Solerets

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The Solerets are the plate armor for the feet. They appeared in the 13th century as strips of metal riveted to leather, later the plates were riveted to each other in such a way as to give the required flexibility. This was accomplished by lapping those nearest the legs so that the open joints were towards the front, while those covering the front of the foot lapped in the opposite direction. The soleret had no sole but the sides were connected by straps passing under the foot.

In the 15th century the toe pieces became excessively long, the longest being known as "a la poulaine," and those of intermediate length as "demi poulaine." These very long toe pieces were detachable as a man could hardly have walked with them in place. In the 16th century the foot guards were shortened and the toes became very broad. They were then called sabatons or bear-paw or duck-billed solerets.