Cornish and Welsh wore kilts.

[Big Homestead]

On another thread I was told that the Cornish and Welsh didn't wear kilts. Can someone confirm the legitimacy of these websites and what is on them?

http://www.welsh-tartan.com/

and here

This company is quoted as saying...
The wearing of a chequered or tartan cloth by our Celtic ancestors is a tradition that can be traced back through the centuries. In the ancient Tumuli (burial grounds) found throughout Cornwall, fragments of tartan cloth have frequently been unearthed. The Romans described the dress of the Western tribes of Britain as being a “loose tunic of chequered material ... drawn in at the waist by a leather belt”. Subsequently, it is from the Roman name given to the Celts that lived in the far South West that our company name of Cornovi is derived.

And these guys......

Or is this all something as simple as saying we all jumped on the kilt train and everybody just made a history to include themselves in the kilt records?

My own investigative understanding was that the kilt was introduced to Celts by the romans.

Cheers lads

[macwilkin]

You'd do better to read this article:

http://www.albanach.org/kilt.html

The adoption of the kilt by other Celtic peoples is a relatively new one; part of various nationalist movements by the various Celtic peoples. The Irish were the first to do it in the late 19th century, followed by the Welsh, Cornish, Manx, Bretons, etc. in the 20th century.

Regards,

Todd

[Colin]

Or is this all something as simple as saying we all jumped on the kilt train and everybody just made a history to include themselves in the kilt records?

That's how it looks to me. Nothing wrong with the Welsh, Cornish, Irish, or anyone else adapting a few tartans and kilts, but I have never really heard anything to historically show that anyone but the Scots wore kilts.

It's nice to see the other Celtic nations (and others) adapting the kilt in celebration, but it seems to have blurred the lines of history and fact through our own wishful thinking. I had never even heard of people thinking of a kilt/irish connection until I joined this forum and was suprised to learn that many (in the US in particular it seems) believ the Irish also had a historical connection with the kilt.

[Big Homestead]

You'd do better to read this article:

http://www.albanach.org/kilt.html

The adoption of the kilt by other Celtic peoples is a relatively new one; part of various nationalist movements by the various Celtic peoples. The Irish were the first to do it in the late 19th century, followed by the Welsh, Cornish, Manx, Bretons, etc. in the 20th century.

Regards,

Todd

Awesome!!!!

[Big Homestead]

That's how it looks to me. Nothing wrong with the Welsh, Cornish, Irish, or anyone else adapting a few tartans and kilts, but I have never really heard anything to historically show that anyone but the Scots wore kilts.

It's nice to see the other Celtic nations (and others) adapting the kilt in celebration, but it seems to have blurred the lines of history and fact through our own wishful thinking. I had never even heard of people thinking of a kilt/irish connection until I joined this forum and was suprised to learn that many (in the US in particular it seems) believ the Irish also had a historical connection with the kilt.

Agreed

[gilmore]

... I had never even heard of people thinking of a kilt/irish connection until I joined this forum and was suprised to learn that many (in the US in particular it seems) believ the Irish also had a historical connection with the kilt.

Yes, most of us Americans are convinced that the kilt was worn originally by that great Irishman, Mel Gibson (or was it Duncan MacLeod?)

[ccga3359]

Yes, most of us Americans are convinced that the kilt was worn originally by that great Irishman, Mel Gibson (or was it Duncan MacLeod?)

It's true, I'm descended from Mel Gibson. Okay I walked out on one of his movies. Problem was I was at a drive-in theater.

[Colin]

Yes, most of us Americans are convinced that the kilt was worn originally by that great Irishman, Mel Gibson (or was it Duncan MacLeod?)

I think it has to do with the presence of pipes and kilts at a lot of St. Paddy's day parades and events. They just become inter-connected when you see the two together in the same context. By the way, I thought it was Rob Roy O'Kelly-Thomas that introduced the kilt

It's true, I'm descended from Mel Gibson. Okay I walked out on one of his movies. Problem was I was at a drive-in theater.

Considering he has something like 9 kids and a love for the tequila, I am sure even Mel would be susprised to learn you weren't related

[Roan Carter]

The plaid/tartan wearing is much broader than Scotland, and naturally you could identify an individual's home to some degree by the tones they achieved by usign their native plant and vegetable dyes. Hence the clan tartan concept, and the kilted Pan-Celtic identity.

Kilts supposedly developed from a number of influences, but crystallized in the highlands. I consider them native Celtic dress, because they developed this way long after Ireland had its native dress banned by England, whereas before the banning Scotish and Irish dress were remarkably similar. It wouldn't be a stretch to therefore consider kilts a natural evelution of Gaelic fashion, hence the Irish desire to participate in kilt wearing.

Since then kilts have become identified with a broader "Pan-Celtic" identity, as opposed to the Germanic identity of Britain's past. People are wanting to say England is more Briton than Anglo Saxon, which would imply Celtic roots. Studies on this are interesting, and the kilt is ever the ready to be used as an icon of Celtic resistance against Germanic invasion, opression, etc. This is more critical than it sounds -- one of the arguments for annexing Scotland was that its native people, Picts, were Germanic, thereby making Scots look like barbarian invaders and encouraging the sons of Germanic tribes to take action. Picts being Germanic is likely a falsehood, but you see how the lines are drawn and symbols become attributed to one group or another.

Also, I love the Romans detailing the cothes of the Pretani people. ^_^

[Riverkilt]

Perhaps this century will go down in history as the one where wise men throughout the Earth realized the comforts and freedom of kiltwearing.

Perhaps teachers in the year 2107 will challenge their students and ask if men ever wore pants like women do.