† 1.  A large richly ornamented cloth laid over the back of a horse and hanging down to the ground on each side. It was considered as a mark of dignity and state. Obs.

1

1480.  Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV. (1830), 154. Delivered for the covering of a sadelle and an herneys in russet velvet cloth of gold for an hakeney, and a footeclothe maade of russet velvet lyned with blac bokeram.

2

1589.  Mar Martine, 6.

        Plucke but the foote cloth from his backe,
The Asse will soone be seene.

3

1612.  W. Parkes, Curtaine-Dr. (1876), 24. The poore thiefe is hanged many times that hath stolne but the prise of a dinner, when sometimes hee that robbes both Church and Common-wealth is seene to ride on his foot-cloth.

4

1702.  Lond. Gaz., No. 3842/1. The Town-Clerk with a Gold Chain, and his Footman and Footcloth.

5

1805.  Scott, Last Minstr., V. xvii.

        Behold lord Howard and the dame,
Fair Margaret on her palfrey came,
  Whose foot-cloth swept the ground.

6

  fig.  1594.  Nashe, Vnfort. Trav., Wks. (Grosart), V. 70. The scolasticall squitter bookes clout you vp cannopies & foot-clothes of verses.

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  2.  A cloth to set the feet upon, a carpet.

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1639.  Fuller, Holy War, IV. i. (1640), 165. Milain, and many other cities in Italy, formerly Imperiall, danced at this musick, made a foot-cloth of their Master’s livery, and from this time dated themselves Free-States.

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1726–7.  Swift, Gulliver, I. ii. 38. We found only one great Piece of coarse Cloth, large enough to be a Foot-Cloth for your Majesty’s chief Room of State.

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1824.  Macaulay, Ivry, vi.

        Then on the ground, while trumpets sound their loudest point of war,
Fling the red shreds, a footcloth meet for Henry of Navarre.

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1847.  Tennyson, The Princess, IV. 267.

                  On the purple footcloth, lay
The lily-shining child.

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  † 3.  attrib. and Comb. (sense 1), as foot-cloth horse, mule, nag, -page, -servant, -strider.

13

1571.  Sadler, Smith & Wilson, Lett., 7 Sept., in Murdin, Coll. State Pap. (1759), 149. So havyng prepared a Fotecloth Nag for him … he was … quietly brought into the tower, without eny truble.

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1593.  Shaks., 2 Hen. VI., IV. i. 54.

        Hast thou not kist thy hand, and held my stirrop?
Bare-headed plodded by my foot-cloth Mule,
And thought thee happy when I shook my head.
    Ibid. (1594), Rich. III., III. iv. 86.
Three times to day my Foot-Cloth-Horse did stumble,
And started, when he look’d vpon the Tower,
As loth to beare me to the slaughter-house.

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1654.  Gayton, Pleasant Notes upon Don Quixot, I. vii. 26. The Mule, and glorious Foot-cloath-pages, and Harbingers, are all too little for these Patriarchs.

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a. 1658.  Ford, etc., Witch Edmonton, V. i.

        There I’ll shug in, and get a noble countenance:
Serve some Briarean Footcloth-strider,
That has an hundred hands to catch at Bribes,
But not a Fingers nayl of Charity.

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