pre-kilt.... uhhhh... kilts?

[Magnus Sporrano]

A very few of you may know that I am part of the crew of a non-profit Viking ship that does public events all over the United States, and sometimes in far flung places around the world (Nova Scotia and St. Petersburg, Russia being two more recent examples). I've sort of been in the background but I'm taking a more active role this season and need to come up with some period viking garb.

I know there are some really smart kilt historians here that might already have a good understanding of just what it is I need to pull off here.

You see, there is this Norwegian king from the Viking age named "Magnus Barelegs" who earned that name for wearing an unbifurcated garment "in the Scottish style". The literature I've found is very vague about this but it seems to me that he wore some sort of ancient predecessor to the kilt that came out of Scotland. He ruled from 1093 to 1103, AD and was born in 1073.

OK not exactly Scotland... but it's said that his taste in clothes was picked up on an expedition to the Hebrides. This was probably some sort of tunic that barely reached the knees (which is about the same length as the modern kilt).

I'd like to have some more expert advice on the construction and appearance of this garment so that I might find a local seamstress to put one together for me. Any of the historians have some good knowhow on what the Scots were wearing around the turn of the 12th century?

[Thistle Stop]

Matt is an expert on historic dress in Scotland, so I'm sure he'll have some good information! Crewing on a Viking ship sounds very cool!

[Union Richard]

Hi Magnus

take a look at this links it may be of help.

http://www.magnusbarelegs.co.uk/about.asp

http://sites.scran.ac.uk/scottish_pe...aakon%20IV.pdf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelin...way_wins.shtml

best regards
Richard
UnionKilts

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Magnus,

Fun hobby! And yes, this is an area that I have done some research in.

Short answer:
Did the Vikings wear kilts? No.
Did the Vikings wear anything like a kilt? No.

Why do people think that? Well, let's go back and revisit Magnus Bearfoot. His saga, which details him visiting the Western Isles of Scotland and adopting the dress of the people there, has this (and only this) to say about his dress:
“They went about barelegged having short tunics and also upper garments, and so many men called him ‘Barelegged’ or ‘Barefoot.’”

So many people read this and assume he is wearing some form of kilt using this logic: he's in Scotland; he's bare legged; Scots wear kilts; ergo he must be wearing a kilt!

The problem with this logic is that he was in Scotland in 1093 and we don't find any evidence at all for anyone wearing a kilt for another 500 years. It would be like someone trying to claim when Columbus navagated to America the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria communicated via cell phone.

So what did Magnus wear? What were these "short tunics" and "upper garments?" Since he was in the Western Isles, in an area inhabited by Gaels, and we have next to no other descriptions of Scottish Gaelic clothing from this period, we have to extrapolate from what we know of Irish Gaelic clothing. (The Irish Gaels and Scottish Gaels shared almost identical dress until the Scots developed the belted plaid in the late sixteenth century).

His short tunic was just that -- a simple tunic, called a "Leine" in Gaelic. More than likely it had close fitting sleeves, a simple neck line. There may have been embroidery around the hem or sleeve cuffs. Scholars and clerics may have worn them full length, but men of action (soldiers, messengers, farmers, etc) wore them short, to the knee.

The "upper garments" are a bit more mysterious. Did the Irish Gaels wear any sort of upper garment? Yes, they did. They wore a heavy woolen mantle, called a "brat" (that would later be called a "plaid" in Scotland and evolve into our kilt). But in this early time, the mantle was more or less a rectangular (maybe semi-circular) heavy woolen blanket worn wrapped around the shoulders (perhaps secured with a pin) for warmth.

Sources speak of the Irish brats as being shaggy and furry (maybe piled wool, or maybe they used actual animal pelts). We don't know how common this was in Scotland. But any heavy wool would work.

And there you go. If you want more, read my article on the early history of the kilt here:
http://albanach.org/kilt.html

Aye,
Matt

[Magnus Sporrano]

Matt, thank you! This is just the sort of thing I was hoping to find.

Do you suspect that the leine was made of a lighter wool? Do you have any knowledge of the sort of dyes that were used in Scotland around 1093? I'd like to avoid pulling an anachronism by using modern dye colors or using a dye that wouldn't have been in common use during that time. And would they have likely been in a solid color, or a simple plaid?

-Magnus

[M. A. C. Newsome]

When we are getting into the specifics of Scottish Gaelic clothing from this era, really all we can do is make best guesses.

The leine was more than likely made from linen, or a linen-woolen blend. Leine seems to come from the same root word as linen.

As for color, we really can't say. In the sixteenth century, when we start to get some information about the dyes used for the leinte, the most common color mentioned is saffron (a very pure yellow, not the muddy color Irish kilts are made in today). But a some descriptions say they are "undyed" and others say they were "dyed" without mentionining a color. But this is 500 years after the time you are looking at. We really don't have any references as to color from that time.

So I would say keep your color choice limited to something producable from natural dyes -- which is really quite a range. Just avoid neons, pastels, and anything that would scream "modern" to an average viewer. I'd keep the leine solid (maybe a subtle striped pattern), and if you want to incorporate tartan, to use it in the mantle.

Aye,
Matt

[Doc Hudson]

Reckon the fabric might be something along the lines of what in the 18th Century was called Lindsey-Woolsey? A flax-wool blend that was widely used in Colonial America.

[Magnus Sporrano]

OK I'll get out there and see what kind of blends I can come up with. Straight linen is probably going to catch the wind too easily, which is something that is abundant on a sailboat. Something with some wool in it and a bit of weight should do nicely.

I imagine woad was probably one of the natural dyes, and IIRC I think indigo comes up with almost the same shade of blue even though indigo itself was not available until much later. But I might actually be able to score indigo dye so I'll look down that route.

Thanks muchly Matt. I'll send you a pic when I'm all done up in the Viking garb.

[Colin]

Magnus,

maybe check out the Leine over at Savannagh Kilts http://www.neokilts.com/KiltsCasual.html

[Thistle Stop]

Magnus,

maybe check out the Leine over at Savannagh Kilts http://www.neokilts.com/KiltsCasual.html

The leine Matt is talking about is a long shirt, whilst the 'Leine' model Savannah Kilt is a cotton kilt for the lower body only. They shouldn't call it a Leine, as it bears utterly no resemblance to that garment, though it looks like a nice version of an inexpensive non-trad kilt. The picture they show of it demonstrates why it's not a good idea to wear a sporran suspended from a regular belt rather than a sporran strap!

I found some pictures of leines (mostly with various over-garments) at http://www.kelthaven.org/leine/leinepix.html and she has instructions for making one at http://www.kelthaven.org/leine/. There's probably a ton of leine and leine-making info online from SCA and Renn-Faire people, etc.