps were madę from single pieces of plain leather, sometimes bifurcated at the toe (Fig. 140), and were sandwiched between the top layer and the layer immediately beneath it.

Pattens of this type were generally quite narrow, no broader than the average shoe, with a pronounced ‘waist’ and a slightly pointed toe. This, together with the fact that there can have been very little room under the toe straps, would be consistent with the suggestion madę earlier that they should perhaps be regarded as sandals rather than oyershoes. The weakest element in their construction was the stitching, which was exposed to damp on the underside of the sole and must often have perished. Many pattens have additional rows, or part rows, of stitch holes to show that they were restitched, sometimes on several occasions. One (Fig. 142), which is ex-ceptionally heavily wom at the heel, seems to have had an undersole nailed on as a finał repair.

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142 Leather patten (early/mid 15th-century). Four layers survive. The parallel seams around the edges show that the sole was restitched on at least one occasion. A whole additional layer was nailed onto the underside as a finał repair. Scalę 1:3.

141 Interlocking running-stitch, using two threads, the type of stitch that would have been used in the manufacture of multi-layered patten-soles (cf.

Figs. 139-40).