Pages: 189-213

Interdisciplinary analysis of sources on leather making in medieval Rus’ suggests that the Mongol-Tatar invasion influenced positively the technology of tannery and formation of new types of footwear and other leather goods, as well as the development of decoration of leather objects in Rus’. Archaeological evidence of the 14th—15th centuries demonstrates changes in major forms of footwear in Russian towns. High boots became absolutely predominating whereas the openwork carbatinae and soft low shoes came out of use in the 14th century, so that they are not found itogether in the 15th—16 th centuries. In the construction of high boots, besides thicker leather and hidden (“v podtay”) seam type, a number of technological and decorative novelties were found.

Keywords: Rus’, 13th—14th centuries, leather-making, impact of the Golden Horde, technology development, innovations, decoration.

Information about author:

Alexandr Kurbatov (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]