Quote Originally Posted by Bill View Post
Hello Everyone!

I've been away for a while (b-u-s-y! ).
I have a sporran that is made so one may pass a belt though. By doing that I find that I can dispense with the chain strap but I wonder if this is kosher as I have never seen a real sporran stap .
Comments -- suggestions -- ?

Thanks!
Bill
Quote Originally Posted by bubba View Post
Seems to me that's how the originals were made a century or more ago. I think the strap is relatively modern in origin.
Quote Originally Posted by Freelander Sporrano View Post
I would think the Strap came first....Or was that the egg ........ Sorry.

I've always thought that the strap came first because hide was readely available...Can anyone give another reason why this isn't so.
Quote Originally Posted by bubba View Post
Originally the sporran was little more than a belt pouch worn to the side I believe. It wasn't til the Victorians that it had a separate strap and was worn as it is now, mostly to hide the "male attributes" and the gallant reflex.
While I might generally agree with this assesment, I have seen eyewitness artistic renderings, including this one from the Penicuik series of the '45 that clearly show what appears to be a belt-type strap:



Rather this was seperate or attached/sewn to the sporran I cannot say.

I also know that the 84th RoF living history organization has documentation from the later 18th century that shows they wore raccoon sporrans with a belt-type strap attached/sewn to the sporran.

Also, again in the Penicuik renderings as well as 18th century paintings I've been looking at, the sporran is almost always worn as it is now, squarely (or nearly so) in front.

note: the figure in the print is identified by the Penicuik artist as 'Glengarry'. This is presumed to be Colonel Angus McDonnell, Glengarry's second son, who was accidentally shot and killed on January 22, 1746, when one of Clanranald's men failed to realize that the firelock he was cleaning was loaded.