Ancient Leather Cloak

Another article on clothing from the Ulster Archaeological Society, Vol 9, pg 294-300, dated 1861/1862, 'Ancient Leather Cloak' by Robert MacAdam.  It is unfortunate that the majority of period information about the medieval Irish peoples comes from people who did not live in Ireland or likely ever set foot upon Ireland's soil, but beggars can't be choosers and we must work with what we have.  This article deals with bog finds and is an interesting read.  You may find it in my Box.net account.

Maritime Ireland

Another book to add to my future reading list is The King's Customs, Vol 1 by Atton & Holland published in 1908.  It is supposed to be "an account of maritime revenue & contraband traffic in England, Scotland and Ireland, from the earliest times to the year 1800."  I have yet to challenge this claim, but for now a reminder is set in this post that I need to do so.  A quick perusal indicates that the information in the book may start around the time of Edward I or the late 13th century.

Kilt, Mantle & Tartan

I found an article in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Vol 6, pg 316-327, dated 1858 entitled 'The Highland Kilt and the Old Irish Dress' by William Pinkerton.  In this article he quotes from individuals, which I will transcribe verbatim for those thirsting for more information on Irish clothing.  These may or may not enlighten anyone further...

Leslie, Bishop of Ross, in his work, "De Origine, Moribus, et Rebus Gestis Scotorum," published in 1578, thus describes the Highland costume of the period:--

[Next paragraph in Latin, if you prefer the original Latin I uploaded the article to my Box.net account.]

The above quotation may be freely rendered as follows:--

"Their clothing, being chiefly suited for war, was made for use, and not for ornament.  All--both the nobles and common people--wore mantles of the same kind (except that those of the nobles were variegated at pleasure), long, ample, and gathered into becoming folds: wrapped in these, without any other covering, they slept comfortably.  They had also frieze rugs, such as are use by the Irish, which they not only wore on a journey, but also spread upon their beds.  The rest of their garments were a most simple trowser; a woollen jerkin, with sleeves open below, for the facility of casting darts; and a very large linen tunic, gathered into numerous plaits, and having wide hanging sleeves descending to their knees.  These the rich coloured with saffron, and others smeared with a certain grease, to preserve them longer amidst the toils and exercises of the camp, which they considered it of the utmost importance to practise continually."

The first garment here mentioned by Leslie is clearly the breacan or belted plaid, hereafter to be described. The second is the Irish mantle.  The third the trùis, or breeches and stockings in one piece, worn both by Highland and Irish chieftains; the epithet siplicissima denoting its closely-fitting character, in contra-distinction to the puffed and padded out trunk-hose worn by the English and Lowland Scotch of the period.  The last--the tunic--is merely the long shirt, leni-croich of the Irish, under probably a more correct denomination.

The accurate and pains-taking Camden describes the Irish dress in almost the very same words as Leslie did the Highland costume.  He says:--

[Next paragraph in Latin.]

Which may thus be rendered:--"They wear large linen tunics, with wide sleeves hanging down to their knees, which they generally dye with saffraon; short woollen jerkins; a most simple and closely-fitting trùis; and over these they cast their mantles or shaggy rugs (which Isidore seems to call Heteromallae) finged and elegantly variegated, in which they wrap themselves at night, and sleep soundly on the bare ground."

The word "variegated," in both of the preceding quotations, can apply only to a chequered cloth, worn by all the Celtic tribes, and such as we now term tartan; though the word "tartan" was originally applied to the material of the cloth, and had no reference whatever to its colour.

The above descriptions are only a part of the article.  I encourage people to read Mr. Pinkerton's article, but be warned that some of the information is a bit far-fetched, but that does not negate the possible usefulness of the rest.

Chaucer & Ireland

I was perusing a few random sites today and I ran across an article that caught my fancy, so I wanted to share it.  The article I found references a late 14th century work (approximately 1370s) by Geoffrey Chaucer entitled 'Anelida and Arcite' (original text & modern translation).  What caught my interest was the title of the article, namely 'Chaucer's Tale of Ireland'.  I have uploaded the file to my Box.net account so that anyone else might read the article as well.  It's somewhat lengthy in how the author came to the conclusion that he made, but he does give a lot of information on the actual people of the late 14th century.