He used them to develop the plot. He was a master at plot development. Bierce loved to develop the plot through a sequence of events even if it made the reader uncomfortable.
Basil I, also called the Macedonian and the founder of the
Macedonian dynasty of Byzantium, the dynasty whose rule was the most prosperous
time in the Byzantium history, started the revival of art and he ordered the
mosaic in order to, in his words, replace the one the impostors had broken.
It allowed many business' to expand without interruption from the Government.
They became more of a fashionable item. most likely got more expensive so you'd only see the rich wearing shoes and it would show the social classes more easily so it might have made some people feel bad about themselfs. before they were only used to keep your feet from being burned from a hot ground or from getting frost bite in winter.
Supporters of art during the Renaissance were called clergy.
