Sabatons

Description of the Product

Sabatons, or solerets, are piece of plate armour designed to protect the feet. They started to appear from the mid-14th century onwards at the same time when plate armor started appearing more diversely and was evolving. In some areas, such as in Italy, soldiers tended to wear mail sabatons, like was the custom before the invention of plate sabatons. Choosing between mail and plate sabatons seems to have been a question of individual preference, as both were used side by side. Sabaton were mainly used by warriors on horses (whose legs are exposed to attacks). When fighting on foot it is not very common to target the feet of your opponent and thus protecting the feet is not that important.

For a plate sabaton to work and protect optimally, it has to be articulated, and take the form of the shoe underneath. Possible gaps between sabaton and greave were sometimes protected by mail. The heel was sometimes protected by mail, small plates or scales attached straight onto the shoe, but from c. 1415 onwards plate heels also started to appear and were used.

There are two small holes on top of toes in the sabaton. These are used to tie the front end of the sabaton tightly to your shoe (you first need to attach a lace/string to your shoe for this). The back end of the sabaton is secured by a buckle and strap circling behind the heel.

• Sabatons, or solerets, are piece of plate armour designed to protect the feet
• They started to appear from the mid-14th century onwards
• These sabatons are very well articulated, and will fit a shoe size EUR 40-47
• Maximum width is approximately 13 cm and height 11-12 cm
• Made of 2 mm steel
• Manufacturer: Marshall Historical