Bag Shoes

A pattern and instructions for creating an early medieval Celtic boot.

Pattern for a shoe from Arnitlund Mose, Jutland Peninsula; dated Iron Age by pollen analysis.

This type of one-piece shoe was used by many different cultures, especially the Celts and the Germanic tribes. I'm calling them 'Bog Shoes' because many examples have been excavated from bogs where they were lost or thrown.

A laced boot based on a "Celtic shoe" pattern.

This pair of shoes is a rendition of a pair of hide shoes, dating from around the 9th-12th centuries, found in a bog in Weldelspang Mose on the Jutland peninsula.

This pair of shoes was found in Damdorf Mose in modern Denmark and are probably from the late Iron Age. They are a primitive style of construction, being made primarily of one piece of material with a small inset at the heel. The use of lattice cuts on the vamp of the shoe allows it to be fairly elastic and comfortable. The lozenge shapes are formed by stretching the leather over the foot.

Footwear for Scottish and Irish re-enactors.

A pattern for a simple hide shoe, based on one found in Drumacoon Bog in County Cavan, Ireland.

This document covers the making of a make a pair of medieval hide shoes known as Cuarans in Celtic, Rivelins in Teutonic or Scottish, or sometimes referred to as "bag shoes" by Scadians. This is a relatively simple shoe design dating back to at least the 7th century, based on finds from a bog in Ireland. The shoes are constructed from one piece of leather stretched and gathered about the foot with thongs.

Footgear - Pins, Brooches and other Dress-fasteners; Tweezers, Nail-cleaners, Ear-picks, Mirrors, Combs, and Dressing-boxes; Bracelets and Armlets, Finger-rings, Ear-rings, Beads and Necklaces.

The first pair is from the Viking period and is now in the Museum Of Cultural History at Novgorod. The second pair, while no date is given, has a Roman provincial look to them; they are from the Utersen Bog (Aegyptenmore) 30km northwest of modern Hamburg.