Tartan Police!

[Archangel]

Actually, there seems to be some debate over this. The picture below is probably the closest to a snapshot that we have of the battle. It was commissioned by the victors and some of the people were from the battle and taken from prisones to replay their roles. The intent was to preserve history. Here they're fully dressed which is supposed to be the official version but other accounts give the description in the previous post.

[AckZel]

The tale about naked celt are from Romans and such... That pictures looks more like 18th century. When Romans tried to invade "Caledonia" the locals were more like barbarians than in the 18th cent. Romans also told about unarmed Celts who were throwing severed heads of Roman soldiers at the enemy to demoralize them. Way to go!

[Planopiper]

I wasn't thinking about any particular battle. I just meant, as a matter of course. And I think I was thinking of something earlier than the time depicted in this painting. I'm picturing them more with shirts, great kilts, claymores and mud, rather than jackets, vests, and trews. Maybe not as far back as the Romans, though. Something between the 2nd and 18th centuries.

[chasem]

Something between the 2nd and 18th centuries.

well that certainly narrows it down

[Archangel]

Should have given more info on the painting above. It was commissioned after Culloden, 1746, so, Ackwell, you're right. The piece above is just a detail. You can find more by googling Culloden or David Morier (the artist).

The point is that the painting was intended to be a true representation of the battle. The subjects on the Scottish side are actual participants, now prisoners. A lot of history has been deduced from this painting, and there has been a lot of challenges. The two that pertain to this thread are the number of different patterns and the amount of clothing worn in battle.