Comitatus Kit Guide Making Shoes

Comitatus Shoe making Guide

Stephen Kenwright and John Conyard For a more thorough discussion of Late Roman footwear, see the article 'In Their Shoes' y Ste Kenwright! Choices To re"enact Late Roman military life, you don't need a spatha, mail, or a helmet, ut you do need decent footwear! The main options for are# $% sandals, shoes or oots! &% ho nailed or plain soles Roman dress is 'ery comforta le in hot weather and Roman sandal styles are actually still fashiona le, as well as practical, ut one must e realistic a out the (reat )ritish Summer# there will pro a ly e rain and almost certainly mud to contend with at times not to mention the horses* Soldiers will need shoes or oots# there is much etter e'idence for shoes in the late C+th, and they particularly suit ca'alry and Li'ing ,istory, ut most of us prefer etter an-le support for marches and infantry displays! ,o nails are slippy on flagstones and rocand might ha'e to e remo'ed for some floors and groundsheets, whilst plain soles are slippy on wet grass, mud, long grass or slopes! Soldiers will e.perience more pro lems with the latter, so most start with ho nailed an-le oots and then sort out a pair of plain soled shoes for the odd indoor or town" ased occasion! For more pedestrian /couldn't resist, sorry% Li'ing ,istory you might find the opposite more con'enient! Dura boots 0any mem ers wear the empire"wide C1rd style usually termed calcei an-le oots /termed the 2Ramshaw3 y Carol 'an 4riel"0urray and pi.ie oots y fans%, which gi'e good an-le support and -eep the weather out surprisingly well! ,owe'er, they are tric-y to ma-e, re5uiring some s-ill with lasting, si6ing, shaping and assem ling components, with inner and outer sole, triangular heel stiffener thinned towards the top, 'amp"to"toe seam, integral laces 7 eyelets and ho nails! Finds from 8wammerdam and 9indolanda can apparently e used as the asis for a pattern!

Typical 1rd century calceus reconstruction Salvianus Page$ of $: Stephen Kenwright 2008

Comitatus Kit Guide Making Shoes They can e made with strong enough leather to pro'ide good an-le support and carry a om "proof e.ternal sole strong enough for hea'y ho nailing! The integral laces are a potential wea- point, so err on the wider side at first! 0ost find the commercial 'ersions from e!g! ;lantagenet Shoes cost effecti'e considering time, materials, 5uality and dura ility!

8wammerdam an-le oot of lasted construction /after )ishop 7 Coulston &::<%

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Comitatus Kit Guide Making Shoes

Late C1rd lasted low shoe from 9indolanda unfolded upper showing lasting margin /dashed line%, outer and inner sole /after 'an 4riel"0urray &::$% Fell boots early &nd century 9indolanda finds include other enclosed e.ternal sole an-le oots which had separate laces, called 2Fell oots3 y Carol 'an 4riel"0urray and the 2Chesterholm3 with o'al, rather than round, lace holes! =hile these finds are e'en earlier than the 4ura >uropos type calcei, illustrations in the possi ly )ritish C?th Vergilius Romanus manuscript seem to show roadly similar oots, which suggest reconstructions might e co" opted for the Late and Su "Roman periods /although ho nails are strictly Roman%! Ready made and ho nailed 'ersions of these and other styles ha'e een offered at a discounted price for Comitatus group mem ers y ma-er Ro in )rown of the Legio 9III, trading as Rigor'ali at http#@@www!rigore'ali!co!u-@ " en5uire politely efore ordering! They are also hard to ma-e yourself, ut a cheap imitation can e made y modifying the 4eepee-a model of the 4ura >uropos type calceus, cutting off the laces and trimming the an-le height, then holing and re"lacing with separate leather thonging! One piece shoes or carbatinae are of simpler construction and can e worn with an e.ternal sole and inner soles for comfort and dura ility! The typical C&nd " 1rd forms consisted of pierced rays, loops or Aust lace holes set around the sole which are simply gathered up o'er the foot and laced closed li-e a highland dancer's ghillie, centrally or meeting closer to one side! 0ore sophisticated 'ersions with more shaped 'amps were found with the early C+th ca'alry helmet at 4eurne! Fortunately, they are surprisingly easy to ma-e yourself, so this guide will focus on them! Salvianus Page1 of $: Stephen Kenwright 2008

Comitatus Kit Guide Making Shoes

Materials Footwear can e made from 'egeta le tanned cow leather a'aila le e!g! from# http#@@www!lepre'o!co!u-@hides!html or rawhide! Bou will enefit from thic- hide /e!g! ?mm% for e.ternal soles /say C@D o6%! Bou can use soft hide for the upper, for e.ample +@? o6, although some e.periments suggest thic-er leather can still e an ad'antage! Bou will need an awl, leather needles, pliers, strong linen thread, a craft -nife and something to cut on, some newspaper @ card to draw patterns on, a felt mar-er and perhaps a pair of scissors, some plastic ags and a role of gaffer tape! To attach an e.ternal sole, you can sew them or use ho nails! (ood nails come from Ste'e 4unford, :$D<1 &$:D?D, www!dunfordD?!freeser'e!co!u- Ee.t est are Fle ;re'oG ho nails and carpet tac-s pro'ide a cheap su stitute! For really good marching soles on strong leather use +: nails per shoe, C: the pair! For lighter use, &:"1: per shoe will do, which was common in the C+th ! The nails clamp the soles together, so when you use &?mm of sole, use &Cmm nails! If you use $:mm soles, you use $&"$? mm nails etc! Some originals were sewn as well as nailed, which may help to pre'ent gaps opening up and to -eep water out! Some mem ers ha'e 'ery successfully used 0i-e )ishop's drawing of the 4uerne find as a pattern for the low carbatina shoe so typical of our period! The actual 4eurne find is sewn, without nails or additional soles and is presuma ly a riding shoe, not made for hea'y duty wal-ing, ut statues show thic-er soled 'ersions, such as the Tetrarchs, now in 9enice, /though the pronounced wedge elow is pro a ly an artistic effect%!

Statue of the Tetrarchs, 9enice

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Comitatus Kit Guide Making Shoes

C+th 4eurne Shoe /after )ishop 7 Coulston &::<% Salvianus Page? of $: Stephen Kenwright 2008

Comitatus Kit Guide Making Shoes Method 4raw a round your foot and cut it out to ma-e a sole template, then ma-e a pattern to fit it# print out and low the picture up to H1 on a copier until the sole outline is I inch less than your actual sole si6e! Jne needn't worry a out the fancy decorated cut"outs! Hs the original has li-ely distorted whilst in the ground and feet are 'ery 'aried in shape, this is not an e.act science, so e ra'e* Some mem ers ha'e made up a trial piece in a cheap it of leatherette etc! so they -now they are happy with the design efore cutting out their est leather! It will help you to cut out if you can print the final 'ersion of the pattern onto card! It's a good idea to -eep a spare or two in case of wear 7 tear in the cutting process* Jne method to fit shoes to the foot more e.actly is to wrap a plastic ag around the foot /with any soc-s you intend to use on%, then wrap this with a good layer of gaffer tape so it conforms to the foot and reaches to the desired height on the an-le! Kse scissors to cut the mold off your foot carefully, slitting it Aust enough to allow you to open it out flat, lea'ing the rough shape of the 4eurne pattern or similar when flat# you now ha'e a tape ased pattern which will fit li-e a glo'e or, if youG'e done really well, li-e a shoe! Bou can transfer that to card, or Aust use it to si6e the a o'e pattern more e.actly! This gi'es you the shape of the upper, with integral sole! Bou can choose to add multiple e.tra sole layers if you wish To do this, use your sole template to cut a few e.tra soles, ta-ing ?mm off all around your sole template for the shape of the inner sole! Jne can uild up to &?mm high from ? layers L this was done mostly with insoles on C&nd finds from ,ard-nott fort, with ? or < laminae laced together efore nailing! Eote that insoles of 'arying thic-ness could e used to gi'e additional height at the ac- of the foot, ut strictly spea-ing did not 'step up' li-e modern heels! Sew the shoes up inside out! Bou Aust need to stitch at the ac- and front! H 'ariety of stitches were used in Roman times, including tunnel stitch e!g! for the concealed seams of heel reinforcements! Kppers were usually Aoined with plain or lap seams, ut some were utted! Eote that on the originals, the toe area was sewn to to the upper at the top, gi'ing a slightly moccasin loo-, rather than at the sole le'el, presuma ly to reduce wear and tear and water lea-s! Soa- the shoe and turn it rightside out! 4ry it off! Eail the e.ternal soles to the upper, clamping the nails o'er! Stic- your insole inside! Stic- in a piece of leather as a heal stiffener! Bou can stain them lac-! Rip"cord around the edges for a special finish! It should loo- li-e this / ut hopefully in etter condition*%#

The 4uerne shoe $ assem led Salvianus Page< of $: Stephen Kenwright 2008

Comitatus Kit Guide Making Shoes

The 4eurne shoe $ assem led

The 4eurne find included two low shoes generally identified as campagi militares /early C+th%%

The 'ery low @ open campagus seems to ha'e de'eloped an assymetric cutting pattern! Hn earlier e.ample from Low ,am can form the asis of a pattern for reconstructions! >.amples from the Eetherlands demonstrate the 'ariety of forms possi le!

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Comitatus Kit Guide Making Shoes

Low ,am campagus cutting pattern, early C+th /after 'an 4riel"0urray $DCM%

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Comitatus Kit Guide Making Shoes

Late Roman footwear from CuiA-, Eetherlands, replicas y Jlaf (ou it6 /after 'an 4riel"0urray &::M%

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Comitatus Kit Guide Making Shoes

Sandal from CuiA-, Eetherlands C+th

Sandals Jpen topped solea are simple to ma-e for light use! The soles can e made dou le thic-ness and e'en ho nailed /though they are perhaps more useful plain, to slip on when you want to protect indoor flooring%! H thong is run y the ig toe is pushed through a slit in the soles and held y a heart shaped end Aust li-e modern 'flip"flops', or threaded ac- for strength, as a o'e! They can ha'e an-le straps added to -eep them on more securely! 4ecoration scored set in from the edge /when the leather is wet% is typical of our period, echoing the mar-s of thonging or nailing on dou le soles e'en when single! ,appy co ling together*

Than-s to 0artin 0oser, ;aul >lliott and 'arious mem ers of Comitatus for their help in preparing this article!

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