Chopine
Encyclopedia
A chopine is a type of women's platform shoe
that was popular in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Chopines were originally used as a patten
, clog
, or overshoe to protect the shoes and dress from mud and street soil.
Chopines were popularly worn in Venice
by both courtesan
s and patrician women from ca. 1400-1700. Besides their practical uses, the height of the chopine became a symbolic reference to the cultural and social standing of the wearer; the higher the chopine, the higher the status of the wearer. High chopines allowed a woman to literally and figuratively tower over others. During the Renaissance
, chopines became an article of women's fashion
and were made increasingly taller; some extant examples are over 20 inches (50 cm) high. Shakespeare joked about the extreme height of the chopines in style in his day by using the word altitude (Hamlet
2.2, the prince greets one of the visiting players, - the adolescent boy who would have played the female parts in the all-male troupe - by noting how much "nearer to heaven" the lad had grown since he last saw him — "by the altitude of a chopine.")
Surviving chopines are typically made of wood
, or cork
, and those in the Spanish style were sometimes banded about with metal
. Extant pieces are covered with leather
, brocades, or jewel-embroidered velvet
. Often, the fabric of the chopine matched the dress or the shoe, but not always.
According to some scholars, chopines caused an unstable and inelegant gait. Women wearing them were generally accompanied by a servant or attendant on whom they could balance themselves. Other scholars have argued that with practice a woman could walk and even dance gracefully. In his dancing manual Nobilità di dame (1600), the Italian dancing master Fabritio Caroso
writes that with care a woman practiced in wearing her chopines could move “with grace, seemliness, and beauty” and even "dance flourishes and galliard
variations". Chopines were usually put on with the help of two servants.
In the 15th century, chopines were also the style in Spain
. Their popularity in Spain was so great that the larger part of the nation's cork supplies went towards production of the shoes. Some argue that the style originated in Spain, as there are many extant examples and a great amount of pictorial and written reference going back to the 14th century Chopines of the Spanish style were more often conical and symmetric, while their Venetian counterparts are much more artistically carved. That is not to say, however, that Spanish chopines were not adorned; on the contrary, there is evidence of jeweling, gilt lettering along the surround (the material covering the cork or wooden base), tooling, and embroidery on Spanish chopines.
There are a great deal of cognates of the word chopine (chapiney, choppins, etc.), however neither the word chopine nor any word similar to it (chioppino, cioppino, etc.) appears in either Florio's 1598 or 1611 dictionary. The Italian word, instead, seems to be "zoccoli," which likely comes from the Italian word "zocco," meaning a stump or a block of wood. Florio does, however, use the word "chopinos" in his English definition of zoccoli.
Platform shoe
Platform shoes are shoes, boots, or sandals with thick soles at least four inches in height, often made of cork, plastic, rubber, or wood...
that was popular in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Chopines were originally used as a patten
Patten (shoe)
Pattens are protective overshoes worn in Europe from the Middle Ages until the early 20th century. Pattens were worn outdoors over a normal shoe, held in place by leather or cloth bands, with a wooden or later wood and metal sole...
, clog
Clog
Clog may refer to:* clog , a shoe with a rigid, often wooden, sole* A blockage in plumbing* A British brand of rock-climbing equipment owned by Wild Country * Clogging, a traditional type of percussive folk dance...
, or overshoe to protect the shoes and dress from mud and street soil.
Chopines were popularly worn in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
by both courtesan
Courtesan
A courtesan was originally a female courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
s and patrician women from ca. 1400-1700. Besides their practical uses, the height of the chopine became a symbolic reference to the cultural and social standing of the wearer; the higher the chopine, the higher the status of the wearer. High chopines allowed a woman to literally and figuratively tower over others. During the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, chopines became an article of women's fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
and were made increasingly taller; some extant examples are over 20 inches (50 cm) high. Shakespeare joked about the extreme height of the chopines in style in his day by using the word altitude (Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
2.2, the prince greets one of the visiting players, - the adolescent boy who would have played the female parts in the all-male troupe - by noting how much "nearer to heaven" the lad had grown since he last saw him — "by the altitude of a chopine.")
Surviving chopines are typically made of wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, or cork
Cork (material)
Cork is an impermeable, buoyant material, a prime-subset of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber , which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa...
, and those in the Spanish style were sometimes banded about with metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
. Extant pieces are covered with leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
, brocades, or jewel-embroidered velvet
Velvet
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...
. Often, the fabric of the chopine matched the dress or the shoe, but not always.
According to some scholars, chopines caused an unstable and inelegant gait. Women wearing them were generally accompanied by a servant or attendant on whom they could balance themselves. Other scholars have argued that with practice a woman could walk and even dance gracefully. In his dancing manual Nobilità di dame (1600), the Italian dancing master Fabritio Caroso
Fabritio Caroso
Fabritio Caroso da Sermoneta was an Italian Renaissance dancing master and a composer or transcriber of dance music.His dance manual Il Ballarino was published in 1581, with a subsequent edition, significantly different, Nobiltà di Dame, printed in 1600 and again after his death in 1630...
writes that with care a woman practiced in wearing her chopines could move “with grace, seemliness, and beauty” and even "dance flourishes and galliard
Galliard
The galliard was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from England, France, Spain, Germany and Italy, among others....
variations". Chopines were usually put on with the help of two servants.
In the 15th century, chopines were also the style in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Their popularity in Spain was so great that the larger part of the nation's cork supplies went towards production of the shoes. Some argue that the style originated in Spain, as there are many extant examples and a great amount of pictorial and written reference going back to the 14th century Chopines of the Spanish style were more often conical and symmetric, while their Venetian counterparts are much more artistically carved. That is not to say, however, that Spanish chopines were not adorned; on the contrary, there is evidence of jeweling, gilt lettering along the surround (the material covering the cork or wooden base), tooling, and embroidery on Spanish chopines.
There are a great deal of cognates of the word chopine (chapiney, choppins, etc.), however neither the word chopine nor any word similar to it (chioppino, cioppino, etc.) appears in either Florio's 1598 or 1611 dictionary. The Italian word, instead, seems to be "zoccoli," which likely comes from the Italian word "zocco," meaning a stump or a block of wood. Florio does, however, use the word "chopinos" in his English definition of zoccoli.
Sources
- http://www.aands.org/raisedheels
- http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~ebernhar/index.shtml
- http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/08/eustn/hod_1973.114.4a,b.htm