Evolution of the Kilt -- Part II

THE EVOLUTION OF THE KILT – PART II

The Feilidh-beag

published in the Scottish Banner, September 2006

We began our mini-series on the development of the kilt last month with a treatment of the feilidh-mhor (literally “large wrap”), the grandfather of our modern kilt. This month’s topic will be the father of the kilt, the feilidh-beag (“little wrap,” often Anglicized as “phillabeg.”).

First we will talk about basic construction. Whereas the old feilidh-mhor was made up of four yards of material (more or less) that was some 50” to 60” wide, gathered into folds and belted at the waist, the feilidh-beag was simply the lower half of this garment. Still some four yards long, the feilidh-beag was made from a single width of tartan cloth, usually 25” to 30” wide selvedge-to-selvedge, gathered into folds and belted at the waist. The bottom would come to the knees and the top few inches would overlap the belt and keep the whole thing securely in place. A simpler form of the kilt would be hard to imagine!

The term “phillabeg” is often used as a romantic name for the modern kilt, and to a certain extent this is permissible. The kilt, after all, is a “little wrap,” especially when compared to its ancestor, the feilidh-mhor. However, the original feilidh-beag was not a tailored kilt at all. Like the feilidh-mhor, it was loosely gathered and not formally pleated. The pleating was certainly not stitched down! At certain times one might have seen a feilidh-beag with the pleats tacked in with a line of stitching at the waist only, or possibly keepers sewn in to facilitate wear; but by and large the feilidh-beag was a completely untailored garment.

The fact that the feilidh-beag was a garment distinct from the modern tailored kilt can be seen in the early records of the Gordon Highland regiment. Early in the year 1794, records indicate that four yards of cloth were supplied to soldiers for a feilidh-beag, but later in that same year records show 3 ½ yards being supplied for a kilt. These were two separate and distinct garments. (The Gordon regiment, by the way, is where we find the first known tailored kilt, from the same time period, but that is next month’s column).

Much speculation has taken place about the origin of the feilidh-beag. We know for certain that by the time of the 1745 Jacobite uprising, it was in fairly common usage. In the nineteenth century it was common for writers on Highland dress to assert with authority that the feilidh-beag, as the native garb of the Scottish Gael, dated back practically to the Stone Age! Such romantic ideas have been discarded by more modern historians. The most oft-repeated tale of the origin of the feilidh-beag involves an Englishman named Thomas Rawlinson.

Evidence for Rawlinson’s involvement comes largely from a letter written in 1768, by a Mr. Ivan Baillie of Aberiachan (on Loch Ness). We do not know who the letter was addressed to, but it was answering an inquiry as to the history of the “felie-beg” (as he spells it). I quote from that letter:

“About 50 years ago, one Thomas Rawlinson, an Englishman, conducted an iron work carried on in the countries of Glengarie and Lochaber; he had a throng of Highlanders employed in the service, and became very fond of the Highland dress, and wore it in the neatest form; which I can aver, as I became personally acquainted with him above 40 years ago. He was a man of genius and quick parts, and thought it no great stretch of invention to abridge the dress, and make it handy and convenient for his workmen: and accordingly directed the using of the lower part plaited of what is called the felie or kilt as above, and the upper part was set aside; and this piece of dress, so modeled as a diminutive of the former, was in the Gaelic termed felie-beg… and it was found so handy and convenient, that, in the shortest space, the use of it became frequent in all the Highland Countries, and in many of our northern Low Countries also.”

More details about Rawlinson are supplied by John Sobieski Stuart and Charles Edward Stuart, in their 1845 work, Costumes of the Clans. (This pair is most well known for their forgery, Vestiarium Scoticum. However, there seems to be no reason to doubt their information on Rawlinson.)

According to the Stuart brothers, shortly after the year 1715, Rawlinson came to Glengarry to manage an iron foundry. He took to wearing the Highland dress and had a great fondness for it. One day he was visited by a soldier and regimental tailor named Parkinson. Mr. Parkinson observed one of the Highland workers sit down by the fire in his wet and steaming feilidh-mhor and asked why the gentleman did not take his cloak off. When he was told that he could not, for it was of one piece with his kilt, Mr. Parkinson had the idea to separate the upper and lower halves of the garment, so that the upper part might be put aside and the wearer remain dressed.

Within two days Rawlinson was wearing the feilidh-beag. It was apparently such a hit that the style was adopted by the chief of the MacDonells of Glengarry, and so the fashion spread.

Of course many Scots take exception to the notion that an English tailor may have had any hand in the development of the kilt! And indeed there may be some evidence to suggest the feilidh-beag was in use some time previous to this.

One example is the portrait of Kenneth Sutherland, Lord Duffus painted in the year 1700. Bob Martin, kilt historian (and renowned portrait artist in his own right!) is of the opinion that this portrait depicts a large plaid worn over top of a separate feilidh-beag. H. F. McClintock, author of Old Irish & Highland Dress, is of the opinion that Lord Duffus is wearing a feilidh-mhor with the upper half being doubled-up in the front and tucked into the belt. All I can say is that the experts disagree and it is reasonable that both forms of dress could produce the look found in the portrait.

The most frequently cited early example of the feilidh-beag is the Arms of Skene of that Ilk from 1672, in which one of the supporters is shown in trews and a feilidh-mhor (described as “proper garb”) and the other in trews and a feilidh-beag (described as “servil habit”). However, the depiction we have of these arms is actually from an early nineteenth century drawing that was made from the original stone carving, and at least one author cited by McClintock believes that both figures are in the feilidh-mhor.

I, for one, see no reason to doubt the Rawlinson story. It seems fairly well documented and entirely plausible. However, I also see no reason to believe that this was the first ever occurrence of the feilidh-beag. After all, as we saw in our last column, the old feilidh-mhor was actually made from two single-width lengths of cloth stitched together in the middle. So the invention of the feilidh-beag does not so much involve cutting the feilidh-mhor in half as it does neglecting to sew the two lengths together.

Doubtless it sometimes happened that a Highlander would wear just the lower portion of his feilidh, either because he lacked the funds for the full feilidh-mhor, or perhaps because his work at the time made wearing only the lower portion more sensible. My own opinion is that the feilidh-beag was worn occasionally and infrequently before Thomas Rawlinson came to the Highlands, but that his adoption of it helped to hasten its spread. The most historians are typically willing to admit today is that the feilidh-beag had its beginnings sometime between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

It only makes sense. The large feilidh-mhor is perfect for outdoor pursuits, especially in the inclement Highland weather. But for indoor activity, especially around machinery, it is far too cumbersome. The feilidh-beag is simply more practical. So as the Highlands became more industrialized (and men took to work in places such as iron foundries) their mode of dress shifted.

This would lead, by the end of the eighteenth century, to the development of the tailored kilt. And this is where we will pick up next month.