8. What shall I wear today?

Much to our chagrin, it has always been accepted that the "little kilt" was invented in 1725 by an  Englishman, Thomas Rawlinson, who had an ironworks in Lochaber. The bulky "great kilt" was dangerous near machinery, so he invented a version which evolved into the one we know today.

HOWEVER! Someone noticed that the armorial bearings of the Chief of the Skenes carved in 1692 included not only the dexter figure wearing trews (used for riding), but the sinister figure wearing a recognisable  version of the little kilt. In addition there is an earlier carving of a Macdonald chief wearing what looks to me like a short kilt with pleats all the way round. Sorry I can't give you a picture or two, but Google Books are notoriously well protected, even if the pictures can't possibly be copywright.

Here's some consolation:



Iris Pseudacorus
Yellow Flag
Courtesy Christine Walling

 Those of you who have been to Harris will recognise these brave flowers. They abound in the marshes and round the lakes and rivers. I know that in mediaeval times they were used to cover freezing cold stone floors, and they are an important feeding habitat of the endangered corncrake. while my old schoolmate, Hamish Taylor, was taking my granddaughter, Shayna and me round the coast on a sightseeing trip,he told me that irises are  part of a past well before the kilt. Weaving has been part of our culture for centuries and the colour yellow, or saffron, was the mark of the Celt, both in Scotland and Ireland.

Indeed, the saffron shirt owed its colour to the iris. It would have taken a millionaire's bank account to dye it with actual saffron, which comes from the crocus. Hamish thinks the seeds of the iris arrived with the yellow dye from eslewhere, and there is some evidence to show that the plant possibly came, like Abraham, from Mesopotamia(modern Iraq).
The iris is on all sorts of stuff, including the French Royal Coat of Arms. It's called the Fleur de Lys. History buffs will also find it on the Ishtar gate.

Fleur de Lys



Ireland

 Funny about the "Green" of Ireland. Early Irish nationalists hated it, as saffron was traditional.

When I was young, near a river there would be a huge iron pot, made  in Falkirk, and used for dying the woollen tweed. It was also handy for laundry. With a fire underneath, you were away! As Finlay J Macdonald points out in "Crowdie and Cream", there was also a "pee tub" for doctoring the tweed to make it softer. I suppose that now we are all hygenic, there is some expensive chemical to do the same job.



Hamish's Boat!



If you ever get a chance, go for a trip with Hamish. He has great stories, and the snacks are terrific.

Remember 1956? Our last family holiday before we emigrated to Glasgow? We walked to Huisinish. I took my granddaughter there, not so long ago.



Yellow Flags at Huisinish
Courtesy Christine Walling

More anon! Thanks for all the comments. We have a new reader, Peter, whose ancestors came from Diraclett. 

He has a nice blog. I'll give you directions in my next posting!

P.S.Sinister  means left, and dexter means right.
Christine Walling lives in Ballalan, and lets me use her photographs.