Again their notion of high heels and nobility went with them. Before and after the civil war many southerners emigrated to Texas or went west to escape the devastation of the war. Many settled in the south and indeed the bulk of the southern plantation class was descended from cavalier stock a fact that played a big part in the unfolding of the American Civil War and the pre-eminence of the southern cavalry. The Stuart cavaliers-king's men all-that immigrated to America during the Cromwellian Interregnum brought with them their thigh high riding boots.with high heels. To this day, we say well-heeled to describe someone who is wealthy or aristocratic. Since owning and caring for a horse requires some wealth and since being horseback places a person physically above the common man, riders and, consequently, high heels became associated with nobility. Mongols were consummate horsemen and their easy victories left a mark on European society. The earliest information we have of the high heel being used for riding, describes invading Mongol tribesmen wearing bright red wooden heels. Indeed the heel itself is a mark of nobility. Hugh's Bones.Ī common thread in these stories, and the many others that surround shoemakers, is the theme of nobility. For many years, in fact, a shoemaker's tool kit was called St. These were made into tools for making shoes. After his death, by hanging, his friends pulled his body from the gibbet and dried his bones. Legend has it that his fellow shoemakers kept constant vigil and consoled him during the time of his internment. Both he and Winifred were put to death, ostensibly for rabble-rousing, about 300 A.D. Thrown into poverty, Hugh became a shoemaker who preached the gospel by day and plied his craft by night. She quickly converted him to Christianity, with roughly the same results. Hugh married a Christian princess, Winifred of Flintshire. Born Hugh, son of Arviragus-king of Powisland (modern day Wales), St. Although teaching the gospel was his life's work, he made shoes in his spare time-until he was put to death for his beliefs in Soissons, France in 288 A.D. Crispin (not yet a saint) became a shoemaker. Forced to fall back upon his own resources, St. Since this was not an approved lifestyle for a noble Roman, legend says that he was disinherited. Somewhere fairly early on, he converted to Christianity. Crispin was born into a wealthy roman family in the third century A.D. Crispin than meets the eye.Īctually there are two stories that seem to be the same.one in England, one in France. I say commemoration because there is more to the story of St. In the past, boot and shoemakers traditionally closed their shops on this day, in celebration and commemoration. Crispins Day and the Shoemaker's Holiday. Since medieval times, October 25th has been celebrated as St. Crispin is the patron saint of shoemakers. But within the trade itself-among shoe and bootmakers-the legends, the traditions, and the history really begin with St. We could start on the great plains of North America in the latter half of the 19th century according to some theories we could even start with the conquistadors in the 17th century. And Gentlemen in England Now A-bed Shall Think Themselves Accursed They Were Not Here,Īnd Hold Their Manhoods Cheap Whiles Any Speaks That Fought With Us Upon Saint Crispin's Day.Īlthough shoemaking has been an established art for at least 3500 years, any review of the history of the cowboy boot must begin somewhere.
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