PATTEN (adapted from Fr. patin, in

See also:

• MODERN

modern usage meaning a " skate "; Med.

See also:

• LAT

Lat. patinus, Ital. pattino, of unknown origin; cf. patte, paw)  , a kind of shoe which, varying in form at different times and places, raised the wearer from the ground in order to keep the feet out of mud or wet . Pattens were necessaries to women of all classes in the uncleaned and unpaved streets of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries . They may still be found in use in rural parts of England . A wooden shoe or clog, a light strapped shoe with a very thick sole of wood or cork, and, more particularly, an iron ring supporting at a little distance from the ground a wooden sole with a strap through which the foot slips, have all been types which the patten has taken . An extraordinary kind of "patten " was fashionable in Italy and Spain in the 16th or 17th centuries . This was the chopine,' a loose slipper resting on a very thick sole of cork or wood . During the 17th century at Venice ladies wore " chopines " of exaggerated size . Coryat, in his Crudities, 1611 (vol. i. p . 400, ed . 1905), gives a description of these Venetian " chapineys." They were of wood covered with red, white and yellow leather, some gilt or painted, and reached a height sometimes of half a yard . Ladies wearing these exaggerated chopines had to be accompanied by attendants to prevent them falling . There is a 16th century Venetian " chopine " in the British Museum .

The " Patten-makers "

Company is one of the minor Livery companies of London . The patten-makers were originally joined with the " Pouch and Galoche Makers," and are mentioned as early as 1400 . They became a separate fraternity in 1469, but did not obtain a charter till 1670 .