Patten (shoe) Patten (shoe) Pattens are protective overshoes that were worn in Europe from the Middle Ages until the early 20th century. Pattens were worn outdoors over a normal shoe, had a wooden or later wood and metal sole, and were held in place by leather or cloth bands. Pattens functioned to elevate the foot above the mud and dirt (including human effluent and animal dung) of the street, in a period when road and urban paving was minimal. The word "patten" probably derives from the Old French "pate" meaning hoof or paw. Women continued to wear pattens in muddy conditions until
The Enchanted Pig him in it. They set out to his father's kingdom, and then return to her father's kingdom. An opera partly based on the tale, "The Enchanted Pig", by the composer Jonathan Dove, was premiered in 2006. The Enchanted Pig The Enchanted Pig ("Porcul cel fermecat") is a Romanian fairy tale, collected in "Rumanische Märchen" and also by Petre Ispirescu in "Legende sau basmele românilor". Andrew Lang included it in "The Red Fairy Book". It is Aarne-Thompson type 425A, the search for the lost husband. Others of this type include The Black Bull of Norroway, The Brown Bear of Norway, The