The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-09-23
HISTORY OF THE SHOE.
Tae Foot Gear First Worn by tho Ro.
mans.

The fact that Cesar, so minute in his mo-
ticing and recital of details, says not word
about shoes when describing the dress of
the tattooed savages of Kent and Middlesex,
would seem to indicate that they did not
wear any; though, as they were in constant
communication with Britain and Armorica,
as also with Northern Gaul and Belgica,
where sandals were worn, it is not improb-
able that they wore that form of pedal COW
ering. But with the conquest of the Britons
by the Romans came shoes, the adoption Of
which by nationsihas in all ages marked
the line dividing barbarism from ciyiliza-
ton. Barefoot savages is what we think
of first when tho idea of barbarisln is sug-
gested; while civilization md refinement
might with almost equal propriety be repre-
sented by nicely finished and highly pol
ished pair of shoes. Significant, too, is IL
not that the withdrawal Of tho Romans
and the consequent partial relapse of the
Britains into barbarian, while these allowed
their gods and Roman baths to go and their
Roman walls and buildings to crumble into
ruins, they chung to the shoes, as drown
ing man might to straw, evidently regard
ing 1t as their last hope the one important
fixed and immutable article to lay hold of in
shifting and changeable world the badge
and evidence of civilization and comfort
and progress. So we find that shoes con-
tinued to be worn even in tho dark days of
King Canute, of sea commanding and cour-
tier snubbing celebrity, and as for the Court
of Edward the Confessor, oil the world
knows 1t copied the Norman dress, of which
the shoe was o most prominent feature, with
seryile exactness. It appears, then, that at
the time Of the Norman Conquest, that is in
1906 or thereabouts, boots and shoes, more
or less rich and fanciful, were worn by the
Saxon thames, while the ceoris (Anglice,
churls) or peasants, followed the plough in
strong shoes and the theowes, or slaves,
went habitually barefoot. The hardy noun
taineers of Wales, who seldom wore any
covering on their feet, arc expressly stated
to have outstripped the pursuit of the heavi-
ly armed English soldiers, among their ma
tive crags and peaks in consequence of their
contempt of shoes; while the Scottish bor-
derers obtained the well known name OF
" Roughfoots, from their habit of wearing
q sort of shaggy buskin of red deer's hide
with the hair on.
The Normans, always prone to extrava-
gance in apparel, being by nature and GUS
tom " dudes y of the very first water, were
especially finical and dainty in all that re-
lated to their shoes and boots. Indeed,
from the reign of Rufus (anglice, The Red,
or, as Celts would say, Ruadh y to the
Tudor epoch, fashion was permitted to play
some OF the most singular freaks in this re-
spect that ever human caprice devised.
During some Plantagenet reigns the toes OF
knightly shoes were turned up in imitation
of rams horn, and. in extreme cases, the
points were absolutely linked with golden
chains to the knees Of the chivalrous wearer,
who was, of course, debarred from keeping
his feet in the stirrups when on horseback.
Under other princes they spread out as
broadly as the plumage of fan-tailed pig
con. Shoe and Leather Rerieso.