A. CHOPINE; B, BUSKIN; C, PEAKED SHOE; D, TUDOR SHOE. MILITARY BOOTS AND SPURS USED AT THE BATTLE OF NASEBY.
In speaking of curious foot-gear, the under covering of the leg and pedal extremities must be briefly referred to. Ancient works on costume frequently mention hose, socks, and stockings, which were made of woollen cloth, leather, or linen, and held in place by cross-bands of the material twisted to a little below the knee, either in close rolls, like the hay-bands of the modern ostler, or crossing each other sandal-wise, as they are now worn in some districts of Europe, particularly in Russia and Spain. Cloth stockings, embroidered with gold, are among the articles of dress ordered by Henry III. for his sister Isabel; and of a woman mentioned in the "Canterbury Tales," it is said: "Hire hosen weren of fine scarlet redde, ful streite yteyed (tied), and shoon full moist (supple) and newe."
ANCIENT SHOES—A, B, C, D, E, EGYPTIAN; F, PERSIAN; G, H, GREEK; I, J, K, L, PHRYGIAN AND DACIAN.
In the reign of Henry VII. clocks on stockings are discernible; and the Poet Laureate of this king, describing the dress of the hostess of an inn, gives an indication of how boots were cleaned:
"She hobbles as she goes,
With her blanket hose,
Her shoone smeared with tallow."
It is supposed that hose or stockings of silk were unknown in this country before the middle of the 16th century. A pair of Spanish silk hose was presented by Sir Thomas Gresham to Edward VI., his father never having worn any but those made of cloth. In the reign of good Queen Bess, nether socks or stockings were of silk, jarnsey, worsted crewel, or the finest yarn, thread, or cloth, and were of all colours, "cunningly knit and curiously indented in every point, with querks, clocks, open seams, and everything else accordingly." Planché states, in the third year of Elizabeth, Mistress Montague, the Queen's silk-woman, presented Her Majesty with a pair of black silk knit stockings, made in England; and from that time she wore no others, in the laudable desire to encourage their home manufacture by her own example. The Queen's patronage, and the invention, in 1599, of a weaving frame, by William Lee, Master of Arts, and Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, gave a great impetus tus to the stocking trade, which has been carried on with considerable success ever since, particularly in the Midland counties of England.
Spurs can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period, which is quite far enough for this purpose. They had no rowels, but were made with a simple point like a goad, and were fastened with leathers. Early in the 15th century spurs were screwed on to a steel shoe, instead of being fastened with straps. They were long in the neck, and the spikes of the rowels of formidable dimensions. From a sketch of a spur worn at the Battle of Naseby, in the reign of Charles I., it will be seen that, as progress was made in armour and military gear, considerable attention was paid to this portion of the soldier's outfit; indeed, it was more elaborate in design than is now considered necessary. From a very early period spurs have been used by both sexes.
A curious custom was in vogue at the beginning of the present century for ladies to make their own indoor shoes. This fashion was inaugurated by Queen Charlotte, who was particularly deft in handling a beautiful set of shoemaker's tools, mounted in silver, with ivory handles. Tradesmen bitterly complained that worktables in boudoirs were strewn with the implements of their craft; but, like many other feminine fads, it soon passed away. About this period clogs were also used. These were made of wood, and served as a protection to shoes out of doors. A similar contrivance, with the addition of an iron ring, leather strap and toe-cap, is still sometimes worn by farm servants, and is called a patten. Another form of clog, consisting of a laced leather boot with wooden sole, is extensively used by the working classes in the North of England, and the sabot, a wooden shoe, is the ordinary foot-gear of peasants on the Continent.
It is well known that Chinese women of high rank deform their feet by compressing them in such a manner that it is afterwards almost impossible to walk; and in Davis' interesting description of the Empire of China, he relates that whenever a judge of unusual integrity resigns his post, the people accompany him from his home to the gates of the city, where his boots are drawn off with great ceremony, and are afterwards preserved in the Hall of Justice.