\Clay"more`\,
n. [Gael. claidheamhmor a broadsword; Gael. claidheamh sword + mor
great, large. Cf. Claymore.] A large two-handed sword used formerly
by the Scottish Highlanders.
In
the Dark Ages, the period of time during and after the fall
of the Western Roman Empire when classical arts and knowledge
were all but lost, craftsmanship and the quality of products
declined. Common people wore rough clogs and the art of sandal-making
was nearly lost to the West. Elaborate sandals were still
produced of soft leather or fabric with leather soles in Byzantium
(Eastern Roman Empire) into the 5th century.
These
shoes and boots were often heavily and ornately decorated
with gold and gems. Later, as early European Christians began
to incorporate their religion into their everyday life, shoes
gained a religious significance. Color was specific to rank
and privilege and shoes were among the most sought after gifts
of the time. The cost of shoes was high and often family members
would bequeath their footwear to another member of the family
when they died. It is from this tradition we gain the saying
"walking in your father's footsteps." Wealthy or
noble women of the time wore flat-soled leather slippers died
in red, green, purple, or white. Wealthy male citizens often
wore leather boots with ornamental ties on the outside of
the calf while soldiers wore leather soled boots which required
no fastening. Romans may have created sophisticated shoes,
but shoes in Europe during this time period remained fairly
simple items. The Saxon invaders to Britain introduced a turned
shoes - shoes that were stitched together while inside-out
and then turned and closed with some sort fastening - however
on the Continent the Roman style of sewing uppers with thread
and sticthing on soles with leather thongs persisted. The
turned shoe does not appear to be in use before about 600
CE. Saxons had several styles of shoe, including an ankle-boot
style, a slipper, and a kind of leather boot. The first buckles
and shoelaces appear to have come into use at this time as
evidence has been found of shoe buckes in Merovingian graves
and of bronze aglets (the tips placed on shoelaces) on cords.
Eventually, though, the most common style of shoe in most
regions was the turned shoe. These shoes were usually ankle-high
and fastened by way of a triangular flap which covered the
ankle and attached with a latchet or tied to slits in the
leather.
The
Middle Ages / "The Medieval Era"
By the 11th century, linen had replace leather as the material
used to stitch soles to uppers. "Waisted" soles
(soles which narrowed at the arch of the foot) and round heels
were the standard. William the Conquerer invaded England in
1066 and was crowned William I on Christmas Day 1066. His
successor, William II, introduced a fashion for pointed shoes
which remained popular and became more exaggerated over the
next 300 years. These long toed shoes, called poulaines or
Crackowe shoes, were fashionable for men and lengths for these
shoes were eventually legislated by sumptuary laws. Young
men would stuff wool and moss into the ponted extensions to
keep them erect and soon the style began to include chains
that attached to the knee in order to prevent tripping. It
was at this point that the vulgar trend of painting these
extensions in a flesh color began, and a favorite pastime
of the younger crowd was to stand on the street and wiggle
their feet suggestively at any young lady who happened by.
The
Roman Catholic Church was shocked by the obscenity of the
poulaines and banned them on the pretext that men could not
kneel to pray while wearing them. The majority of the population
ignored the Church's edict , though university professors
were banned from wearing them. Then in 1347, at the height
of the Black Plague, clergy named the Plague as God's revenge
for wearing poulaines. Still, the style prevailed until the
length of the shoes was legislated to denote a person's social
status. Pointed shoes were prohibited to anyone who did not
have an income of at least 40 pounds per year (the average
income of most peasants at the time was from 12-20 shillings).
A commoner was permitted no more than 6 inches, a bourgeois
landowner could have points no longer than 12 inches, a knight
could have up to 18 inches, barons were allowed up to 24 inches,
and princes and kings could wear any length they liked. In
1367 Pope Urban V banned commoners from wearing pointed shoes
by threatening excommunication or even death for the lowest
classes of society, but he turned a blind eye to the nobility
which gave them free license to wear the poulaine. The fashion
or pointed shoes reached a peak around 1460 when Edward IV
created a law prohibiting shoemakers from making shoes with
more than two inch extensions for "underprivileged"
people. The fashion finally died out a few years later in
part because of two events: Duke Leopold II of Austria died
because his long, pointed shoes prevented him from escaping
assassins, and King Charles VIII of France had six toes on
each foot, requiring him to ware broad square-toed shoes.
Fashion follows the ruling class and so fashion changed to
follow Charles the VIII.
These
shoes and boots were often heavily and ornately decorated
with gold and gems. Later, as early European Christians began
to incorporate their religion into their everyday life, shoes
gained a religious significance. Color was specific to rank
and privilege and shoes were among the most sought after gifts
of the time. The cost of shoes was high and often family members
would bequeath their footwear to another member of the family
when they died. It is from this tradition we gain the saying
"walking in your father's footsteps." Wealthy or
noble women of the time wore flat-soled leather slippers died
in red, green, purple, or white. Wealthy male citizens often
wore leather boots with ornamental ties on the outside of
the calf while soldiers wore leather soled boots which required
no fastening. Romans may have created sophisticated shoes,
but shoes in Europe during this time period remained fairly
simple items. The Saxon invaders to Britain introduced a turned
shoes - shoes that were stitched together while inside-out
and then turned and closed with some sort fastening - however
on the Continent the Roman style of sewing uppers with thread
and sticthing on soles with leather thongs persisted. The
turned shoe does not appear to be in use before about 600
CE. Saxons had several styles of shoe, including an ankle-boot
style, a slipper, and a kind of leather boot. The first buckles
and shoelaces appear to have come into use at this time as
evidence has been found of shoe buckes in Merovingian graves
and of bronze aglets (the tips placed on shoelaces) on cords.
Eventually, though, the most common style of shoe in most
regions was the turned shoe. These shoes were usually ankle-high
and fastened by way of a triangular flap which covered the
ankle and attached with a latchet or tied to slits in the
leather. 
The
Middle Ages / "The Medieval Era"
The
Roman Catholic Church was shocked by the obscenity of the
poulaines and banned them on the pretext that men could not
kneel to pray while wearing them. The majority of the population
ignored the Church's edict , though university professors
were banned from wearing them. Then in 1347, at the height
of the Black Plague, clergy named the Plague as God's revenge
for wearing poulaines. Still, the style prevailed until the
length of the shoes was legislated to denote a person's social
status. Pointed shoes were prohibited to anyone who did not
have an income of at least 40 pounds per year (the average
income of most peasants at the time was from 12-20 shillings).
A commoner was permitted no more than 6 inches, a bourgeois
landowner could have points no longer than 12 inches, a knight
could have up to 18 inches, barons were allowed up to 24 inches,
and princes and kings could wear any length they liked. In
1367 Pope Urban V banned commoners from wearing pointed shoes
by threatening excommunication or even death for the lowest
classes of society, but he turned a blind eye to the nobility
which gave them free license to wear the poulaine. The fashion
or pointed shoes reached a peak around 1460 when Edward IV
created a law prohibiting shoemakers from making shoes with
more than two inch extensions for "underprivileged"
people. The fashion finally died out a few years later in
part because of two events: Duke Leopold II of Austria died
because his long, pointed shoes prevented him from escaping
assassins, and King Charles VIII of France had six toes on
each foot, requiring him to ware broad square-toed shoes.
Fashion follows the ruling class and so fashion changed to
follow Charles the VIII.