For most Viking age garments there are much too few finds, but for shoes it is almost the opposite. A large part of the shoes we know of from the Viking age come from Hedeby where shoemaker workshops have been found, but there are also shoes form other places, e.g. the magnificent grave in Oseberg.

What is common for (almost) all Viking age shoes is that they are constructed as turn shoes which where sewn inside out and then turned right. They are also all made from thin leather, tanned with bark and often from goat or calf. The sole is often just as thin as the vamp, which often means less than 2 millimeters thick. Sometimes the shoe is cut in one piece, but it is also common to be made of two pieces. The sole often has a tip at the back of the shoe which is visible as a triangle seen from the back. No shoes are higher than about two decimeters. So there are what can be called a high-low, but no real boots.

How the Viking age people managed to walk outdoors in these thin shoes during wet autumns and cold winters is a mystery. But we know that they used spikes, as on the picture to the right, to avoid slipping in the winter.

Photos by Iduna Pertoft Sundarp.