Did the Welsh wear kilts??

[McG]

Noo a wis reading a post twa days ago stating that it wisnae just Scotland that wore the kilt it wis a Celtic thing as wis family tartans. Post came fae Wales.
Noo a wis under the impression it wis just a Scottish thing and the Celts never wore kilts or tartan but wore a tunic belted in the middle. Ma source telt me that the Welsh never wore the kilt until 1967 which wis designed bi D M Richards using the colour o' the Welsh flag nor hae they had family tartans it maire o' a modern thing.
Reality is a believe that the kilt wis developed in Scotland and family tartans wis predominently a Scottish tradition.
Am a richt, richtish or wrang? Forgive me if a am wrang but am yin o' those Scots that just think it's oor's!!

[James MacMillan]

I think you're right!

[Monkey@Arms]

I've never read any serious writing which suggested that the kilt in the United Kingdom has its origin in anywhere other than Scotland. Clearly, however, since their Victorian hayday kilts and tartans have been adopted by people other than Scots, including those seeking to emphasise a pan-celtic identity, and those enlightened few who think they just plain kick ***.

Best regards,

Jake

[gilmore]

McG, My understanding is that you are correct.

Kilts originated in Scotland, and were recast as a pan-Celtic emblem in Ireland by Irish nationalists starting in the in the late 19th century.

Most Scottish clan tartans were invented by tartan manufacturers and kilt merchants in the early to middle 19th century. Welsh clan tartans were invented by tartan manufacturers and kilt merchants starting in the latter half of the 20th century.

[McClef]

A cilted tradition in Wales is somewhat dubious.

But all traditions have to start somewhere and they gradually grow.

And more and more, people in Wales are becoming aware of Welsh tartans etc.

[pdcorlis]

Thank the Scots for your Kilts. The notion of family tartans is mostly victorian thanks to Sir Walter Scott and some enterprising woolen mills. Today new traditions are growing from old traditions as the kilt or cilt is embraced by others. As our old boss used to say - the rising tide lifts all boats.

[auld argonian]

I've learned, from many of the experts on this forum and a whole lot of reading, that the kilt is a recent innovation. I've also accepted the fact that it's damn near impossible for any of my Scottish forebearers to have worn anything resembling a kilt. I just take it as the Pan-Celtic garment of solidarity...if you have Celtic ties (and that takes in a whole lot more people than those of the Seven Celtic Nations) it's a good thing to wear the kilt. Guid on everybody who does!

Best

AA

[Archangel]

It depends on your definition of kilt. The skirt like article we generally wear is primarily Scottish (some interesting history there but go with Scottish).
A wrap, like the full plaid, would be common to nearly all cultures and at some point any Celtic culture would have worn that.
So, take the same evolution and any Celtic group can wear it, and then anybody can.

I wear a Batman jacket because I like it and Batman, not because I claim to be Batman.

[Bryan]

There are some historians that believe it is possible a kilt-like garment was brought to Scotland by the Norse.

[slohairt]

The kilt as we known it today is most certainly Scottish, as was its ancestor, the Feileadh Mhor/Belted Plaid. Before that, we're told Highlanders dressed in "the Irish fashion." So, in a roundabout way, the kilt has made its long descent from Irish clothing to Highland clothing to, now, pan-Celtic clothing.

When selecting a "national costume", Irish nationalists chose to create things like the solid green kilt or the saffron kilt. While partially based on historians' misconceptions of the léine and other Irish wear, it is interesting that people like Pádraig Pearse chose something (perhaps without realising it) that was ultimately based on their own historical clothing. The modern Irish saffron kilt thus represents the léine (through its colour) and the old belted plaid. It is nice to see Irish culture borrowing from Highland culture, since of course, it was usually the other way around.

You can be sure tartan was worn in the other Celtic nations as well. It would not be a stretch to say the ancient Welsh wore tartan mantles/wraps/capes.

So, we have the modern, tailored kilt as a Scottish national garment dating from the late 18th to early 19th Century, as a Irish national mode of dress starting in the mid- to late 19th Century, and as a Welsh/pan-Celtic garment starting in the mid- to late 20th Century.

All Celts should be proud that the Scottish Highlanders managed to sustain the only form of traditional Celtic dress that has survived into modern times.

P.S. That reminds me, experts (and most official organisations) generally agree that there are only six Celtic nations: Ireland, Scotland, The Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. Claims put forward by regions like Galicia, and Asturias (both in Spain) have little validity, as their claims of "Celtic" culture do not meet any definable criteria.