cordouanier

Córdoba (Latin Corduba, Arabic Qurṭuba) was the capital of Moorish Spain and one of the largest cities in medieval Europe. Its leather workers produced a distinctive fine leather — later called Cordwain in English, Cordovan in modern usage — made from goatskin tanned with sumac and treated to produce a smooth, durable surface in characteristic rich colors. Córdoba's leather was the finest available in medieval Europe.

Old French cordouanier (from Cordoue, Córdoba) named the craftsman who worked this leather into shoes. The Cordwainers entered English as 'cordwainer' in the 13th century — the maker of fine shoes from imported Cordovan leather. The distinction from the cobbler was important and jealously maintained: a cordwainer made new shoes from new leather; a cobbler (from cobble, to mend roughly) repaired old ones. To call a cordwainer a cobbler was an insult.

The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers received its London charter in 1439. The trade was prosperous: everyone needed shoes, and good shoes were a mark of status. As ready-made shoe production developed in the 19th century — the machines of Northampton's shoe factories replacing the hand of the cordwainer — the trade declined but the name persisted.

Today 'cordwainer' survives mainly in historic and academic contexts: the course at the London College of Fashion is called the Cordwainers College. Bespoke shoemakers still sometimes call themselves cordwainers. The leather of Córdoba — now called Cordovan — remains the most prized leather in high-end shoemaking.