For some time now I have believed that an important contribution to the Scottish transition from brat and leine to great kilt was the medieval "Little Ice Age". The principal arguments against this belief have been:

!. The global temperature change was quite small: perhaps 1° C.
2. Though there is general agreement among historians on when this phenomenon ended (mid 19th century) there is not general agreement on when it began; some authorities place it as early as the 11th century and others as late as the 16th. Still others deny that it ever happened.

The BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16797075) has just reported recent research on this issue.


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