I am curious about a minor detail I noticed is pictures of old European doors. I do not understand the purpose of the braces at the bottom of the door columns seen on some but not all of these images.
When present they seem to have some minor structural need, but they aren’t always there. Perhaps the clearest example is the 13th photo. I don’t see any decorative use for that case. It must be there for a functional reason.
Does anyone have any idea what they are and what purpose they serve?