9. About Celtic Women

My cousin Kenny, Aunt Kennag's son, and a very amiable character, remarked on the one occasion I met him, apropos of his female relatives: "Those MacDonald women!" Well, they were fairly forceful characters, not scared of telling one where to get off, and my remaining aunt, Ina, says it like she sees it!

Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni




Check out Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni who lived in present-day Norfolk. She raised a rebellion against the Romans who had seized her property and raped her daughters. Leading a large army of Celtic tribes,she gave the Romans a run for their money before she was defeated and took poison to avoid capture. She was said to be tall, with red hair and a very loud, grating voice. But it shows one that Celtic women had much more status than those belonging to Germanic tribes.

One interesting historical fact is that Robert the Bruce, Scotland's hero king had a Celtic mother, Marjorie, Countess of Carrick in her own right, from whom he inherited a large estate. This was why the Celtic North supported him in the wars of independence.

One of the survivals of the old ways was that any Scotswomen reaching the age of 12 (!!!) became independent and could marry who she liked, as long as the lad was 14(more !!!'s). This was why young English lovers under the age of 21 made for the Border and Gretna Green, where they were married by the local blacksmith.

We know a bit about what Celtic women wore in modern times, but it tended to vary from place to place.


MacIan Woman with Arisaid



MacNicol Girl

 Most of the examples I have chosen come from the 18th Century. The MacIans were a sept of the Macdonald, one of the most famous being the MacIans known as the MacDonalds of Glencoe. This woman is quite well off, as she is wearing shoes! Normally, if it could be afforded, the woman had a large circular Celtic brooch, holding her plaid together.

Sinclair Girl

First, a chemise, a long, loose garment with a drawstring neck(One size fits all!), which could double as a night dress. If you could run to it, stays or corset, a couple of petticoats, and a skirt or dress. A short jacket might be worn. Shoes were optional. Many people could not afford them. In the Highlands both men and women went barefoot most of the time, but I have seen photographs of socks without bottoms! Over the lot went the Arisaid, a large plaid or cloak. Muffled in this,women could safely go to sleep in church during the sermon, which is why some ministers forbade it to be worn in church. As the sermon could last over an hour, my heart goes out to them.

Note the snood worn by the MacIan woman. It is just a ribbon, not the hairnet worn later on. 

MacIan Woman with Arisaig

After the disaster of the 45 Jacobite Rebellion, tartan was proscribed unless you were in the army, so the impoverished population of the Highlands and Islands wore what they could lay their hands on. It was not until late in the 20th Century that the Celtic Renaissance brought the tartan back with a bang.

Celtic Women:Aunt Ina and Chirsty

In the Hebrides, after the mid 18th Century weaving still went on, and people still used the lichens and the yellow iris to make dyes. Harris tweed was to take the upper classes by storm in the 19th century. And we all knitted.The women often had to do men's jobs as their menfolk were away for long periods in the armed forces or the Merchant Navy, so they tended to be a bit more imperious than those south of the Highland Line.

When education became compulsory in the late 19th century, girls went to school, and illiteracy vanished. We in Africa know that a literate mother is a guarantee of literacy for her children. And when senior education became compulsory in 1946, the vision of tertiary education opened up for even the poorest. 

Not for everyone, however. When I taught in Rutherglen in the 1960's, it puzzled me that so many girls in the school, a Secondary Modern, were much brighter than the boys. The headmaster sorrowfully informed me that they had been forbidden to take up their places in the local Academy by their fathers. In England it was even worse.

Well, those days are gone! But I feel the deepest gratitude towards my parents and the Hebridean community which gave a chance to all their children to get an education which had been denied to them. I even forgive Mr Mackay, our neighbour in Geocrab for chasing me to school when I tried bunking.

My last picture is of a Celtic woman you should all know. A Macdonald on both sides, she risked her life to saave a man who never showed her any gratitude. We shall hear more of her when we get on to the desperate days after the 45.

Flora MacDonald
"Her name will be mentioned in history, and if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour."

(Dr Johnson)