CRAZY FASHIONS

Hello ladies and gents this is the viking telling you that today we are talking about

Crakow

Crakows or crackowes were a style of shoes with extremely long toes very popular in the 15th century. They were so named because the style was thought to have originated in Kraków, then the capital of Poland. They are also sometimes known as poulaines or pikes, though the term poulaine, as in souliers a la poulaine, "shoes in the Polish fashion", referred to the long pointed beak of the shoe, not the shoe itself.

History

Long toed shoes had been popular in Europe at different times, first appearing in the archaeological record in the 12th century and falling in and out of fashion periodically. They reached their most exaggerated form in the third quarter of the 15th century before falling out of fashion in the 1480s.

The arrival of this fashion in England is traditionally associated with the marriage of Richard II and Anne of Bohemia in 1382. An anonymous 'monk of Evesham' recorded in 1394: "With this queen there came from Bohemia into England those accursed vices (English Cracowys or Pykys) half a yard in length, thus it was necessary for them to be tied to the shin with chains of silver before they could walk with them."

However, there are indications they were worn as early as the 1360s. The author of the Eulogium Historiarum describes men of this period as wearing "points on their shoes as long as your finger that are called crakowes; more suitable as claws... for demons than as ornaments for men."

14th century poulaine-toed shoes found in London were found only in men's sizes, but 15th century art shows them being worn by both men and women, with the toes of men's shoes being the most extravagantly long. They were a controversial fashion and faced criticism from several quarters. In 1368, Charles V of France issued an edict banning their construction and use in Paris. An English poem from 1388 complained that men were unable to kneel in prayer because their toes were too long.

 In 1463, Edward IV passed a sumptuary law restricting anyone "under the state of a Lord, Esquire, Gentleman" from wearing poulaines over the length of two inches. In 1465, they were banned in England altogether, so that all cordwainers and cobblers within the City of London were prohibited from making shoes with pikes more than two inches long.

The poulaine inspired later footwear fashions, such as the 1950s Winklepicker boots.I hope you liked this post and as always have a chilled day from the viking