Bone ice skates from 12th-century London: http://blog.museumoflondon.org.uk/taking-ice/ pic.twitter.com/4aYE8y9ZYR
History, archaeology, place-names & early lit. Main research on post-Roman Britain & Anglo-Saxon England; also long-distance trade, migration & contact.
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Bone ice skates from 12th-century London: http://blog.museumoflondon.org.uk/taking-ice/ pic.twitter.com/4aYE8y9ZYR
"When the great marsh… is frozen, large numbers of the younger crowd go there to play about on the ice… they equip each of their feet with an animal's shin-bone, attaching it to the underside of their footwear"—William Fitzstephen on London, late 12th century.
Medieval bone ice skates from Lincoln, perhaps used when the River Witham froze over :) Now in @collectionusher.pic.twitter.com/baTOW0LmCF
Last week I went to a museum that explained how they worked (you were pulled while on them) - I'd always wondered!
Fwiw, William Fitzstephen in the 12th century says the following :) "using hand-held poles reinforced with metal tips, which they periodically thrust against the ice, they propel themselves along as swiftly as a bird in flight or a bolt shot from a crossbow."
Yeah, a shorter version of that was in the museum, but I didn't remember enough details to be confident writing it out. Though it didn't say it was swift!
He says they fought mock battles doing this and using the poles as weapons, charging at each other...!
@MOLArchaeology have just published an interesting group of skates in Transactions @LonMidArchSoc from St Bart's hospital. About a dozen skates most horse and cow metapodials but also a tiny child's skate made from a dog bone and a possible iron pole tip as mentioned above
Oh, wow! Fascinating :)
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