Kilt
The kilt is seen as an item of traditional Scottish Highland dress, although the "authenticity" of that tradition is debatable. It was only with the Romantic Revival of the 19th century that the kilt became irreversibly associated with Highlanders, largely because of non-Highlanders reinterpreting their traditions. Today most Scotsmen see kilts as formal dress. They are generally worn only at weddings or other formal occasions, although there are still a few people who wear them daily.
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2 Origins of the Modern, or "Small Kilt" 3 The modern kilt 4 The Kilt Today 5 Underwear 6 External links 7 For Further Research |
The Great Kilt
Originally a length of woollen cloth 1.5 m in width and up to 5 m in length. Worn as a cloak, over the left shoulder with a wide belt, this was the 'great kilt', the Fèileadh Bhreacain or Fèileadh Mor. The great kilt was an untailored draped garment made of cloth gathered up into pleats by hand and secured by the belt. The age of the great kilt is hotly debated but it certainly existed at the beginning of the 17th century.
The garment people would today recognize as a kilt was invented around 1727 by Thomas Rawlinson, a Quaker from Lancashire. He designed it for the Highlanders who worked in his new charcoal production facility in the woods of northern Scotland. After the Jacobite campaign of 1715 the government was "opening" the Highlands to outside exploitation and Rawlinson was one of the businessmen who took advantage of the situation. Rawlinson thought that the traditional Highland kilt, the "belted plaid" which consisted of a large cloak was inconvenient for tree cutters, and introduced the new kilt. The modern kilt is often confused with the Leine Croich, a knee-length shirt of leather, linen or canvas, heavily pleated and sometimes quilted as protection. The little kilt, made with half the width of material of the 'great kilt', was box-pleated or knife-pleated (with pleats sewn in to speed the donning of the kilt) with the lower edges reaching not lower than the centre of the knee-cap.
Rawlinson liked the new creation so much that he began to wear it as well and was soon imitated by his Scottish colleagues, the MacDonell's of Glengarry. The new type of kilt became known as a fèileadh beag or philabeg. Over the next couple of decades the new type of kilt became quite popular throughout the Highlands and northern Lowlands.
In 1745, after another Jacobite campaign, all items of Highland dress were outlawed, including the new kilts. The traditional way of life throughout the Highlands was destroyed. The ban remained in effect for 35 years. Although the kilt was largely forgotten in the Scottish Highlands, during those years it became fashionable for Scottish romanticss to wear kilts as a form of protest against the ban. This was an age that romanticized "primitive" peoples, which is what Highlanders were viewed as. Although most Lowlanders had viewed Highlanders with fear before 1745, they immediately identified with them after their power was broken. (See: Highland clearances)
Also at this time, the Government decided to form Highland regiments for the army in order to direct the energies of Gaels, that "hardy and intrepid race of men." In doing so they formed effective new army regiments to send to fight in India, America, and other locations while lowering the possibility of rebellion at home. These regiments opted for the modern kilts because of their convenience and kept them going at a time when the kilt became unknown amongst other Highlanders. These regiments also began the tradition of differentiating clans based on their tartans. As a means of identification the regiments were given different tartans, a system which caught on with Scottish clans in the 19th century.
After the unrest of the 18th century, the kilt, along with other features of Gaelic culture became identified with the Jacobites.
The kilt is traditionally for men only, although in the modern era, long women's dresses patterned after kilts do exist, and women pipers frequently wear kilts. Kilten skirts for girls are also worn.
As with any other form of dress, the kilt is subject to the vagaries of fashion. Since the 1980s, kilts have appeared in such materials as leather and denim. Single colours have also been used in place of tartan, particularly by people without Scottish links in countries such as Ireland or the United States. While these garments may be disliked by traditionalists, they provide evidence that the kilt still has a place in the modern fashion world.
Whatever decision is made, what a Scotsman wears under his kilt is, traditionally, his own business and generally, Scotsmen will be at pains to keep it so. Thus the reply to a question on the topic may hint at the answer but should never state it outright. A good standard reply when asked, is that, "Nothing is worn under the kilt. It's all in perfect working order".
Hugh Trevor-Roper, "The Invention of Tradition: The Highland Tradition of Scotland." in ''The Invention of Tradition" ed. Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.Origins of the Modern, or "Small Kilt"
The modern kilt
The popularity of the current garment is largely due to the Highland romantic revival orchestrated by Sir Walter Scott for the visit of George IV to Edinburgh in 1822. Scott and other members of the Celtic Society of Edinburgh decided to display a "gathering of the Gael" for the Hanoverian king. In so doing, they established an entirely new Scottish tradition. The supposed "traditional" garment of the Highlanders (which, unlike the Great Kilt, was in fact only 80 years old) now became identified with the whole of Scotland, even though 9 out of 10 Scots lived in the Lowlands. At this time many other traditions such as clan identification by tartan were started. After that point the kilt gathered momentum as a defining characteristic of Scottish culture as identified by nationalists, romantics, and others, and they spent much effort impressing the "ancient" and natural qualities of the kilt and other such things that they were soon accepted by most of the population.The Kilt Today
Underwear
A good rule of thumb is that kilts should be worn without underwear in daily use, but with it for dancing (when a light kilt may fly up). In practice, underwear is not needed for a fully lined kilt, but may be preferable for an unlined woollen kilt to prevent chafing. In the end whether or not underwear is worn on any particular occasion, is up to the weather, the company, and the individual wearer.External links
For Further Research