Tuesday 23 September 2014

ABC Wednesday, K for Kilt, Scotland,



From Wikipedia:

"Today tartan may be mostly associated with Scotland; however, the earliest evidence of tartan is found far afield from the British Isles. According to the textile historian E. J. W. Barber, the Hallstatt culture of Central Europe, which is linked with ancient Celtic populations and flourished between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, produced tartan-like textiles. Some of them were recently discovered, remarkably preserved, in Salzburg, Austria Textile analysis of fabric from Indo-European Tocharian graves in Western China has also shown it to be similar to that of the Iron Age Hallstatt culture. 


Tartan-like leggings were found on the "Cherchen Man", a 3,000 year-old mummy found in the Taklamakan Desert in western China (see Tarim mummies). Similar finds have been made in central Europe and Scandinavia. The earliest documented tartan in Britain, known as the "Falkirk" tartan, dates from the 3rd century AD. The fragment was stuffed into the mouth of an earthenware pot containing almost 2,000 Roman coins. The Falkirk tartan has a simple check design, of natural light and dark wool. Early forms of tartan like this are thought to have been invented in pre-Roman times, and would have been popular among the inhabitants of the northern Roman provinces as well as in other parts of Northern Europe such as Jutland, where the same pattern was prevalent."


John Campbell of the Bank, 1749. The present official Clan Campbell tartans are predominantly blue, green and black.


The nationalism of the kilt is relatively recent. It was only with the Romantic Revival of the early 19th century that the highland kilt was adopted by Lowlanders and the Scottish diaspora as a symbol of national identity. People from other countries with Celtic connections, some Irish, Cornish, Welsh and Manx, have also adopted tartan kilts in recent times, although to a lesser degree.Not every Scotsman or Scotswoman wears a kilt nowadays, but at festivals or special occasions they make a wonderful show in their kilts, while playing their bagpipes. Up until the eighteenth century, clans in Scotland had little or no association with particular tartans."



And tartans that were worn back then, were more likely to be associated with a district rather than a clan.Here are some patterns of tartans used for kilts. I couldn't find out which kilt belongs to which clan. I should like to know more about the clans and their kilts. I fear, however, that it is a rather complicated thing.





The kilt first appeared as the great kilt, a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak draped over the shoulder, or brought up over head as a cloak. The small kilt or walking kilt (similar to the "modern" kilt) did not develop until the late 17th or early 18th century, and is essentially the bottom half of the great kilt.



With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and thanks to Roger. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with K.







This tartan is worn on various occasions by the Queen

  

28 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Ah, you always come up with the fascinating things to post, Wil!!! These are wonderful and informative!! Thank you for sharing! Hope you have a great week!

Cloudia said...

Tribal patterns!
Excellent post, Wil





ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
=^..^= . <3 . >< } } (°>

Arija said...

Oddly enough, tartans were also regional in Latvia. I think the colours vary from district to district depending on the local dye plants used.

Hildred said...

Good choice for K, Wil, - watching the Outlander I see the old, large kilts that were a garment for all purposes. I have always found a kilted Scot terribly romantic!!!!

Roger Owen Green said...

attractive, and timely to boot!

ROG, ABCW

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous choice for the letter K! On my very first trip to Scotland in the early 70's I bought myself a kilt to bring home.

Anita Sabat said...

I love the patterns & colours of the Kilts. Very attractive :)
Thanks for sharing, Wil.

Kate said...

Perfect for "K"—certainly has been in the news lately!

Rajesh said...

Great information. The design and color combination is excellent.

Unknown said...

Have always been a big admirer of the kilt and it reminds me of a very specific scene from Braveheart

PhenoMenon, ABCW Team
http://throodalookingglass.com/2014/09/kathakali-makeup/

Unknown said...

Was ook het 1e waaraan ik dacht maar dan had ik een foto van het internet moeten plukken want helaas ben ik daar nog nooit geweest.

Mooie foto's hoor!

lotusleaf said...

Beautiful patterns. The police band in my state of Karnatake dress up in kilts and play the bagpipes on festive occasions.

carol l mckenna said...

Being of Scottish descent post is fascinating and love the kilt photo! Thanks!

artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

Reader Wil said...

Hi Pheno! I am sorry but I can't find a place to comment on your blog. It is very interesting and I had never heard of this kind of decoration on face, arms and perhaps the whole body!
Have a great week!
Wil, ABCW Team

Reader Wil said...

Hi Melody! Ook bij jou kan ik geen plek vinden om mijn comment te schrijven, en welke post heb je ingezonden? Help me even waar ik kijken moet?
Wil, ABCW Team.

A Colorful World said...

If I had another life to live, I'd be a textile historian! This was a great post! Loved reading about the tartan. It was the perfect K post!

Jane Hards Photography said...

Great choice. The Manx people too, the Isle of Man, also has it's own tartan and kilt. Far too cold for wearing though.

Susan Moore said...

Interesting history of the tartan. Textiles have many stories to tell us :)
I am part Scottish and Irish - one day I must go and explore the land of my ancestors.

ChrisJ said...

I love that beautiful stonework in your header of Edinburgh. Don't see many kilts over here.

K V V S MURTHY said...

Really interesting to have known about the customary attires..thanks for sharing!

Trubes said...

Hi Wil,
That was most interesting, I love to see a Scottish man in a kilt. Prince Charles and the Duke of Edinburgh always wear the kilt when in Scotland. They look most dashing in them too! I notice that Princes' William and Harry don't wear them although they are entitled too, shame really...I'm sure they would look wonderful !I know Prince Charles often wears Lord of the Isles hunting Tartan, The Queen has a Stewart tartan which she often wear as a stole over a lovely long white dress. I've seen clips of all the immediate Royal family Ladies sporting this at the Balls they regularly stage at Balmoral....You may have guessed that you've touched on a favourite subject of mine, many thanks I really enjoyed it,
Best wishes,
Di..xx

Ann said...

I love all of the kilt patterns!!
ann

Gattina said...

Very interesting ! I was a bit disappointed when I was in Scotland to see so few men in a kilt, lol !

SamuraiFrog said...

I wore a kilt once and it was exceedingly comfortable. I wish I could wear them all the time.

Vagabonde said...

Maintenant je peux dire que je connais un peu l’histoire des tartans, merci. Si j’avais été un homme j’aurais bien aimé en porter un. Quand j’allais au lycée en France, je portais beaucoup de jupes à tissus « écossais » avec un pull.

Marja said...

Very interesting. You see them here quite a lot as there are lots of Scottish decendants in NZ, especially in Dunedin

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I very much enjoyed all of your posts on Scotland. Wish I'd been able to read them in a more timely fashion as I followed avidly the news about the referendum. Your information as well as the comments from your readers were both instructive and interesting. (We've been traveling as you know and I am behind on blog reading.)

Certainly agree that many other countries should take a lesson from the civilized way this issue was handled.

And on a lighter note ... those pipers look quite wonderful in those kilts!!!

Kay said...

I love the idea of all the tartans having a different pattern for each clan.