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Celtic Hist. Newsletter: Tartan Coats?
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hist-@historicgames.com
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Aug 11, 2009 07:42 PDT
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The Celtic History Newsletter
Brought to you by
The Celtic Croft
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/
&
MacGregor Historic Games
http://historicgames.com
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Tartan Coats?
Sorry I'm a little late with this issue, we're busy getting ready to
sell our wares at the seven weekend long Minnesota Renaissance
Festival which starts August 22.
Anyone familiar with the history of the kilt should be aware of the
1631 illustration of Scots arriving in Stettin to fight in the 30
Years War ( http://tinyurl.com/quq7co ) This is well known as one of
the earliest surviving illustrations of Scots in what is pretty
clearly a great kilt / belted plaid that also shows a
checkered/tartan-like pattern to the cloth.
I was recently gifted with a copy of the book "Highlander Fearless
Celtic Warriors" from Military Illustrated magazine (
http://www.amazon.com/HIGHLANDER-Fearless-Warriors-Stuart-Reid/dp/B002FBEH8S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1249998343&sr=8-2 ) It mentioned something I had not heard before. It described three of the figures in the illustration not as wearing poorly drawn great kilts, but rather as wearing long tartan "coats." Having worn a great kilt myself, to my eye, the man on the far right looks much more like he is wearing a belted plaid, with the excess material draped over his
shoulders.
But I have to admit the in looking at the first and third figures
(especially the first on the left) I can understand that
interpretation. There certainly seems to be a what may be a split in
the fabric running up the center front of the garment, as in a coat or
cloak. However, the third figure could certainly also be wearing a
belted plaid with the extra fabric wrapped around his arms.
The book goes on to claim that these tartan coats were probably more
popular with ordinary clansmen. Although I am not an expert in the
field, I have done some reading as a Scottish historical re-enactor,
and have not seen any other descriptions of Highlanders of the time
wearing buttoned "coats" as implied in this book.
My suggestion is that it is more likely the man on the left is wearing
a belted plaid as it has been usually suggested elsewhere -or it is
conceivable he is wearing a form of tartan "brat" or cloak that is
belted around the waist. (Some descriptions of Scots of the time are
said to describe them as wearing brats)
It would be interesting to hear if anyone else has seen evidence of
buttoned, knee-length tartan "coats" being worn at this time.
Something like it would seem practical and might be fairly simple to
tailor. It could also fun to be able to show more diversity in
Scottish clothing of the late 16th or early 17th century. But, I think
I need a little more clear evidence before I wear something that the
smart asses at a reenactment or Renaissance fair might compare to a
plaid bath robe... ;-)
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