Scots history is "riddled with myth and falsehood."

Blackleaf · Scots history is "riddled with myth and falsehood."

A new book, written by an eminent historian, says that the Scottish kilt was invented by an Englishman and that Scottish history is riddle with myth and falsehood...

Kilts invented by English in Lord Dacre's book

By Simon Johnson, Scottish Political Correspondent
The Telegraph
18th May 2008

The Scottish kilt was actually invented by ab Englishman

Kilts were invented by an Englishman, according to an eminent historian who claims Scots history is riddled with “myth and falsehood”.

The last book written by the late Lord Dacre of Glanton also states that the Declaration of Arbroath, which confirmed Scotland’s independence in 1320, is plagued with inaccuracies and details of “imaginary” kings.

He argues that Scotland’s literary, cultural and political traditions, which are claimed to date back from Roman times, were largely invented in the 18th century.

The book, titled The Invention of Scotland: Myth and History, is to be published at the end of this month, five years after Lord Dacre died of cancer.

Its controversial findings debunk many of the cultural arguments for Scottish independence, and are likely to fuel the current heated political debate over the country’s constitutional future.

Lord Dacre, formerly Hugh Trevor-Roper, concludes in the book: “In Scotland, it seems to me, myth has played a far more important part in history than it has in England.

“Indeed, I believe the whole history of Scotland has been coloured by myth; and that myth, in Scotland, is never driven out by reality, or by reason, but lingers on until another myth has been discovered to replace it.”

He claims that the “myth” of the ancient Highland dress was perpetuated by historians to provide a symbol by which Scots could be universally identified, as well as to support the country’s textile industry.

The traditional dress of the Highlanders was in fact a long Irish shirt and a cloak or plaid, he states, and only the higher classes had woven in stripes and colours creating tartan.

“The kilt’s appearance can, in fact, be dated within a few years,” he reveals in the book.

“For it did not evolve, it was invented. Its inventor was an English Quaker from Lancashire, Thomas Rawlinson.”

He claims Mr Rawlinson decided to shorten belted plaids after workmen in the Highlands, where he was staying, said they were uncomfortable.

Scots are also accused in the book of fabricating their own literary tradition, culminating in the publication of The Works of Ossian.

These have been claimed to have been translated from ancient sources in Gaelic about the lives of Celtic heroes.

But historians have long suspected them of being a figment of the imagination of James Macpherson, the 18th-century Scottish poet who claimed to have translated them.

Lord Dacre also declares that when the Scots were looking for a writer and poet to rival Shakespeare following the Act of Union in 1707, they found nothing.

This led to ancient writings being forged and passed off as Scottish literature.

He concludes: “It was natural that Scots, seeking compensation for the end of their independent history and politics, should turn to discover and appreciate their native literature.

“Unfortunately when they looked for it, they could not find it. There was none.”

Lord Dacre was one of the world’s most respected historians prior to his death, and was professor of Modern History at Oxford University for 23 years.

But his reputation was damaged when he claimed that forged diaries, purportedly written by Adolf Hitler and serialised in the Sunday Times, were authentic.

Michael Fry, an eminent Scottish historian, claimed Lord Dacre was not “a very reliable guide to Scottish history”, Tartan was worn in the Middle Ages and his claims about the kilt “prove absolutely nothing.”

“Lots of things emerge in history and just because we can’t pin down their origins it doesn’t follow from that everything about it is phoney,” Mr Fry said.

“There is a distinguished school of medieval Scottish literature, and poetry in something that is recognisably Scots was being written in the 14th century.”

telegraph.co.uk

agentmancuso

Holebender

Dave Coull

I actually bought the Sunday times today, and I read this article. They describe the book as "explosive" and "controversial", but there is in fact nothing new or controversial about any of the actual examples they gave. So the "short" kilt in its modern form was probably devised by an English employer as a practical form of industrial work wear that was less likely to get caught in machinery than the traditional belted plaid his highland employees normally wore. So what? Nothing new in that story. So the "history" in the Declaration of Arbroath was a load of crap. So what? Most of us have known that for many years, it's not a history book, it's a historical document, there's a difference. I know journalists have to try to make a story, and I realise journalists for a Unionist paper like the Sunday times might think it smart to mock "Scotch myths", but the truth is that they are only mocking a straw man of their own creation, and in doing so they reveal the depths of their own ignorance.

azzuri · Re: Scots history is "riddled with myth and falsehood.&

doodells

and another breaking story just in...

The bagpipes were not invented by the Scotches!!
They probably originate from somewhere in the middle east. Spreading through the Roman empire, later arriving in Scotland and then spreading again through the British empire to the colonies. Although it is thought that the modern form of the 'great highland bagpipe' was devised and originated in Scotland.
A statement released earlier from the Scottish Government expressed the level of shock at this discovery. 'Had we known this fact we would never have become nationalists. The SNP have lied and cheated to everyone, including ourselves. And although we all still agree that Labour are completely incompetent and pish... Please Vote Labour.'