Ancient Scottish clothing

[kilted2000]

I’ve been rereading some Icelandic Sagas and I came across this. The context is Leif Eirikson and his crew have reached North America and they want to explore so they use two fleet footed Scots.
Does anyone know what garment is being talked about? The Sagas aren’t always completely accurate so maybe this is an example.
Eirik the Red’s Saga:
“After sailing the length of the Furdustrandir, they put the two Scots ashore and told them to run southwards to explore the country and return before three days' time had elapsed. They were dressed in a garment known as a kjafal, which had a hood at the top but no arms, and was open at the sides and fastened between the legs with a button and loop; they wore nothing else.”

[Pleater]

I suspect it is a kagoule like garment made from an animal skin, perhaps a deer or a sheep.
The hood is formed using skin from the legs of the animal joined to the neck opening, there are no sleeves but the arms can be drawn inside and the skin pulled around - the skin from the animal's forelegs would have been cut away leaving a front facing opening.

The lower part, the hind end of the animal could have been peeled off to form a skirt with a front flap held in place by the loop and button - a feature of later tunics and shirts I believe, but the slits made by the removal of the hind legs of the animal allowing free movement for the wearer.

It is a fairly primitive garment in concept, but windproof and if treated with oil or fat waterproof too.

I imagine that the runners would have had some sort of protection for their feet though.

There is little information about Scottish garments in antiquity other than it was very basic. Most of my books about costume are very snitty about Scotland declaring it hardly worth a mention and then not mentioning it for several centuries or longer.

Anne the Pleater

[Canadian Vet]

That sounds like a Mesolithic garment or perhaps even older and why not?
Our ancient ancestors clearly survived hence we dress in Poly stuff.
They knew what the heck they were doing.

[Pleater]

That sounds like a Mesolithic garment or perhaps even older and why not?
Our ancient ancestors clearly survived hence we dress in Poly stuff.
They knew what the heck they were doing.

I tend to use natural fibres for my clothes even though it means making them myself as to buy them ready to wear is either impossible or very expensive. In the colder months I am often asked 'aren't you cold' due to the different levels of insulation of man made fibre and wool or other fleece. Cotton, when wet, is cold, but still useful if it isn't being worn.
That property carries on into household things as I make cotton bags ever since plastic carrier bags began to disintegrate on purpose.

The only modern improvement in clothing I find really useful is waterproofing.
A lightweight waterproof with a hood makes a lot of difference to days of mixed weather and I have often enjoyed late afternoons with the landscape to myself when an hour or two of rain has sent most people back to their cars and off home.

Anne the Pleater

Kagoule, I am fairly sure, means hooded

[Canadian Vet]

I tend to use natural fibres for my clothes even though it means making them myself as to buy them ready to wear is either impossible or very expensive. In the colder months I am often asked 'aren't you cold' due to the different levels of insulation of man made fibre and wool or other fleece. Cotton, when wet, is cold, but still useful if it isn't being worn.
That property carries on into household things as I make cotton bags ever since plastic carrier bags began to disintegrate on purpose.

The only modern improvement in clothing I find really useful is waterproofing.
A lightweight waterproof with a hood makes a lot of difference to days of mixed weather and I have often enjoyed late afternoons with the landscape to myself when an hour or two of rain has sent most people back to their cars and off home.

Anne the Pleater

Kagoule, I am fairly sure, means hooded

Waterproofing ... Lanolin or some other animal fat that doesn't go off would have done the trick.

[OC Richard]

That's the trouble with historic (written) accounts: they tell us the when and where but they tell little about the what.

Then there are the (apparently) old objects in museums and private collections which tell us everything we could wish to know about the what but rarely tell us anything about the when, or indeed the where.

It's why I rely mostly on iconography. It doesn't tell us as much about the what as we might wish. But iconography alone places the object in situ, giving us the corresponding what, when, where, and even how.

[Pleater]

Waterproofing ... Lanolin or some other animal fat that doesn't go off would have done the trick.

I sometimes have to explain that the oil put onto smocks has rotted the fibres and that it is beyond saving. The oil waterproofed the fabric quite well, right up until it began to fail and fall apart, by which time another one would have been made.

Having visited several places where people act as though they were living in the exhibitions, I often see behaviour which is wrong.

My mother would wear a cardigan, slippers and apron in the house, and her purse was always kept in a particular place, but if she needed to go to the shop, which was the sixth door along the road from our house she would wash her face, comb her hair, take off the cardigan and apron and slippers put on leather shoes, a jacket and - back in the 50s and 60s, a hat and gloves. The handbag came out of the sideboard, the purse went in, along with a small folding shopping bag, then off she would go, out of the front door and back in again a few minutes later. The side door to the kitchen was only a few steps away, but she was brought up when such things were still significant and at that time the servants used the back door (which was often left unlocked in the daytime) whilst the mistress of the house had a key, and used it, or the door was opened for her.
I used to read old novels and the plot often turned on some aspect of behaviour or etiquette which either gave away the hero/heroine's superiority or betrayed the villain as not who he seemed!!

Anne the Pleater