Why, or how, did the kilt come about?

[Kid Cossack]

Ladies and gentlemen:

Do we have any idea how and why the kilt came about?

The leine and brat preceded the kilt, I know, and the leine started off as a tunic (a very basic homo sapiens costume) and developed into a more elaborate tunic/shirt kind of combo.

It simply seems strange to me that anyone would go from a highly structured garment (i.e., the leine) to the great kilt. Who thinks, "I'll abandon this traditional mode of attire and wrap myself in a blanket?"

I'd be surprised if anyone today really knows what compelled the development of the kilt---indeed, at times it seems that we know almost nothing at all of the past---but I wanted to ask anyway.

Now I'll go wrap myself in a blanket and see if anyone has an answer!

[Jock Scot]

Contrary to popular belief, I was not around in those days.So, sorry old chap, I have not a helpful clue, I am afraid.

[Jack Daw]

Some teenage Scotman in the day started a new fad.

[KD Burke]

It always struck me as just the sort of thing a man would wear while running from a jealous husband. Get chased far enough into the wood, and it may be all you've got for a while.....

[Woodsheal]

Simply put, the Celts and other Northern Europeans were trouser-wearers. But, the Celts in the Scottish Highlands had to deal with wet, boggy, steep terrain and bare legs are easier to dry than trousered legs, and who wants to wear wet trousers 24/7? Plus, they weren't horsemen in the Highlands like the Celts elsewhere - another reason to not need trousers....

[Panache]

...the Celts in the Scottish Highlands had to deal with wet, boggy, steep terrain and bare legs are easier to dry than trousered legs, and who wants to wear wet trousers 24/7? ....

Would this explain why the Highlanders are so often depicted as shoeless?

This has always struck me as odd being that Scotland (especially with the cold weather of a few centuries past) with its rough terrain would be a place where going barefoot would flourish

Cheers

Jamie :ootd:

[KFCarter]

It is my contention that it was against this backdrop of climatic, economic, agricultural, and political disaster that the kilt was born of absolute necessity-- the need to wrap oneself in rags and huddle near a fire to keep from freezing to death whilst slowly starving.

Of course one can never be certain, but IMHO this is a very well-reasoned line of thought.

...Chronology of Scottish History by David Ross; Geddes & Grosset, 2002. For a general overview I'd recommend The Lion in the North by John Prebble, [my copy] Coward, McCann & Geoghagan (New York), 1971, and A Concise History of Scotland by Sir Fitzroy Maclean; [my copy] Thames and Hudson, Ltd. (London), 1970. ...You might also want to get a copy of the latest catalog from James Thin, Booksellers, in Edinburgh-- but I have to warn you books on Scottish history, once you really get into it, are almost as addictive as heroin, and a far more expensive habit!

You are certainly right about the last statement...and so the reading list grows! Thank you.

[JRB]

Would this explain why the Highlanders are so often depicted as shoeless?

Jamie :ootd:

The Irish called the Scottish mercenaries "red shanks" for their bare legs and feet. I suppose one just got used to the cold.

[HarborSpringsPiper]

The Irish called the Scottish mercenaries "red shanks" for their bare legs and feet. I suppose one just got used to the cold.

Indeed! Here is a reference from the STA site.

Highlanders were out in all sorts of weather, bare legged and frequently bare-footed and one of the names given to them was Redshankes - shanks is an old word for legs and the red legs were caused by exposure to the winds, rains and snows of the Highlands. In 1543 a Highland priest called John Elder wrote a fairly detailed letter on the subject to Henry VIII.


In 1688 the Governor of the Isle of Man wrote a description of Highlanders: "Their thighs are bare, with brawny muscles . . . a thin brogue on the foot, a short buskin of various colours on the legg, tied above the calf with a striped pair of garters. What should be concealed is hid with a large shot-pouch, on each side of which hangs a pistol and a dagger. A round target on their backs, a blew bonnet on their heads, and in one hand a broad sword and a musquet in the other."

I have always loved this one too:

Captain Burt whom we read of a little bit earlier, had something to say about the Highlander's shoes: "They are often barefoot, but some I have seen shod with a kind of pumps made out of a raw cow hide with the hair turned outward. They are not only offensive to the sight, but intolerable to the smell of those who are near them. By the way, they cut holes in their brogues though new made, to let out the water when they have far to go, and rivers to pass; thus they do to prevent their feet from galling." (becoming sore).

http://www.tartansauthority.com/Web/...land_Dress.asp

[Nick the DSM]

Some teenage Scotman in the day started a new fad.

I agree with this!