View source for Sabaton

{{Short description|Medieval foot and ankle armor}}
{{About|the type of armour}}
[[File:German - Sabaton for the Right Foot - Walters 51591.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[duckbill shoe|duckbill-style]] German sabaton for the right foot, {{c.|1550}}]]
[[File:Wallace CollectionDSCF7486.JPG|thumb|upright|English-made [[Greenwich armour]] sabaton, 1587–1589]]

A '''sabaton''' or '''solleret''' is part of a [[knight]]'s [[body armour|body armor]] that covers the foot.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sabaton |title=Sabaton |work=The Free Dictionary |access-date=2010-01-03}}</ref>

==History==
Sabatons from the 14th and 15th centuries typically end in a tapered point well past the actual toes of the wearer's foot, following [[poulaines|fashionable shoe shapes of the era]]. Sabatons of the late 15th and [[1500–1550 in European fashion|early 16th century]] followed the [[duckbill shoe]]s of the time, ending at the tip of the toe but often extending greatly wider. The sabatons were the first piece of armour to be put on, and were made of riveted iron plates called ''[[Lame (armor)|lames]]''. These plates generally covered only the top of the foot. Some sources{{who|date=February 2024}} maintain that the broad-toed variant is the true sabaton, whereas the earlier versions should be referred to as a solleret.<ref name ="Bradbury2004">{{cite book |last=Bradbury |first=Jim |date=2004 |title=The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3FRsBgAAQBAJ&q=sabaton+armour&pg=PA259 |publisher=Routledge |page=259 |isbn=0-415-22126-9 }}</ref>

At least in theory, French princes and dukes were allowed to have toes of Gothic sabatons {{frac|2|1|2}} times, lords (barons and higher) two times, and gentry only one time the length of their feet.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Funcken |first1=Liliane |last2=Funcken |first2=Fred |title=Le costume, l'armure et les armes au temps de la chevalerie |language=fr |volume=2: Le siècle de la Renaissance |url=https://www.gpsdf.org/chevalerie/Le%20Costume,%20l%27Armure%20et%20les%20Armes%20au%20Temps%20de%20la%20Chevalerie%20-%20Tome%202.pdf |access-date=24 September 2024 |location=Tournai |publisher=Casterman |year=1979 |page=88 |isbn=2-203-14319-3}}</ref> If we assume {{lang|fr|pied du roi}} as the standard length, these would be {{cvt|81.2|cm|in|0}}, {{cvt|64.96|cm|in|frac=16}}, and {{cvt|32.48|cm|in|frac=4}}, respectively.

An earlier solution was for the mail of the [[chausses]] to completely cover the foot, but later the mail terminated at the ankle, either overlapping the outside of the sabaton or extending beneath it.<ref name ="Walker2013">{{cite book |last=Walker |first=Paul F. |chapter=Chapter 9 |date=2013 |title=History of Armour 1100–1700 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zZp8AwAAQBAJ&q=sabaton+armour&pg=PT220 |publisher=The Crowood Press Ltd |isbn= 978-1-84797-452-5}}</ref>

The effigy of [[Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick]] in the [[Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick]], shows how 15th century Italian-style sabatons would have been worn. These consist of a toe cap, four articulated lames, a foot plate and ankle plate, and a hinged heel cap, joined with buckled straps. Although the [[spur]]s are missing from the effigy, remains of rivet holes and staples may represent the way that the spurs would have been directly attached to the heel cap of the sabaton, rather than being strapped on afterwards.<ref name ="Walker2013"/>

==Other uses==
"Sabaton" is also the name of a type of broad-toed [[Flanders|Flemish]] shoe, popular in the Late Middle Ages.<ref name ="Bradbury2004"/>

[[Sabaton (band)|Sabaton]] is the name of a Swedish heavy metal band who write songs based on military history.
<gallery heights="180" widths="180" mode="nolines">
File:HJRK A 62 - Armoured shoes of Maximilian I, 1485.jpg|Sabatons of [[Emperor Maximilian I]], c. 1485
File:Sabatons evolution by Wendelin Boeheim.jpg|Sabatons' shape evolution by Wendelin Boeheim: {{ordered list|list_style_type=lower-alpha|{{nobr|1290–1390}}|{{nobr|1300–1490}}|{{nobr|1500–1530}}|{{nobr|1530–1540}}|{{nobr|1540–1550}}|{{nobr|1550–1560}}|{{nobr|1560–1590}}}}
File:Plate sabatons.png|Sabatons with tapered points ([[poulaines|poulaines, pikes, or beaks]])
File:Richard de Beauchamp effigy Warwick Church.jpg|Gilded bronze effigy at [[Warwick]], England, of [[Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick]] who died in 1439, showing the underside of his sabatons
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of shoe styles]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Elements of Medieval armor}}
{{footwear}}
{{Historical clothing}}
[[Category:Historical footwear]]
[[Category:Medieval armour]]
[[Category:Western plate armour]]