Cornish and Welsh wore kilts.

[McClef]

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.

And I thought that in Canada they spelt theatre correctly!

[ccga3359]

And I thought that in Canada they spelt theatre correctly!

Spell-check is American .

[Troy]

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”.

A “loose tunic of chequered material ... drawn in at the waist by a leather belt” is somewhat different to a kilt, so I think it's a drawing a long bow to suggest that the Cornish wore kilts (prior to about 1903, that is!). That's not to say, of course, that the fabric from which their garments were made wasn't what we would describe as 'tartan'.

There have been other, more spurious, arguments put forward to support the notion that the Cornish wore kilts in days of old, such as interpreting the garments worn by some figures carved into some 16th century pew-ends in Altarnun church (as previously discussed, they could quite easily be mason's or blacksmith's aprons). To my mind these sorts of arguments do nothing but detract from Cornwall's rich history.

Many Cornish, and those of Cornish descent (such as myself) proudly wear kilts, but we don't claim that this is a tradition dating back centuries. In a couple of hundred years, though, I hope my descendants will be telling a slightly different story!

Cheers,

Troy

[James MacMillan]

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

That's already true! There are a lot of wise men (and women) members of the rabble, and we realize "the comforts and freedom of kiltwearing!"

Maybe we are just ahead of out time......

[Chef]

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.

Your argument, as I read it, is the kilt is a pan-celtic garment because had the English not banned Irish native dress, it would have developed the same way Scottish dress did. Interesting. but irrelevant since there is no way to prove it. Also Scottish and Irish culture did not develop the same way, similarly in some ways but definitely not the same, so it is likely that dress would not have evolved the same way either.

The desire of the Irish to wear kilts has more to do with modern ideas than any belief that the kilt would have been and Irish garment if the English hadn't interfered.

Since then kilts have become identified with a broader "Pan-Celtic" identity, as opposed to the Germanic identity of Britain's past.

Oddly enough I don't hear any Scots talking about their Pan-Celtic kilts. The small exception might be large kilt suppliers looking to sell new markets.

Whether you wear a kilt as a new Celtic/ anti-English garment, or as a new way of showing your Welsh/Irish/Breton/Manx/Cornish/Galacian patriotism or culture, or even just for comfort that's fine, and as a Scotsman I say guid on ya. However, can we stop making up histories or what-might-have-happeneds to justify it. Who are you justifying it to, others or yourself. If you want to wear a kilt wear it with pride for whatever your reason, new or old. Unfortunately, your just going to have to live with the fact that history shows it was a Scottish garment, get over it, put your kilt on and deal.

[Graywolf]

Alright, so as I understand it, the kilt as we think of it today is of Scottish origin, developed after the price of wool became affordable. However it descended from the Irish liene and a pleated Viking garment, from which the word "kilt", meaning pleated originated. So we have Scottish, Irish, and Scandinavian. Finally, if I am not mistaken the oldest plaid garment was found in a tomb of red-haired, Caucasian people in western China. This tells me everyone has the right to wear a kilt.

[Chef]

However it descended from the Irish liene

No it's not. he fact that the liene was worn in both Scotland and Ireland does not mean the kilt is descended from it.

and a pleated Viking garment

There are many pleated garments around the world that have nothing to do with the Scottish kilt. The link to any Viking Garment is dubious based on the length of time between the Viking influence and the emergence of the kilt.

from which the word "kilt", meaning pleated originated.

Kilt is an English word of Scandinavian origin (as are many others) meaning "tucked in", but that itself shows no Scandinavian origin of the kilt in Scotland.

Finally, if I am not mistaken the oldest plaid garment was found in a tomb of red-haired, Caucasian people in western China.

Patterned woven materials show up all over the world, it's a function of weaving, but again o direct link to the Scottish kilt.

This tells me everyone has the right to wear a kilt.

I never said otherwise. Choose to wear the kilt because you like it or for any new meaning you want it to symbolise, just don't make up an historical justification for it.

[Bryan]

...one of the arguments for annexing Scotland was that its native people, Picts, were Germanic...

The Picts were most certainly not Germanic. That's a new one I'd not heard until now.

[slohairt]

And I thought that in Canada they spelt theatre correctly!

You mean cinema!

[slohairt]

No, the Welsh did not wear kilts. The Cornish did not, the Bretons did not, the Manx did not, the Irish did not, and for that matter, neither did most of Scotland.

Though recognized today as the national dress of Scotland, it must be remembered that it was the dress of the SCOTTISH HIGHLANDER, not Lowlanders.

It is a nice idea, however, to consider the kilt as the evolution of Gaelic clothing. In some ways it is. It serves to reinforce the connections between Scottish and Irish culture, which were once very close. Celtic solidarity as a whole is a laudable ideal. Promoting similarities is always better than pointing out differences.

As for the Pictish being Germanic, this is the first I've heard of that theory. And I took Celtic Studies! The fact is, we don't know what the Picts were. Some speculate that they were Brythonic Celtic (akin to Welsh, etc.) which would certainly explain their quick assimilation into Gaelic culture under Coinneach Mac Ailpein. Others think they were indigenous, perhaps descendants of the Megalithic stone builders. They even lived in Ulster where they were called Cruithne. Who knows?