Rowel Spur

German or Italian

Not on view

This is a branchless spur that could be attached directly at the back on a regular shoe, for occasional and casual riding. The screw on the neck was used for tightening it to the shoe’s leather.

This type of spur, particularly popular in the Germanic lands, is described in the entry Eperon in the Swiss Encyclopédie d'Yverdon published in 1772 by Fortuné Barthélemy de Félice. It is said that "these spurs not being maintained by any kind of tie, they can be lost very easily [...]. We leave them to doctors, barbers, village priests, and monks. They are known in some countries and by some spur-makers by the name 'Carthusian spurs' (éperons à la chartreuse)."

Rowel Spur, Iron alloy, German or Italian

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