Pattens
Throughout at least the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, people of both genders and all social classes frequently wore wooden or leather overshoes when outdoors — or even indoors — to protect their shoes or boots. A casual glance through the iconography of the period, particularly for the late 14th and 15th centuries, will turn up dozens of examples of people wearing pattens, and of pattens themselves. Karen Larsdatter has begun a survey of examples in 15th century art, and over time I will add more to this page, as well as reconstructed pattens. Another source of a great deal of information about surviving pattens and fragments is of course the Shoes and Pattens book from the Museum of London.
If you're a lord or a lady, and you're portraying the high medieval period, then you should be wearing pattens if you're outside. If you're of lower classes, then it's less crucial to an accurate portrayal. From December 2005, I offer the service of custom-making pattens to my lord or ladies specifications. Keep your feet dry, and elevate yourself above the muck: wear pattens.
Products
Very loosely, there are three kinds of wooden pattens. All have a shape roughly the same as the shoe, but extended slightly
in front of the toe. There are usually straps across the front of the foot, buckled or tied, and sometimes straps around the ankle.
One style of patten is a simple wooden sole, not articulated. A more upmarket version has a hinge near the toes, and their are versions
without hinges but raised up on supports, something like a chopine, as shown in the image of the street sweeper on the right.
Unless specific timber is requested, my pattens are made from recycled Australian timbers, then well treated with oil and wax to protect them against damp. Price will be around $80.00 Australian, depending on the type of timber required, and the type or number of buckles.
If I'm making pattens for you, I will need a tracing of the sole of both shoes that you will be wearing them with, and it would also help if I had the measurements of your foot across the top at the widest part, and around your ankle. Ideally I will meet with you and discuss timbers, style, and what kind of fastening you want. I am particularly happy to make pattens which are as closely modelled from surviving examples or examples found in iconography, however be aware that most reproduction shoes and boots tend to be wider in the arch area than period examples, and for this reason the shape will be slightly different.
Please contact me for further details.
Samples
As I get more pattens made, and the photos of them scanned, I'll put up more representative examples here.
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These are an example of the hinged style, with an ankle strap and buckle. The ankle strap is designed to be laced across with a thong or lace, in this case. The wood is a recycled Australian hardwood, with many hand-rubbed layers of carnuba wax for protection. The hinge is positioned under or just in front of the ball of the foot. |
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A different version of the hinged style, made up in cigar box cedar, and treated with linseed oil. This pair has seen about four year’s wear, and are going strong. In the picture above, the left patten is on the right and vice versa (I didn't realise until I saw the photo). It may not be obvious from the pictures here, but the point of the toe actually curves slightly out, rather than in or straight ahead. This reduces the chances of tripping or catching the toe as you walk. |