av Admin » 18 augusti 2003, 19:33
Det har rätt nyligen vart en diskussion om detta på Company of St Georges epostlista, så här skiver John Richards:
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As with so many things, a little common sense is needed. Firstly, medieval
man had leather shoes, with flat leather soles. As we all know, that is not
much of a problem in a town, on gravel, earth or cobblestone surfaces, but a
complete pain in the arse on dry grass, so I think that Christian's note on
cities/countryside is correct. When on campaign, would anybody here rush
into battle in a pair of shoes that threaten to upend him (or her) the
moment a grassy slope appears? Unlikely, so if you want to avoid my
experience of trying to get to my tent in Gruyeres, you need to have an
anti-slip device on the soles of your feet. Soles with woven rope; scoring
of leather soles have all been found, but shoes nails are by far the most
durable, and the technology had certainly existed since Roman times.
I'm old enough to remember "Blakey's" and "Seg's", which were the 60's
equivalents of shoenails (yes, I used to click to school like all the other
"mods"). Since the soles didn't wear at all until the head of the nail fell
off or the nail dropped out, durable countrywear was practically an
heirloom, that wasn't thrown away (unlike fashionable town shoes) until they
quite literally fell apart. This may well explain why so few have been
found. Also, the combination of iron and leather in the ground is not a
durable one; leather by itself, or iron by itself, can last for milennia,
but not in intimate proximity. Ever wonder why swords are practically never
found in scabbards? We all know that they existed, have documentary evidence
"ad nauseam", know that medieval man alway kept his swords, daggers and
knives in scabbards, but although both are found separately, they
practically never come to light together.
Sadly, in most pictures, the shoenails are being stood upon, and are
therefore invisible. Likewise with other garments that are usually covered
(e.g. arming doublets, arming hose). It doesn't mean that they weren't in
regular use, just that the humble shoenail was a somewhat "downtrodden"
item!
John
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Och grand old man Gerry Embleton:
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A perennial subject.
I know that ALMOST no traces of shoe nails or leather soles with
punctures made by shoe nails have been found but, archaeological finds are usually no indication of how common an article was.
As John Richards points out soil conditions effect what survives in the ground and what does not. The more common an object was the rarer is its survival. If we are puzzled by the lack of material evidence relating to 15th century objects we should bear in mind how extraordinary rare everyday 17th and 18th century clothes and shoes
are, how almost NOTHING of all of the hundreds of thousands of items
and uniforms and equipment issued to common soldiers during these
centuries survives. The pictorial references quoted by fellow members are our only illustrations so far. William Langland ca. 1360-1399
described "knobbed" or nailed shoes in "the vision concerning Piers
Plowman". He wrote: "knoppede schon clouted ful thykke" which means
shoes thickly nailed. Shoe nails are mentioned in the equipment
supplied to Burgundian troops in the 1460's.
I would be very grateful to hear from anyone who can supply more
evidence.
P.S. The curious argument that medieval men were incapable of making
fine shoe nails falls apart if one looks at brigandines and rivets in
armour and leather work, not to mention nails in wood work.
Gerry
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/Henrik
Men jag har länge funderat över om man gjorde något för att få fäste under sina glatta lädersulor...