The arisaid and other women's tartan clothing

[figheadair]

Actually, I think that's a shawl rather than an arisaid.

And without going into details of the work in progress, that gets to the heart of the matter. What was an arisaid, where's the proof and how much of what was written was second-hand or misunderstood?

[NPG]

And without going into details of the work in progress, that gets to the heart of the matter. What was an arisaid, where's the proof and how much of what was written was second-hand or misunderstood?

Knowing very little on this subject, I would be fascinated to see the potential answers to this question, as I'm sure in any academic setting there are/will be multiple.

[Luke MacGillie]

There are a few nuggets here, but the majority of the links are broken. http://www.marariley.net/celtic/scotland.htm

[ASinclair]

There are a few nuggets here, but the majority of the links are broken. http://www.marariley.net/celtic/scotland.htm

Good stuff.

[Orvis]

Peter, I think it is a great idea to devote a scholarly paper to the arisaid and other historic Highland women's clothing. As a 1745 Highland reenactor, I have obtained a great deal of information from your papers as to correct Highland men's attire for the 1745 period, but the issue of what Highland women wore has not been directly addressed. In your papers you have made some observations that lead me to believe arisaids were not necessarily based on a white ground color, but could have been colored much like tartans used for men's clothing (plaids, philabegs, jackets, &c.). But these comments only addressed the issue of women's tartan items in an oblique way, and I think if you can draw all of this together it would be a great service to not only Highland reenactors, but to the Scottish community in general, as far as putting out accurate information.

One question I would have is whether Highland women from different parts of the Gaeltacht wore their clothing, including arisaids, in differing manners. We know that the Gaelic language, for example, differed to varying degrees from one location to another. We also know that while Highland men in general wore the plaid, philabeg or truibhs, there were areas where this was not so (see John Prebble, Glencoe, p. 129). Thus I suspect that women's clothing fashions were not uniform across the Highlands.

I'm looking forward to the results of your research, Peter!

[Luke MacGillie]

Hey Gerry,

We have met a time or two, via a certain Cameron, who while in the Navy attended a course in Williamsburg, then went on to Africa, now living the good life in Canada married to the Col's daughter writing books for a living :-)

Do you happen to know what the deal is with the Appin's page or Mara's page? They seem decidedly neglected for the last decade or so.

[Orvis]

Hey Gerry,

We have met a time or two, via a certain Cameron, who while in the Navy attended a course in Williamsburg, then went on to Africa, now living the good life in Canada married to the Col's daughter writing books for a living :-)

Do you happen to know what the deal is with the Appin's page or Mara's page? They seem decidedly neglected for the last decade or so.

Hi Luke,

I haven't seen Mr. Cameron in about ten years or more - the last I heard of him was that he was living the literary life (yes, with the Colonel's daughter) in the Great White North. I have read a few of his novels, particularly the one about G. Washington's slave during the RevWar. His deep knowledge of that period really came out.

As to the Appin web page, I suspect it is the victim of benign neglect after the information was put online. It is probably the same with Mara's page - she has a lot of irons in the fire, so to speak, and links may have been allowed to expire because she may not have time to deal with it. I am not involved in the Appin web page, but I'll ask about it when next I see the people involved.

[Luke MacGillie]

Posted without opinion, but there is some interesting information here, that if it is actually true would explain the lack of period images of women in tartan:

"According to Terry Griest (Scottish Tartans and Family Names), tartan and the wearing of plaids was out of fashion in large cities of Scotland during the early 1600's, especially for women. By 1631 Edinburgh and other cities passed increasingly stringent laws against women wearing plaids. Edinburgh's law made it punishable by a fine of 5 pounds (Scots) and the loss of the garment. By 1633 a new act required corporal punishment for any offending women wearing plaids over their heads."



http://clanntartan.sitesneakpeek.com...%20plaids.html

[figheadair]

One question I would have is whether Highland women from different parts of the Gaeltacht wore their clothing, including arisaids, in differing manners. We know that the Gaelic language, for example, differed to varying degrees from one location to another. We also know that while Highland men in general wore the plaid, philabeg or truibhs, there were areas where this was not so (see John Prebble, Glencoe, p. 129). Thus I suspect that women's clothing fashions were not uniform across the Highlands.

Gerry, that's an interesting question and one which will be difficult, if not impossible, to answer with any certainly. For the most part women were invisible in the 17th and 18th century references, certainly poor women. Differences in dress due to social status are easier to explore. I'm not a great fan of Martin Martin and although he's often quoted as authoritative, some of his statements don't bear scrutiny. Burt's Letter seem more truthful although one has to remember his position and the time in which he was writing. He is quite derogatory in some of his letters.

Some comments by other writers talking about the arisaid just don't ring true and in many cases they seem to have written histories based on third party references and not personal experience.

[Pleater]

I have a double volume book on European costume, which simply writes off all Scottish garments as barbaric where it doesn't copy the English fashion.
With that sort of attitude even finding any serious study is made difficult.

Anne the Pleater.