Two Soles from Children’s Shoes, a Man’s Shoe and a Woman’s Shoe, from Oxford: 14th century

The two little soles as well as the two complete shoes are from "turnshoes", made by stitching upper to sole and then turning inside out to hide the coarse linen stitches - shoes were unlined, so they wouldn’t have been particularly comfortable when first put on, without a thick stocking.

Soles in Medieval times consisted of a single thickness of leather giving nothing like the protection and wear we would expect nowadays. Not everyone wore shoes at all times, as can be seen from illustrations in Medieval manuscripts.

It is interesting to see that by the 14th century, men’s and women’s shoe styles were quite different, the woman’s more open, and with a strap; the man’s more boot-like. The slashes near the toe were perhaps made to relieve corns or a bunion.

© 1998 Oxfordshire Museum Service, Setúbal Museums and the Benaki Museum