Crispin and Crispinian

Biography

They are two Roman martyrs venerated by the French and English, and whom the shoemakers have as patrons, since they learned the trade of shoemakers to extend their faith in the performance of this humble trade, without arousing suspicion. They are supposed to have emigrated to England, and settled at Faversham, Kent, where, until 1670, the shop where they had plied their trade was still displayed. Shakespeare mentions them six times in Henry V and praises them again in Julius Caesar for having known how to heal both the souls and shoe the feet of their clients.