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 Pig, or Václav Havel's Hunt for a Pig The Pig, or Václav Havel's Hunt for a Pig The Pig, or Václav Havel's Hunt for a Pig is the final work by Václav Havel, co-authored by Vladimír Morávek. The English translation is by Edward Einhorn . Originally a short dialogue from 1987 (entitled simply "The Pig") and printed in a samizdat, the piece is a comic (and true) story of Václav Havel’s efforts to hold a pig roast for his friends. In 2010, Morávek rediscovered the dialogue and decided to stage it. He began by giving lines to characters only mentioned in passing, but then made a more radical