Carbatina

A carbatina was a type of shoe worn in ancient Greece, Italy and the Middle East. It consisted on a single piece of leather, stitched into shape at the heel, wrapped over the sole of the foot and fastened on the top by thongs. They were commonly worn by peasants at a time when going barefoot was a mark of extreme poverty. Among the Romans they are thought to have fallen out of use in the 3rd century.

For the genus of moth formerly known by this name, see Dichomeris.
An 1884 depiction of carbatinae

Etymology

The Latin term carbatina (plural: carbatinae) derives from the ancient Greek karbatine, meaning "rustic shoe", and is used in the writings of Aristotle and Lucian.[1] It probably derives from κἁρΦω meaning "made of dried skin". The same term was also used by Aristotle to refer to coverings put on the feet of camels to prevent sores and by the Roman Philo for a skin-covered structure used by soldiers for protection when besieging fortifications.[2]

Description and use
Sketch of an ancient Greek karbatine

The carbatinae was cut from a single piece of cow-hide leather folded over the sole of the foot and secured over the top of the foot with leather thongs. A stitched seam in the leather at the heel helped to form the carbatina into a shoe shape. The leather usually extended to just below the ankle but in some examples extends above this point.[3] Though usually only having stitching at the heal some examples are known to have been strengthened with stitching at the toes.[4] They have been described as similar in form to modern ballet shoes or moccasins.[4][5] They were usually quite plain in form, a single example decorated with openwork is known from excavations at Praetorium Agrippinae in the modern-day Netherlands.[6] The carbatina was put on by stepping onto the leather, pulling it up the sides of the foot and tying the thongs together to secure it.[7]

Carbatinae were commonly worn by ancient peoples in Italy, Greece and the Middle East. In Italy they were common among peasants.[8] They were a cheap footwear and worn by the lower classes at a time when it was a public mark of extreme poverty to appear barefoot.[5] They were used as an emergency foot covering by members of the Greek Ten Thousand mercenary units.[2]

The carbatinae are among the earliest shoes known to have been worn by the Romans. They were further developed into the calcei, soft leather shoes with solid sides worn by the wealthier Romans with togas.[5] The wearing of carbatinae by the Romans is thought to have gone out of fashion by the 3rd century AD, replaced by shoes with hobnails on the soles.[9]

See also

References
  1. Grafton, Anthony (1994). Defenders of the Text: The Traditions of Scholarship in an Age of Science, 1450-1800. Harvard University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-674-19545-5.
  2. Smith, William (1890). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. J. Murray. pp. 361–362.
  3. Dierendonck, R. M. van; Hallewas, Daan P.; Waugh, Karen (1993). The Valkenburg Excavations 1985-1988: Introduction and Detail Studies. ROB. p. 236. ISBN 978-90-73104-14-3.
  4. Robertson, Anne S.; Scott, Margaret; Keppie, L. J. F. (1975). Bar Hill: A Roman Fort and Its Finds. British Archaeological Reports. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-904531-18-3.
  5. DeMello, Margo (10 September 2009). Feet and Footwear: A Cultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-313-35715-2.
  6. Dierendonck, R. M. van; Hallewas, Daan P.; Waugh, Karen (1993). The Valkenburg Excavations 1985-1988: Introduction and Detail Studies. ROB. p. 238. ISBN 978-90-73104-14-3.
  7. Peck, Harry Thurston (1897). Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities. Harper & brothers. p. 277.
  8. Rich, Anthony (1884). A Dictionary of Roman and Greek Antiquities with Nearly 200 Engravings on Wood. London: Longmans. p. 118.
  9. Howell, Isca (2005). Prehistoric Landscape to Roman Villa: Excavations at Beddington, Surrey, 1981-7. Museum of London Archaeology Service. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-901992-56-4.
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