The Truth About KILTS in Scotland and Why Were They Banned?
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2022-06-11

The Truth About KILTS in Scotland and Why Were They Banned?

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Chapters:
0:00 The Great Kilt 
2:27 Clans and The Ban on Kilts 
4:20 Aristocrats and Kilts in War 
6:06 Support 

When and why were kilts worn in Scotland, and why were they banned? The earliest known time when the kilt was worn was at the end of the 16th century, in the form of the belted plaid or the great kilt (sometimes referred to as a breacan). According to certain sources, the earliest recorded reference to the great kilt comes from 1594. The great kilt itself is thought to have been inspired by earlier woollen cloaks, known as brats (and I don’t mean annoying children). 

The great kilt had an addition piece of material than the modern versions, material that would drape over the shoulder and could be brought up over the head as a hood. The kilt was traditionally worn in the highlands of Scotland, with it having many practical applications given this climate. Many kilts could be unravelled and used as blankets at night, whilst also being used during the day to protect against the weather. The fact that kilts stopped at the knee also meant that the bottom of the material would not get wet whilst hiking through the rugged highlands, unlike trousers. 
Kilt may come from the Scots word for tucking clothes around the body, although some say the word has an old Norse origin, coming from the Nordic word kjalta (meaning lap, fold of a gathered skirt). The pattern of the kilt may have reflected the wearers clan or region, although clan tartan designs on kilts seem more of a modern invention. Originally, tartans may have reflected regions as opposed to clans themselves.

The major move to drop the upper portion of the great kilt is said to have taken place in the 1720s by Thomas Rawlinson, an English industrialist who established iron works in the highlands following the suppression of the Jacobite rising of 1715. Rawlinson felt that the great kilt worn by the highlanders he employed was too “cumbrous and unwieldy” for this work, which included manufacturing charcoal from the forests and smelt iron ore. Rawlinson turned to a local tailor, who developed a kilt which consisted of the lower half alone “with pleats already sewn." This tailored kilt was later adopted by the highland regiments of the British army. 

BAN ON KILTS

The structure of the highland clan system in Scotland  meant that the allegiances of clansmen lay with god, their clan chief, and their monarch, not to the central government. Thus, for the central government, destroying highland culture as part of systematic breakdown of the clan system was an important objective. A few months after the Jacobite rising of 1745 was defeated at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746, King George II of Great Britain and Ireland imposed the 1746 Dress Act on the Scottish highlands as part of Act of Proscription 1746. 

Music: 

Master of the Feast by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1400019 

Artist: http://incompetech.com/ 

Sources:

Why did Scottish men wear kilts? Scottish Kilt Collection https://scottishkiltcollection.com/scottish-men-wear-kilts/ 

History of the kilt, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_kilt 

It wasn't just a tartan ban ... Britain targeted a way of life, The National https://www.thenational.scot/news/17798717.wasnt-just-tartan-ban-britain-targeted-way-life/ 

Creative Commons Imagery:

Markus3 (Marc ROUSSEL) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gauchy_(24_mai_2009)_parade_004.jpg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en 

#kilts #scotland #scotlandshistory