The skate - development and models

From roughly the beginning of this era, people in the Netherlands moved over the ice on gliders. People using these bone skates propelled themselves forward by pushing the ice with a prod because the blunt sides of the bones did not grip the ice sufficiently to make pushing with the skate alone possible. Nevertheless, bone skates can be seen as a precursor of the modern skate.

It was not until around 1200 that the wooden skate made its appearance in the Low Countries on the North Sea (Holland and / or Flanders). It is almost certain that skating originated there.

The wooden skate was developed over the centuries, partly due to new techniques of making skating iron but also due to preferences and embellishments typical of various regions.

Here we describe gliders, the first wooden skates, the parts of the skate and the development of skate models based on the coat of arms of the De Raet family.

This chapter may be further expanded in coming years.