Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1893 — SHOES OF PAST AGES. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SHOES OF PAST AGES.

QUEER FOOTGEAR WORN BY VARIOUS PEOPLES. Faihlons Among Early Christian*—Making ■hoes in Church—Wonderful Shoes of the Middle Ages—The Footwear of the Ancient Romans —Soles of Gold. Freaks in Bootmaking. SHOES afford a curious study. During the last twenty centuries they have undergone a revolution

that is most remarkable. The footgear of the early Christians was pf the plainest possible description. St. Jerome warned them against imitating frivolous persons who, he said, “take

■pedal pride in having their shoes clean and neat. ” The clergy in those days were the bootmakers. In order to escape the sin of idleness they were seen even in the churches and during services hard at work at that humble trade. Some of them were tailors, and these likewise brought their work to the sacred edifices. In the time of Charlemagne, says the Washington Star, shoes were not in general use, and that monarch habitually wore only bands of different colored cloth wound about his feet and legs. However, he had most elaborate shoes for state occasions, as is shown by those preserved to this day among the imperial treasures at Vienna. During the reign of the French King Louis the Debonnair it was the custom for sovereigns to send presents to the Pope at Rome, and shoes were always Included among the gifts. Saint Louis of France wore shoes with long points,

a pair of which are still preserved, to- j gather with other parts of his costume, at the Church of Poissy. A writer of that period, scandalized by the excessive luxury he witnessed, writes thus reproachfully of the young girls of his time: “Their clothes have lost all their old simplicity; their enormous cuffs, tight-fitting tunics, and shoes of which ' the pointed toes turn upward give evi- ■ deuce that they have lost all sense of | decency. ’’ Pointed Toe*. In the early part of the thirteenth century shoes began to have long pointed toes, both in France aqd England, and this fashion grew until the points were actually longer than the ehoes. These absurdities were called “poulaines,” and were Invented by the Chevalier Robert le Cornu. So uncomfortable were they, interfering seriously with ease of movement, that many people soon began to wear silver •nd gold chains attached to the points and held -by fastenings just below the knee. The uppers of these shoes were much decorated, often being cut out in letterings which related stories, some quaint and humorous and others obscene. They were adorned at the back with spurs. In war the poulaines were found so inconvenient that at the battle of Sempach, where Duke Leopold of Austria was killed, the officers decided to cut off the extra length of leather so that they might fight at ease. At one time the points were stiffened and turned upward, the ends being ornamented with griffins, unicorns and grotesque figures, while on the extreme point a bell was attached. The points of the poulaines were made longer or shorter, according to the rank of the wearer. With ordinary people they extended only six inches beyond the toe. With rich bourgeois the rule was one foot, with knights a foot and a half, and with noblemen two feet. Princes actually wore points two and a half feet long. The longer the shoe the prouder and more respected the man. The more grave and thought-

ful members of society resisted the dictates of fashion in this matter no more than the most frivolous of exquisites. Clergymen wore them, and that in spite of its being absolutely forbidden to do so. Limit* in Fashion* Kings issued edicts prohibiting such ridiculous footgear; the pulpits stormed against it; poets ridiculed it; papal bulls were uttered against it Nevertheless, for nearly three centuries the shoes with points held their own, Being even lengthened from time to time. In 1462 a statute of Edward IV. forbade English gentlemen below toe rank of baron to wear shoes with points more than six inches long. This decree was ratified by act of Parliament. But it was not until the first part of the sixteenth century that such footwear finally disappeared. In those days, when a fashion in shoes came into general use among the common people the nobles at once demanded something new from the bootmakers. Thus it was expected that gentlemen should exhibit good taste by a certain degree of originality in their footgear. Shoes in the seventeenth century were remarkable for the beauty of their shape and the elegance of the ornaments used on them. A boot that came in at this time was in odd contrast to the poulaine, being remarkably square in toe and having the broad end slashed so as to show-another color through the apertures. This style was particularly popalar in Germany, where some of the shoes at that epoch were digitated, with ‘fingers' for the toes like a glove. The most popular boot of that date was of soft kid with a large and decorated top, which fell about the calf of the leg. One variety of this style had a decoration at the Instep called a “windmill,” consisting of two wing-like additions, which stood out on either side. Heels were worn high. The materials then used in the manufacture of shoes ware numerous, including velvet, satin, cloth, silk and leather, all In a variety of colors, as well as .brocades of sliver and gold. At the court of Louis XIV. none but red heels wem

worn. For ladles* shoes and slippers the heels were made of wood. The shoes were covered with embroidery or braided. Fifty dollars was a small price paid for a chaussure in those days. From these gorgeous fashions shoes gradually came to assume simpler forms, being made of more serviceable materials. Thus, through the processes of an evolution in the direction of usefulness rather than beauty, the footgear of the present day has become what It is—rather comfortable than elegant Ancient Roman Footwear. Even the elaborate shoes of the middle ages were not so “expressed in fancy* as those used by the ancient Romans. The latter expended on their footgear all the decorations which their

Ingenuity could devise. Their bootmakers wore really artists. The shoes, especially those of women, were adorned with rich embroideries and with pearls. Virgil describes light boots garnished with gold and amber. Thq skins used were dyed with colors which cost fabulous prices. On some shoes precious stones sparkled, while others were decorated with engraved silver. Even the soles were made of solid gold. Such excessive luxury was not at all uncommon among the Romans, and to see a person shod with gold occasioned no remark. The enormous fortunes owned by some of the patricians made the extravagance seem only in keeping with their style of living. Subsequently shoes were made of purple kid. The shape of them was so elegant and the embroidery on them so perfect that they were actually preferred to those with golden soles and set with diamonds. The shoemakers’ art came at this time to closely approach that of the jeweler, and the brightest minds of that epoch did not consider It beneath them to design novelties In footwear. A little pinching was Indulged in by w some of the fair maidens, and lovers treasured their mistresses' shoes, the laces of a sandal being among the most coveted keepsakes. The shoes of the ancient Romans were of great variety. Those in most general use were of cloth on a leather sole, being somewhat like the shoes of the present day. They rose to about an inch and a half above the ankle, where they weie tied with a lacing. Another kind covered half the leg. A favorite sandal had the sole cut in the shape of a foot and was held in place by bandages of cloth or by strips of leather. This sort of sandal was worn particularly In the morning. Another description of sandal had a very heavy sole, two inches thick, and was worn by the common people. Another popular shoe was made of

leather, colored. Sometimes it covered half of the leg. Soldiers wore a kind of sandal, the sole of which was provided with heavy spikes. Toward the end of the Roman republic a fashionable foot equipment was in the shape of a glove, coming up well on the leg or only to just above the ankle, according to the fancy of the wearer. Stockings were then unknown. The customary chaussure of women in that day was very much like that of the men. Their shoes were usually white, though sometimes black, red, yellow, green and scarlet. They wore very heavy soles to their shoes in order to increase their apparent height as much as possible. A Reproach to Go Barefoot, Slaves in ancient Rome were obliged to go barefooted as a badge of their servitude. They were called “cretati,” because their feet were branded when they were sold, or “gypsati,” because their feet were dusty. Owing to this custom free men were most careful never to go out without shoes for fear oi being mistaken for slaves. Magicians when practicing their craft had one foot naked and the other in a shoe, which style was supposed to be an aid to their mysterious science. According to Homer the Greeks wore boots from the time when Agamemnon reigned, but it is probable that they only made use of them in battle, for the monuments which date from before the selge of Troy show the people of that day wearing a simple sole held on by bands of either leather or cloth wound several times around the ankle and sometimes continued half way up the leg. Ladles wore slippers. their boots and shoes, the Greeks had another style of footgear which was worn only Inside their houses. This did not cover the foot, being little more than a sole. For muddy roads they wore large, coarse and solidly made boots. Shoes of a certain pattern were called “Amycleldes, ” after the city Amyclis, where

they were manufactured. They were of a bright red color. Even at Athens many people went barefoot. Shoes in Lgypc. The monuments of ancient Egypt show figures of women wearing san- ' dais. Nevertheless Plutarch declares that the people of that country were accustomed to go barefoot. It is known that the Caliph Hakken, founder of the religion of the Druses, forbade the Egyptian shoemakers, under penalty of death, to make any sort of footgear for women. The ancient Egyptians wore; shoes which were quite remarkably like those of the nineteenth century, A. D. In ancient time a man’s nationality could be distinguished at a glance by

the style or eolor of his boots. The Assyrians were always shod In yellow, while the Tyrians preferred purple of the tint known as ox blood. Shoes among the Hebrews played an Important part in the ceremonies of life. It a man wished to sell an article he re« moved his footgear and did not resume It until he had made the sale. Before the marriage ceremony was performed among these people It was customary for the bridegroom to give a ring to the bride, to embrace her and to present her with a shoe. The Hebrews of old took off their shoes when in mourning or when in the presence of any person to whom they wished to show marked respect. They also left their shoes at the door on entering their houses. This custom is still followed by some of the Orientals. To a Mussulman a blow with' a slipper was formerly more dreadful than a stab with a dagger, as it disgraced him in the eyes of his fellows. The Inhabitants of the Maidive Islands seldom wear any foot covering in the street, though at home they put' on wooden sandals or slippers. However, if they have a visitor to whom they wish to show deference, they take off their shoes as a mark of respe t.