![]() The quickest example is of the Welsh Spearman and bowman from a series of land grants of Henry 2nd, each is only wearing one shoe. There is a significant historical tradition of depicting the other people's of the island as backwards and savage. This is a somewhat loaded question, particularly when dealing with non English parts of the British islands. If this was the case, then yes, it could be that they were barefoot throughout the warm months and wore something on their feet during winter to protect against the cold. Maybe the article was only talking about summerwear, when shoes would have been obsolete, but that is not specified anywhere. Although, as I have stated in my original post, there is a lot of information missing from my side, so I can't say anything conclusive on the matter, but I also cannot simply assume they would've worn closed off shoes like later Europeans did. It might imply a different kind of intelligence, so no stupidity at all. I'm noticing open sandals being worn in the north and a British museum article stating that women and children did not wear shoes (in the periods discussed in the article), not just an absence for the evidence of shoewear, but a denial of the presence, so that makes me wonder if these historic peoples dealt with the cold differently. I hear what you say, but not protecting the feet such as we do today does not mean being dumber than modern people. Perhaps if women and children were indoors in the winter then perhaps they didn’t have much use for shoes but I would love to see more research and documentation about that… everything else you read about the peasant class was that “everyone worked” and “all hands on deck” all the time because they had to if they wanted to survive the harsh winters People had to be tougher, for sure, and the body can toughen up (just look at Wim Hof and barefooted runners) but it’s not like we evolved into some strong rubber footed ape beings in the medieval ages so that we could get away with bare feet all year long I also wonder and would question about texts written about the poor… the bias against them was real and I wouldn’t be surprised if the “poor wear no shoes” was one possible line of snooty commentary from the rich I just don’t see the Poles, the Sami, the Finns, or other Nordic countries getting away with bare feet all year-long simply because many extant examples don’t exist.Ĭountry and even regional differences existed - we can’t expect a medieval Spanish person to have had the same experience as a medieval Danish person, for example a lot of extant examples of clothing do not exist - especially for poorer classes because they wore clothes until they were rags. No way folks just walking around losing toes left and right. You can get frostbite as soon as the temps dip to just below freezing. I would have added a similar comment.Įspecially if we talk about any Northern countries that get snow and harsh winter temps… There was SOMETHING on the feet in winter. Photo by Dr Owen Humphreys, Kingston University London and AHRC We also see the Roman elite wearing open sandals, even in Britain and Germany, so it appears as though shoewear was more of a fashion statement than a necessity.ĭoes anyone know more about this? Or where I can find more information on shoewear in late antiquity/early medieval times? (especially if it's about what common people wore or didn't wear) Thank you and have a nice day!Įnclosed boot from London, c.75-125 AD: 20004 ![]() ![]() In early medieval settlements, or even early modern Scotland, women and children rarely wore shoes."ĭoes this mean common folk went around barefoot all the time, even in winter? Even though northern Europe could get cold in winter, I can imagine people were sturdier back then and could somehow withstand the cold on their feet, hobbit-style, though I would need more information on this to confirm. the fact that women and children were able to wear shoes may be an indication of their comparatively high social status. ![]() In the above article concerning footwear in late antiquity/early medieval times, this is stated: ". These boots were made for Romans | Museum of London
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |