A sporran on the side...

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Keep in mind that, as far as Western clothing goes, pockets in general are a relative new comer to the scene. Medieval men and women all across Europe had no pockets, but kept their goodies with them in a pouch, usually worn from the belt.

This is all a sporran is, really. It's the Gaelic word for a pouch.

So why do Scots wear the sporrans in the front, rather than off to the side? Who knows? All I know is that they have been doing it for a long time, even longer than they have been wearing the kilt.

A twelfth century account written by Guibert of Nogent, of a vision of demons he had, describes them as wearing their scrips (a type of pilgrim's pouch) "in the manner of the Scots, forward from their haunches, as they are wont..."

What does this tell us? That even by the twelfth century, the Scots were well known enough for wearing their pouches to the front that a Frenchman could make a reference to it and expect to be understood.

Does this mean that you can't wear your sporran to the side? No, not at all. I know lots of men who do. One recent trend I have noted among pipers and others who wear the long hair sporrans (which typicaly have no pocket, or one so small as to be rather useless) is to wear a military catridge pouch on their hip on the main kilt belt, so they have somewhere to keep their wallet and car keys. Very good idea.

Aye,
Matt

[Big Paul]

So why do Scots wear the sporrans in the front, rather than off to the side??

Because a Scotsman likes to keep his two favorite things together, his money and his jewels!

[Doc Hudson]

A twelfth century account written by Guibert of Nogent, of a vision of demons he had, describes them as wearing their scrips (a type of pilgrim's pouch) "in the manner of the Scots, forward from their haunches, as they are wont..."

What does this tell us? That even by the twelfth century, the Scots were well known enough for wearing their pouches to the front that a Frenchman could make a reference to it and expect to be understood.

Could it be that Scots figured it was easier to protect their scrips from the attentions of cutpurses if worn in front?

[Mr. Kilt]

A friend of mine sells these soft leather belt pouches. I bought one to try as a sporran, it worked great. The leather is baby-bottom soft and it has quite a bit of room in it. It's designed to be worn on your belt. The silver conch & tassles are removable.
Here's a couple of pics and a link to his web page.

http://www.sagebrushdesigns.ca/leather_pouch.html