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History of the KiltKilts
First of all, there are no ancient Irish kilts. For that matter, there are no ancient Scottish kilts either. The present Scottish national costume is a modern invention of the English and Scottish nobility of the 19th century. Neither the ancient Scots nor Irish wore them as we see them today.
Allow me a brief digression. The word “Scot” derives from the word “Scottus” in Latin and means “Irishman” or “raider”. The Romans in Britain knew the Highlanders and Irish to be one people and referred to them as the “Scotti” in their writings.
Even up to the time of Elizabeth I, the “Irish problem” refers to the Irish and the Highlanders as one people/problem. However, from this point, I will refer to the Irish as those Celts occupying Ireland and the Scots as those Celts occupying Scotland as they are known today.
The ancient Celts migrated out of the Middle East thousands of years ago. They moved through the Balkans and into Europe. They invaded Rome and settled all over southern Europe. They crossed the Pyrenees into the Iberian peninsula (modern Spain).
The migration to Ireland (700 BCE) was from Iberia and not from Gaul (modern France). From Ireland, the Celts migrated to the Highlands of Scotland (375 CE). They were more-or-less one people with one language and culture at this time.
The ancient writers of both Greece and Rome described the dress of the Celts as striped. However, striped clothing was not unique to the Celts. It was not the complicated style of cloth we call “tartan” or “plaid” today.
The ancient Irish and Scots wore a tunic (leine, Gaelic, “shirt”) made of linen and/or silk falling to the knees for men. This garment evolved over time from a simple long sleeveless smock to an elaborate 7 yd. garment with gathered waist and billowing sleeves dyed a saffron color. In some depictions it looks like a short kilt, but it was never made of wool.
Early leine with brat
Over this tunic they wore a type of striped woolen cape (brat, Gaelic, “blanket”) held with a brooch at the shoulder. This cape was described in varying lengths depending on social rank. Also, the more variegated the colors of the cape, the higher the rank of the wearer. In later times, trewes were sometimes worn underneath and a short jacket on top.
16th Century leine with jacket In 1537, Henry VIII of England banned the wearing of this tunic and the traditional Irish dress in Ireland. He wished to have the Irish dress like the rest of his subjects in England reasoning that it would help assimilate them.
Traditional dress disappeared in Ireland and went through a modification in Scotland. The tunic went out of use, perhaps because the sources in Ireland were no longer making them. The mantle was now worn alone with it pleated and wrapped around the waist and folds of it gathered at the shoulders.
It was first described in “The Life of Hugh O’Donnell”, in 1594. This garment was the progenitor of the kilt, i.e., the belted-plaid (breacan filleadh, Gaelic, “striped wrap”).
This garment was made from 4 or 5 yards of material about thirty inches wide with two pieces sewn together lengthwise. It was made in many different colors according to the taste and ability of local weavers. One could spot a weave typical of an area and this may have been the beginning of the misconception of ancient clan tartans.
However, many times they were of colors of the bracken and heather to allow better concealment. This garment was clothing, rucksack and sleeping bag all rolled into one. As such, it offered a great advantage when fighting in the Highlands in the Scottish way.
In time, the Scots would have two forms of this garment, the great kilt (filleadh mhor, Gaelic, “great wrap”) and the small kilt (filleadh beag, Gaelic, “little wrap”). When the two pieces of cloth were not sewn together, one pleated half of it and wrapped it around the waist as the filleadh beag and secured it with a belt. The other half was carried pleated over the shoulder, i.e., the plaide (Gaelic, “pleated blanket”). These two sections were not joined together as in the filleadh mhor.
The filleadh beag
In time, the pleats were sewn in place. However, and contrary to popular myth, Rawlinson, an English iron-works owner, did not invent the modern kilt. Evidence shows it existed before he sewed the pleats of the filleadh beag of his workers.
After the fall of the Jacobite army in 1745, the English banned the wearing of kilts, pipes and many other ethnic aspects of the lives of the Scots. The hope was that this would destroy Scottish nationalism and allow assimilation of the Scots into England. It nearly succeeded before the repeal of the ban in 1783.
Two major factors conspired to keep the kilt and pipes and other aspects of this culture alive: the Regiments and the English Queen Victoria!
The Scottish Regiments existed before the revolt of 1745. They wore, and continued to wear, the kilt after the ban on them elsewhere in Scotland. The first regimental tartan was created for the Black Watch in 1740 and it is the first tartan given a name and a full pedigree. The other Scottish regiments followed suit.
19th Century Scottish Regiment in France
The stunning performance of the Scottish regiments in the India and Napoleonic Wars created a certain romantic view of these soldiers. The papers and novels of the day told of their virtues and exploits.
Queen Victoria had Scottish blood (Stewart). She read the writings of Sir Walter Scott and became enamored with all things Scottish. When Victoria and Albert went to Edinburgh on holiday a ball was held at the castle. The invitations instructed each guest to dress in the tartan of his clan in Highland attire. There was just one small problem: there were no official clan tartans at this time.
Another small digression: “tartan” is not a Gaelic word. It is a French word (tiretaine) introduced to Scotland in the 16th century. It means a fabric of woven wool with linen or silk. The word has come to mean the patterns on the cloth or “plaid” in modern English. The original Gaelic is breacan.
It became clear that the myth of ancient clan tartans needed to be satisfied. Many of the nobles ran through their castles to check the paintings of their ancestors. Many paintings showed one man with more than one tartan in the same painting!
At this point the many business-minded weavers and the many ersatz experts started to codify the clan, family and district tartans of Scotland. The myth was being satisfied and every one was happy.
Although the tartans had been worn at least as far back as 1440 CE and maybe earlier (remember the striped garments of the early Celts?), the modern system of clan, family and district tartans appear to be an invention of the 19th century. In 1948, the Lord Lyon King of Arms stated the development of tartans for names from ancient sources was “humbug” at a meeting in Edinburgh.
Today, a tartan may be registered with the “Scottish Tartans Society”. Family, clan, district, county, national, industrial, military and commemorative tartans have been given a name and pedigree in this library. In this way, the tartan as a kilt, or other garment, may be worn by more than just those of Scottish descent.
Regarding the use of the kilt by the Irish, this can all be dated to the days before the Easter Rebellion in 1916. Seeking a national costume, leaders of the Irish nationalist movement asked revolutionary and historian, Padraic Pearse, (later to be executed in retaliation for the Easter Rising) what they should choose.
Pearse said, "I would rather we adopt the kilt of our Scottish cousins than wear what is in the Royal Museum for fear that people would think we had forgotten to change our pyjamas."
He was referring to the Killery Costume in the now National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. It is a suit of clothes consisting of checked wool trews and a long jacket that to a man of his era would appear to be "long johns" and not proper clothing.
Royal Irish Rangers Irish Republic Air Force Band
Even before the Easter Rebellion. The Irish Regiments wore kilts dyed a saffron color. Many male Irish dancers dress in kilts today. And I cannot recall a pipe band, from the venerable NYPD Emerald Society Pipe Band to the novice San Diego FD Emerald Society Pipe Band that is not marching in kilts with a tartan of their own choosing.
Irish Regimental Kilt
NYC Police Emerald Society Pipe Band
NYPD REGIMENTAL PIPE BAND A few years ago, I was in NYC for St. Patrick’s Day and was doing some “research” in a pub. In walked 20 young men from Ireland in rugby jerseys and a kilt in the Irish national tartan. They assured me they dressed this way for the fun of it and were no less Irish for doing so. It was the first time I was not in my own kilt on St. Patrick’s Day and was sad that I had not been.
Irish National Tartan
Last year, I went to an Irish function with some lads in kilts. I met a retired USMC colonel dressed in a kilt in the official USMC “Leatherneck” tartan. He said he liked the look and felt no less Irish for wearing one.
USMC “Leatherneck” Tartan
“Leatherneck” Pipe Band
Although no one will arrest you for wearing a tartan of your choosing, there may be social consequences for doing so. I would recommend selecting one based on some family, clan, national or military association you have. You can buy a kilt, a tie, a scarf, or a sash for your lady in the tartan of your choice. There are hundreds of none clothing items that tartan has been applied to as well.
In summary, the kilt is a modern garment with an ancient pedigree. There is no litmus test of nationality or affiliation that one must pass to wear it. A well made kilt will last generations, so choose your tartan(s) wisely. Refer to Thompson’s book (bibliography) for how to wear it properly.
Modern Kilt Daywear Bibliography:
Cahill, Thomas. How the Irish Saved Civilization. New York: Doubleday, 1995.
McClintock, H.F. Old Irish and Highland Dress. Original publication, 1943. Edinburgh: Scotdisc CD-ROM #609, 2003.
McGann, Kass. Reconstructing History. http://www. reconstructinghistory.com/. July, 1995.
McGann, Kass. Personal email. 7/08/2005.
Newsome, Matthew A. C. The Early History of the Kilt. http://albanach.org/kilt.html. July, 2005.
Thompson, J. Charles. So You’re Going to Wear the Kilt. 3rd ed. Arlington, VA: Heraldic Art, 1989.
Web page. History of the Kilt in Scotland. http://www.majestictech . com/the-celtic-net/kilthistory.html. July, 2005.
Copyright: 2005, Michael G. LaMar, MD, KTJ All rights reserved.
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