Seven-league boots are an element in European folklore. The boots allow the wearer to take great strides—seven leagues each step—resulting in great speed. The boots are often presented by a magical character to the protagonist to aid in the completion of a significant task. (A league is three miles, so seven leagues is 21 miles or just under 35 kilometres.) The idea arose from the practice of horse-messengers having their boots only touch the ground every seven leagues - when changing their tired horse for a fresh one.
Mention of the legendary boots are found in:
- Germany - Sweetheart Roland, Adelbert von Chamisso's Peter Schlemiel, Goethe's Faust (Mephistopheles uses them at the start of Part Two, Act Four), Wilhelm Hauff's "Der Kleine Muck"
- France - Charles Perrault's - Hop o' My Thumb
- Norway - Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe - Soria Moria Castle
- England - Jack the Giant Killer, The Midnight Folk, The Light Fantastic, The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Jenny Nimmo's Midnight for Charlie Bone, C.S. Lewis's The Pilgrim's Regress, Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle
- United States - Zane Grey's The Last of the Plainsmen, Ruth Chew's "What the Witch Left"
Famous quotes containing the word boots:
“It’s fine to be a great democrat when you’ve a slave to rub your boots on.”
—Christina Stead (1902–1983)