Historic Quiz

[Robbie]

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.

[Rufus]

Thanks for the quiz Robbie!

I enjoy learning these things (much more than most of my classwork, anyways.) Where'd you get your information?

Rufus

[Blu (Ontario)]

Thanx for the post Robbie... quite enjoyed it. I actually got one right (#2). I did read someplace though that there was archeological evidence of a type of kilt found in medieval Irish graves. Regardless, I'm just happy that my life has crossed paths with this wonderful garment and I thank the Scots for keeping the tradition alive and well.

blu

[bear]

Robbie,
You should check out this link. The book which is excerpted is forwarded by Dr D. Gordon Teall of Teallach, F.S.T.S.

He is the Executive President of The Scottish Tartans Society

http://www.kiltsnmore.com/history/dress.htm

There is a lot of misinformation out there about the origins of kilts. I'm happy to find a sensible site on the subject.

In short, the book states that the Scots wore the leine when they emigrated to (now called) Scotland.

[Blu (Ontario)]

Robbie,
You should check out this link. The book which is excerpted is forwarded by Dr D. Gordon Teall of Teallach, F.S.T.S.
He is the Executive President of The Scottish Tartans Society
http://www.kiltsnmore.com/history/dress.htm
There is a lot of misinformation out there about the origins of kilts. I'm happy to find a sensible site on the subject.
In short, the book states that the Scots wore the leine when they emigrated to (now called) Scotland.

Thanks, Bear.
Do you know the full title and publisher of the book?

blu

[Robbie]

I must apologise to all for not giving the sources used to prepare the quiz, although I must admit that I did not expect some to take it quite so seriously! It was based on information contained in several well-known text books on the subject, such as A Short History Of The Scottish Dress, by RMD Grange (a lifelong student of Scottish history and customs); Old Irish & Highland Dress by HF McLintock, widely accepted as one of the world’s foremost authorities and which in the Irish section includes a contribution from Rev F Shaw, at that time Professor of Early and Middle Irish at University College, Dublin; History Of Highland Dress and The Costume Of Scotland, both by J Telfer Dunbar, late Hon. Curator of the Scottish United Services Museum in Edinburgh.

I also took care to ensure that the answers were not chosen because they supported any of my own particular views, but only where there was a unanimous opinion which could be cross-checked using the references and sources supplied by the various authors – we are all currently aware of the dangers of acting on single-sourced information!

As Bear rightly says, there is a great deal of misinformation about the kilt out there. Unfortunately one of the chief pieces of misinformation is that the kilt is a”descendant” of the Irish leine. The leine was generally made from linen and was a one piece long shirt/tunic/smock type garment with head and arm holes, which was put on by pulling it over the head and which reached from the neck to the knee. A cloak/mantle/jacket was then worn on top. Contrast this with the kilt, which is a long piece of woollen material which is firstly part-pleated and wrapped round the waist then the plaid part is wrapped over the shoulder and the whole ensemble worn as an outer garment, and it becomes difficult to see any connection.

It appears that this confusion arose because some Irish writers in the late 1800s/early 1900s apparently mistranslated key words in old documents and erroneously claimed old carvings on ancient tombs etc showed early kilts. Unfortunately one of the chief culprits was allegedly the writer PW Joyce, who was apparently also “technical adviser” to the Irish Government when it decided to identify an Irish National Costume. There has also been the (scandalous) suggestion that Joyce firstly decided that the kilt was Irish then attempted to find “evidence” to support this theory – but if true not exactly the best way to carry out research! However, from the mid-1900s onwards it appears that every author on the subject has concluded that these early writings and carvings actually refer to or show either the leine or a short pleated jacket which was apparently widespread throughout Europe in the 14/1500s, and that all the evidence indicates that the leine is not, never was, and never became, the kilt and that actually there is no historic Irish connection of any kind to the kilt.

[Chris@southerncelt.com]

Just in case you're all wondering what made the kilt get longer...

Many people have the conception that it was worn mid-thigh, but paintings from that area seem to place it more at an inch above the knee, so not so mini-skirt-like. Anyway, Queen Victoria once ruled that it was uncouth to show knee in the kilt, so they were lengthened to cover the knee. Pretty simple. And Bob's Your Uncle.

[Robbie]

Great story about Queen Victoria, Chris, but as Bear said there's a lot of misinformation out there about the kilt and regretably I think this is one of them!

When the Gaels first came to Scotland they wore firstly the leine and then subsequently the great kilt followed by the little kilt, and there is plenty of documentary evidence, both pictorial and old writings, dating back to pre 1600 which clearly show all three garments were worn about 2-6ins above the knee up to the time of proscription. Before Queen Victoria came to the throne (1837) the kilt and tartans were firmly re-established and pre-Victoria pictures show that the length had settled at about top of kneecap level. During Victoria's reign photographs, a much more accurate method of making pictorial records, began to appear and some of these early photos taken of the royal court, including the faithful John Brown, show kilt wearers with knees clearly on display!

Of much more interest (and I hope you're not too bored with all this!), is why of all the Gaelic groups only the Scots went from the leine to the kilt, all the other known main groups (Irish, Welsh, Manx) going from the leine to trousers.

[Rob]

Of much more interest (and I hope you're not too bored with all this!), is why of all the Gaelic groups only the Scots went from the leine to the kilt, all the other known main groups (Irish, Welsh, Manx) going from the leine to trousers.

Robbie,

The Welsh are not Gaelic. They come from the Brythonic branch of the Celtic peoples, along with the peoples of South West Scotland (Strathclyde), Southern England and Brittany.

Rob (A mostly Brythonic Celt)

[Robbie]

Hi Rob -

Didn't actually say the Welsh are Gaels. The Gaels who left Ireland settled down the north-west coast of Britain, mainly in the Highlands of Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. In Scotland they took over from the Picts as the dominant group, also in the Isle of Man (but from whom I know not), but failed in Wales where, as you say, those of Celtic origin retained control. Nevertheless, it is believed that at one time there was a significant Gaelic presence in Wales.

I think the Scots, Welsh and Irish all have a common heritage in the Celts, Gaels, Picts and Norse (albeit in differing proportions) - but I'm not going to try and count the number of bloodlines in England!