Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1981, Page 251

A pair of Hide Shoes
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known to have formed a normal part of footwear as far back as the
Bronze Age.32) As the Leksvik shoes were probably made for use in
summer (see above), it is perhaps more likely that they were lined
with grass, a practice which has left traces in shoes as ancient as
those from the Skrydstrup grave.33) The use of grass for lining shoes
was wide-spread until comparatively recently; the Lapps still line
theirs with grass to this day. Most often, a special kind of grass,
Carex vesicaria, is gathered for this purpose.34) In the Norwegian
countryside, shoes were in the past usually lined with straw for
summer wear.35)
There must have been some form of hose above the shoes,36) per-
haps strips of cloth wound around the legs from the ankle to the
knee, the »vindingr« of the sagas. Or there might have been rectang-
ular pieces of woollen cloth, such as those found at Daugbjerg, where
they were wound around the leg below the knee; another possibility
is a kind of hose without a foot, an example of which occurs in a
Norwegian bog find of Roman Iron Age date.37) This corresponds
to what in more recent times was known as »leister«.3a)
HJALMAR FALK39) was to the best of my knowledge the first
to draw attention to M. SCHNABEL’s important information about
the way in which hide-shoes were made in Hardanger.40) The fetasko
of this district were made from the »fetar« (the hide from the lower
part of the hind-legs) of cattle or reindeer. The hide is cut off in
front as far as the hooflet. The bulging hide on the part of the hind-
leg between knee and heel is used for the tip of th shoe. The shoes
are sewn together at both sides of the instep and at the back, so
that the hooflets come at either side of the heel. Fetasko of reindeer
hide are used with the fur on during winter; those made from the
hide of cattle are mostly used without fur, and they are greased like
all other leather.
But in other areas, too, hide-shoes have proved their longevity.
On the Færoes, primitive hide-shoes formed part of the everyday
dress until the present day, as we gather from SVERRI DAHL’s
most valuable investigation.41) Today this primitive kind of foot-
wear has presumably been superseded by rubber boots everywhere.
These Færoes shoes were made from the hide of oxen, seal, calves