Recent Irish kilt question

[Sir Robert]

Agreed that unmoderated forums become cesspools rather quickly and that drives away the good people that you want to keep.

That said, over-moderated forums become a rather poor quality vanilla and stay that way which drives away good folks too.

This particular issue (kilts) is just so political/nationalist/religious that over or under moderation kinda spoils the soup so to speak.

Panache, love you man! 'Didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Just asking for a moderate amount of moderation, at least enough to find out why the Southern Irish wear the kilt. The Northern Irish who are very often displaced Scots, I can imagine why they wear the kilt.

[Drac]

I am new here so am still trying to learn the feel of this forum and do not mean to ruffle any feathers.

Being a dumb American with a wife with a history degree (which means I may have a little more knowledge than some Americans but not a very disciplined study) I have looked a little into the history of the kilt when I was considering what I would wear to the Ren Fairs.

I have question, has anyone looked at the old drawings/carvings from early eras? I noticed a similarity to the older forms of native Scottish dress that looked more and more like a toga the farther back you go. I always wondered if the Roman occupation of the Isles? Both were a wrapped style of clothing.

Another question is where does the belted plaid end and the kilt begin? The wrapped dress is older than the 19th century but that is when the kilt came into being.

Thank you for your time,
Jim

[Phil]

I have question, has anyone looked at the old drawings/carvings from early eras? I noticed a similarity to the older forms of native Scottish dress that looked more and more like a toga the farther back you go. I always wondered if the Roman occupation of the Isles? Both were a wrapped style of clothing.

When the Romans were here the inhabitants of Scotland were the Picts. The Romans never actually occupied Scotland but did have outposts in some places. The furthest north they came permanently was on a line between the Forth and Clyde where they built the Antonine wall to keep the northern barbarians out. The Scotti, a tribe from the north of Ireland arrived about the 6th century and settled the western seaboard of Scotland. The Romans were long gone by then and it was they who eventually started kilt-wearing but only quite a few hundred years later. When you think about it, it was quite a primitive form of dress, requiring no stitching or any other sophisticated tailoring, so it is hardly surprising if other cultures adopted the same idea of throwing on a loose piece of cloth. What differentiates the kilt, however, is that it is gathered around the waist and held there with a belt and it is this form, now much more sophisticated which you see today.

[billmcc]

Drac,

Welcome to X-Marks.

Here is an article on The Early History of the Kilt: http://www.scottishtartans.org/kilt.html

[Pleater]

The problem with cloaks and mantles is they are all very well indoors, or on fine days - but in anything of a wind they are more of a hindrance than any use in keeping warm and dry.

Fasten them at the throat and they strangle you, put you in danger of hanging yourself when they catch on a branch or stone wall, either that or they tear and you are in danger of losing the fastening as well.

So when out in the wind and rain wearing a large and unruly piece of fabric - to keep yourself from getting cold and wet you pull the thing up over your head, to ward off the stinging precipitation, then pull it close around you , doubling it over in front of you to try to keep the wind out - then it blows out at the back and flaps around - so you take any strap or cord or belt you have - maybe the little bag on a cross belt you just happen to have with you, drop it over your shoulders and pull it tight around your ribs - hang on - I think I've seen images of something like that somewhere before...



Anne the Pleater :ootd: