Traditions with shoes

[tvordlj]

Here's something in the newspaper this morning that was interesting. The Lieutenant Governor's residence/mansion has been undergoing a major renovation over the last couple of years and apparently they found shoes inside some of the walls. Turns out it's an old custom to ward off evil spirits so during the nearly-completed work, the builders did it again. Seems the custom in medieval times was to put a body under the foundations but as you can imagine, that didn't work out very well. Since shoes take on the shape of someone's feet, it was felt that the person's spirit was strong in a shoe so that was used instead. They found at least 8 shoes around the huge stone mansion, originally built in the early 1800s. History of the building here with a quicktime movie gallery here.  I know Nova Scotia has the oldest legislature building in Canada, which was opened about the same time the LG mansion was finished.  Anyway, to keep up the tradition, they've garnered some used shoes from some of the Provincial government staff, including a shoe from current LG Mayan Francis.

Comments

[acey.livejournal.com]

'That ceased when bodies became scarce or the smell became too much, '
Yikes! I wonder where they got the bodies? That sounds like the makings of a mystery story. What an interesting tradition. Thanks for the link.

[tvor.livejournal.com]

Well back in the medieval times, i'm sure people were dropping like flies... accidents, disease, plague ;)

[acey.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm, a poxy flea-ridden body decaying in the walls of a house. That's enough to ward off everyone, not just the evil spirits. :D