Leather was everywhere in medieval Europe. People used it for shoes, belts, gloves, saddles, bottles, scabbards, and book covers. Its strength and flexibility made it useful for work and travel, and fine leather was also a sign of wealth and status.
Most of what we know about these methods comes from guild rules, surviving objects, and excavated finds. Rich shoe finds have come from places such as the London waterfront and York’s Coppergate. For the wider story, see our history of leathercraft overview.
From hide to leather: the beamhouse
Before a hide could be tanned, it had to be cleaned. Hides were soaked to rehydrate them and then placed in lime pits to loosen the hair, much as a modern beamhouse still does with lime. Workers removed the hair and the flesh over a sloping beam, using two-handled knives.
Some tanners also “bated” or “puered” hides, softening them in a bath made with dog or bird dung. This was used for lighter leathers.
Lime is caustic, so if you ever try to recreate liming, wear gloves and eye protection. Old hides and dung can also carry bacteria, including anthrax historically.
Vegetable tanning in oak-bark pits
Most medieval tanning used plant tannins, usually from ground oak bark. Hides were layered with bark in pits, and the tanning liquor was made stronger over time.
Timing depended on the leather. Heavy sole leather could take 12 to 18 months or longer in the pits, while lighter skins needed far less time. The result was firm, durable leather that holds its shape and can be carved and tooled.
Tanning was messy and smelly, and it polluted water. Many towns pushed tanneries to their edges, a sign that the smell and pollution were noticed even then.
Currying and finishing: a separate trade
Tanning and currying were different jobs. English law formally split them in 1604. Curriers worked on tanned leather. They shaved it to an even thickness, stretched it, and stuffed it with fats such as tallow and fish oil. That mixture, known as dubbin, helped keep the leather supple.
Keeping these trades apart matters for the rest of this article. A medieval tanner and a medieval currier were usually different people doing different jobs.
Tawing: white leather from alum and salt
Not all leather was tanned with bark. Tawing used alum and salt, and it was often finished with egg yolk and flour. Tawers, known as whittawyers, made white leather for gloves, purses, and laces.
Tawed leather is not the same as tanned leather. Alum tawing does not make a hide stable: soaked tawed leather can revert to its original state. The trade’s name survives in surnames, which we explain in what leather makers are called.
Cutting, stitching, and the turnshoe
Many medieval shoes were turnshoes. They were sewn inside out, so the seam ended up hidden inside the finished shoe, and then turned right side out. A turnshoe had a thin sole that could be replaced.
Turnshoe construction dominated until about the late 15th century. After that, welted shoes became more common.
Stitching used waxed linen thread. Awls pierced the holes first, and boar bristles were sometimes used as needles. Makers used round knives, sometimes called half-moon knives, along with awls and mallets to cut and shape the work.
Seams and edge work
Some medieval seams were made so that the stitching sat inside the thickness of the leather. This hid the thread and reduced wear on the surface. The exact techniques varied by region and by maker, and the surviving evidence does not show one standard method.
Cuir bouilli: hardened leather
Cuir bouilli, or “boiled leather,” was used for cases, bottles, scabbards, and some pieces of armor. The name is misleading. Boiling vegetable-tanned leather shrinks it and ruins it.
The method seems to have involved wetting the leather, shaping it over a form, and drying it until it set hard. The exact historical recipe is uncertain, so accounts of it differ. Modern makers use the methods in hardening leather by baking.
Tooling, embossing, and decoration
Medieval makers decorated leather in several ways:
- Incised lines were cut with a tool to mark a design.
- Stamping pressed patterns into the surface.
- Embossing was done from the flesh side, so the design stood out on the grain side.
- Openwork cut patterns through the leather, as modern filigree carving still does.
Some caskets from the 14th and 15th centuries, known as cuir ciselé, show carved and worked designs. Gold tooling reached Europe in the late 15th century, through Italy, and it became a feature of luxury bindings.
Bookbinding and other trades
Bookbinders covered wooden boards with leather and decorated them with blind tooling, which is pressed without gold. Other specialists worked in their own trades: saddlers made saddles and horse gear, glovers made gloves, and cordwainers made new shoes. Bottlers made leather bottles, sheathers made scabbards, and girdlers made belts. For those names and how they differed, see what leather makers are called.
Common misconceptions
- Cuir bouilli was not simply boiled. Real boiling damages vegetable-tanned leather.
- “Studded leather armor” is mostly a modern idea. Brigandine armor used rivets to hold metal plates under fabric. The extent of leather armor in medieval Europe is debated.
- Medieval leather was not chrome tanned. Chrome tanning is a 19th-century process.
- Tanners did not make finished goods. Tanning, currying, and making were separate trades.
- Turnshoes had soles. They were thin and replaceable.
Medieval methods in modern leatherwork
Some medieval methods are still used today. Vegetable tanning remains common for leather that will be carved or tooled, and hand tooling and embossing still appear on branded goods. Turnshoe-style construction is mostly seen in historical reenactment and in some craft work.
Many of the terms used in those methods, such as temper and full grain, are still used. Our leather making terms glossary explains them in plain language.