First of all, many thanks to all those who wished me a happy holiday. I did!

Just for a bit of fun I’ve come up with a short quiz on the history of the traditional kilt, ie not Utilikilts, Amerikilts or any other type of kilt. If you don’t want to try it, fine, stop here and read no further. But then, why not have a go - surely you would like to know a little something about the historical background of the garment you're wearing!

1. The kilt is:-

(a) An evolution of the Irish leine

(b) A Celtic or Gaelic type of clothing

(c) A purely Scottish garment


2. The kilt was originally worn:-

(a) Longer than at present

(b) Shorter than at present

(c) About the same length as at present


3. Tartan was invented by:-

(a) The Scots

(b) The Austrians

(c) Not known


4. The “tradition” of not wearing underwear with the kilt began:-

(a) It’s always been worn like that

(b) In the 1800s

(c) In the 1900s



Answers

1 (c) There does not appear to be any documentary evidence to support any theory of the kilt being of Celtic or Gaelic origin, and the Welsh and Cornish kilts are actually just the Scottish kilt in local tartans. The Irish leine is (was) a long (almost knee length) shirt/tunic/smock type linen garment worn essentially as an undergarment rather than outerwear, with a cloak or mantle on top. This type of clothing was originally worn by both the Scots and the Irish, but in the late 1500s/early 1600s the Irish began to change over to a shortened leine worn under a cloak or jacket and trousers appeared, whereas the Scots developed the “all-in-one” great kilt as being more suitable outerwear for the Scottish climate/landscape and their outdoor, constantly on the move, often sleeping rough lifestyle of that time. When lifestyles began to change in the late 1600s/early 1700s the great kilt was easily separated into the 2 parts of plaid and little kilt, much as we know it today.

2. (b) All the documentary evidence indicates that the kilt (both the great kilt and the little kilt) was originally worn much shorter - about mid-thigh - and the present length of middle to top of kneecap appears to have become the accepted norm in the late 1700s/early 1800s.

3. (c) No one knows - there are fragments of “tartan” of varying antiquity found all over the world. This is entirely logical since tartan is essentially just a repeating pattern of coloured bands and lines which obviously could have been (and was) woven anywhere. The uniquely Scottish part was its widespread and continual use and, gradually from the late 1600s onwards, the introduction of the use of identical tartans to identify specific groups.

4. (a) There appears to be considerable documentary evidence dating back to before the 1600s to substantiate that the Scots (and the Irish) did not wear anything under the leine and subsequently for the Scots under the kilt. Some have erroneously ascribed this to recent military practice but it has been documented that the soldiers of the Scots regiments scandalised Paris with their (visible) lack of underwear during the occupation after the Napoleonic Wars. The kilted soldiers in WW1/WW2 were issued with underwear (whether they wore it or not is a different matter), and it is only after then when kilts became dress rather than routine wear that the military’s historic practice of no underwear was revived.