Medieval and Renaissance Men’s Costume Boots & Shoes
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Medieval and Renaissance
Men’s Costume Boots & Shoes
Men’s popular shoe style during Medieval times were made of leather with an extremely long, pointed toe design called poulaines. Only men wore poulaines and the length of the toe was suppose to signify the length of the man’s penis. Over exagerations yet again. This pointed toe design is one which would come and go from the Medieval era into the Renaissance era as styles changed, but they never returned to the length of the Medieval poulaines.
Footwear for most common men during the 1300s – 1400s in Europe were usually a leather turn shoe. A turn shoe is a type of soft leather shoe which got its name because it was sewn together inside out, and then it was turned right-side-out when finished; hiding the seams.
During the Renaissance between 1550 – 1600, men’s boots and shoes took on a very flamboyant, almost feminine style, by the wealthy noblemen of court. Noblemen wore shoes made of soft leather, velvet, satin or silk which were highly embellished with ribbon bows, lace, pompoms, and jewels. The shoes, which looked very much like women’s modern-day Mary Janes, had higher 2-inch heels.
These shoes were seldom worn outside unless covered with a patten. A patten was a carved thick wooden-soled sandal, much like a type of clog or overshoe. They were often worn outdoors over the elaborate, delicate shoes in both good and bad weather to protect them from the muck in the streets, and from the elements. The elaborately designed shoes were generally not waterproof.
In Venice, Italy, These Platform Mules
Were Called Chopine
They had platform soles which would sometimes raise the wearer as high as two feet off the ground, making it less apt to getting the shit (literally) in the streets on the aristocratic clothing.
Here at Deluxe Adult Costumes we have selected a wide variety of men’s footwear acceptable to wear with both Medieval and Renaissance costumes.
Men’s Medieval Leather Ankle Shoes
Table of Contents
Prior to the 12th-century and up to the Renaissance era, most shoes for peasants and Kings were handmade leather footwear. Sinew from cows and sheep were dried and used for lacings to sew the leather pieces together, however, spun thread was also used. The thread was made from spun wool way before the Middle Ages. All sewing was done by hand as the sewing machine wasn’t invented until the late 18th-century.
Shoes such as these with the turned up toes became very popular across Europe after the bubonic plague of the Black Death in the 1300s. Although women’s shoes didn’t change much, men’s shoes became more extreme, elongated, and frivolous for the upper-class. Eventually they went from up-turned to becoming long pointed shoes called crakows and poulaines.
Due to the Sumptuary Laws of the realm, only royalty and the highest-ranking noblemen were allowed to wear red shoes. These laws came into effect in the early 11th-century in Europe but had been practiced for centuries. The first record we have of these laws ordained to separate the poor from the wealthy began in Rome at the beginning of 215 BC.
Exact replicas of the thong shoes found in the archeological dig of Tallinn, Estonia. These same thong shoes have been found in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Germany. Thong shoes are constructed in the 13th and 14th-century of slits in the leather shafts and leather thongs woven in and out of the slits then tied in the front of the shoe. The thong shoes found in Tallinn were simple and modest in their construction with very little if any decorations.
Made of high-quality leather, these historically accurate Medieval shoes will last through many costume events including LARP, RPG, and SCA events. Include them into your Renaissance and Viking costume wardrobes.
Men’s Medieval Ankle Boots
Ankle boots worn during the Medieval period were made from tanned leather and not suede. The manufacturing of suede didn’t occur until sometime in the late 1790s to the early 1800s. During the Middle Ages up to present times, animal skins were tanned by soaking the skins in a solution of lye and wood ash along with the brains of the animal whose skin was being tanned. It is a well-known fact that every animal has the brains to tan its own hide. (A little backwoods joke.)
In modern day manufacturing, faux suede is the most common material used in the creation of Medieval and Renaissance costume boots. Faux suede is usually a synthetic manmade fabric. I have tried to find both genuine leather suede and vegan suede, but the real suede is not always easy to find in costume footwear.
The Medieval suede-type ankle boots featured above are not really suede. They are actually made from microfiber material. They are made without the injuring of any animals and are a great substitute for a genuine suede leather costume boot. When I say “costume boot”, I am not referring to a street shoe that will give you a lot of uses like a pair of genuine leather boots. Costume boots are not made to last for years like real leather boots. With that being said, these are well-made costume boots that will get you through many costume seasons as long as you’re not sloshing through the mud at an all-day Ren Fest. Rain and mud are not their friends.
Men’s Medieval Tallinn Style Genuine Leather
Ankle Boots
Premium leather handmade Medieval boots have double straps detailed with rawhide leather whip-stitch lacing. The strap closures are accented with black faux deer horn toggles for a more authentic rustic Medieval look. Great shoes to use at LARP, RPG, Cosplay, Renaissance Fairs, or reenactment events.
Men’s Medieval Mid-Calf Boots
Men’s Medieval 5-Buckle Pointed Toe Mid-Calf
Flat Black Boots
Medieval leather boots with 5-buckle strap design and are handmade. The boots have been designed using a Medieval pattern but using modern technology by adding rubber to the sole.
Men’s Medieval High-Quality Handmade Leather Mid-Calf Double Tie Boots
A little more unique from the usual Medieval lace-up boots you normally see around. These high-quality leather boots are historically accurate. They are tied with double lacings which have been woven in and out of the boot shaft to tie in the front of the boot tongue. Be prepared to have extra leather lacings on hand as the lacings will wear out over time. This is normal wear-and-tear for handmade leather boot lacings.
Rustic looking leather boots with leather cord lacings is the way most people imagine the boots from the Iron Age to the Medieval era. The next selections of Medieval knee-high boots won’t disappoint. They are an excellent choice for many different costumes from this timeline in history from European peasant to Viking warrior.
Men’s shoes continued to evolve during the Renaissance into fancy frivolous extreme designs for the elite classes. However, for the lower class of men and for women, they remained pretty much the same. Lower-classes could not afford the upper-class designs nor would the Sumptuary Laws permit them to wear such shoes even if they made the shoes themselves.
Green is a great color for a costume boot as it can be worn many times with many costume changes. As an example, not only for a Renaissance Faire, but think Robin Hood, Peter Pan, an elf, a woodland sprite, a huntsman, just to name a few. Can you think of more?
Not authentic replicated boots, as they are not made from leather and there were not any rubber-soled boots in those days. However, they will work as excellent Medieval Renaissance costume accessories for any man’s Renaissance Fair or Halloween costume.
I wouldn’t recommend them for reenactment events, as they are great costume boots, but they are not durable enough to withstand a lot of active action movement. I also do not recommend wearing them for streetwear boots. They are not made for that type of wear and tear. Again I must stress, most (but not all) of the shoes and boots featured on this page are costume boots and not made for everyday street wear.
Similar in design to the first pair of Renaissance peasant boots featured above, except these two pairs have only 2 tie flaps instead of 3 flaps. This can be a good thing as it will save time tying the boots when putting them on. This style of boots doesn’t really give any leg support so I don’t think that will be an issue. The flaps are quite a bit wider than the flaps on the previous pairs so it probably isn’t an issue at all and more of a decorative thing. These peasant boots are made out of microfiber fabric, and not leather.
Great boots to wear with a peasant shirt, a doublet vest, a pair of full Renaissance breeches, and a waistsash for a simple peasant outfit to wear to the fair.
Men’s Renaissance Button Lace-up Knee-High Black
Faux Leather Boot
An epic pair of boots to wear to the Renaissance Festival. They will provide all day comfort while enhancing the look of the Renaissance costume. If planning on using them during the fall for Halloween or a winter costume event, order a size up for thicker warm winter socks.
Men’s Renaissance Privateer Swordsmen Boots
Boots to be worn with Renaissance Musketeer, Swordsmen, Cavalier, Huntsmen, Pirate costumes. Wear them to Renaissance Fairs, Cosplay events, Pirate Festivals, Reenactment, LARP, and RPG costume events.
A fantastic looking pair of faux leather boots to wear with a variety of different Renaissance costumes from a nobleman to a swordsman or a pirate. The boots have an attractive two-tone detailed Fleur De Lis pattern holding the side lacings and accenting the folded cuff. I love them paired with a Musketeer Costume.
As a very versatile style boot, I like this boot to wear with a Medieval or Renaissance Peasant costume. It can also be worn with a swordsman or musketeer costume, a huntsman, woodsman, or Robin Hood costume.
King Henry VIII, from the Tudor family line, is seen in many of his portraits from the mid-1500s wearing embroidered velvet slip-on bar-shaped shoes.
The shoes are shaped in a rectangular bar, squared at the toes, and resembling flat duck bills since fashion had not yet determined a left or right foot shoe.
Shown below are several modern day examples of slip-on velvet shoes which can be worn with any King Henry, nobleman, or Renaissance costume.
These shoes found on the Mary Rose, a ship belonging to King Henry VIII, look like modern-day slip-on loafers, but were in fact, the shoes of working sailormen. Most of the shoes found on the ship were found stowed below bunks because it was much safer working on decks barefoot than it was wearing slippery shoes without grips. There wasn’t much difference in the shoes of peasant class men and women, during the 1500s. The shoes were interchangeable, having no left or right foot and were usually unadorned.
Men’s Renaissance Flat Shoes
Men’s shoes continued to evolve during the Renaissance into fancy frivolous extreme designs for the elite-classes. However, for the lower-class of men and for women, they remained pretty much the same. Lower-classes could not afford the upper-class designs nor would the Sumptuary Laws permit them to wear such shoes even if they made the shoes themselves.
The slip-on loafers featured above can easily be worn as accessories to your Renaissance costume as well as worn as a casual shoes on the streets of New York or any other fashion city.
I hope you were able to find a pair of shoes or boots, to wear to your upcoming Renaissance costume event from among the men’s foorwear I have chosen to feature here.
Keep in mind there are only three really important things to remember when searching for the perfect shoes to wear with your Medieval Renaissance costumes….
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Medieval and Renaissance
