Fashion for pointy shoes unleashed a plague of bunions in medieval Britain
Story: Fred Lewsey
Medieval foot bones showing hallux valgus, with lateral deviation of the big toe.
Researchers analysing skeletal remains in Cambridge find a dramatic increase in ‘hallux valgus’ around the time that pointed shoes became de rigueur in the 1300s.
An illustration of the sole of an adult shoe from the late 14th century, excavated in Cambridge.
An illustration of the sole of an adult shoe from the late 14th century, excavated in Cambridge.
The British have suffered for their fashion for centuries according to a new study suggesting that a vogue for shoes with a pointed tip led to a sharp increase in hallux valgus of the big toe – often called bunions – in the late medieval period.