From the dress uniform of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, through the formal wear at weddings to the casual get up of the Tartan Army at Hampden Park; our national dress, the kilt, is instantly recognisable as Scottish and is the envy of the world. In few countries today do people still regularly don their national costume, nor have it emulated across the globe as ours is – so from head to toe here is a look at the history of the various parts that go into making our national dress. Except in evening dress, it is commonplace to wear a hat with the rest of the gear; usually either a … [Read more...] about Head to Toe – Scotland’s National Dress
History
Robert Burns – Scottish Genius
January isn't exactly the most heart-warming of months; it’s cold, snowy, dark and full of post-festive blues. Still, there is one bright light shining amid the gloom, navigating us through the murk to cheerier shores – Burns’ Night. Every year, on the 25th of January, Scots the world over gather in celebration of our national poet, Robert Burns, and dinners are hosted from Moscow to Miami, Aberdeen to Auckland to honour this, our most prodigal of sons. Toasting the bard is more than enjoying clever poetry and pithy observation; it’s a once a year stare-in-the-mirror look at ourselves, our … [Read more...] about Robert Burns – Scottish Genius
Battle of Culloden
Fives miles east of Inverness, the windswept moorland of Culloden, saw the last great battle on British soil on April 16, 1746, a turning point in the history of the Scottish nation, when the Jacobite cause was finally defeated. The Jacobite rebellion The second Jacobite rebellion had begun on August 19, 1745, when the standard was raised at Glenfinnan on the west coast shortly after Edinburgh had fallen into Jacobite hands, and Bonnie Prince Charlie had started his march on London. The English however, had appointed the well respected Duke of Cumberland to command their forces, and this … [Read more...] about Battle of Culloden
A History of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo
The term ‘military tattoo’ originally meant a military drum performance, but it has now come to mean army displays in general. It dates from around the 1600s, and was used during the Thirty Years’ War in the Low Countries. Drummers from the garrison were sent into the towns at 9:30PM each evening, in order to inform the soldiers that it was time to return to the barracks. The whole process was known as doe den tap toe, which was Dutch for “turn off the tap”. It was basically an instruction to the innkeepers that they were to stop serving beer to the soldiers and sent them home for the … [Read more...] about A History of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Europes Last Private Army, The Atholl Highlanders
At the end of every May, Blair Castle in Highland Perthshire plays host to a truly unique event; when the regiment of the Atholl Highlanders parades and is reviewed by their colonel, the Duke of Atholl. This is no ordinary regiment however, as it has the distinction of being the only private regiment in Europe. Bedecked in kilts and plaid of the Murray of Atholl tartan and bearing Lee-Metford rifles, the officers, rank and pipe band gather in front of the 700 year old castle and take the salute from the duke. It is a simple gesture, but one that takes us back hundreds of years and a … [Read more...] about Europes Last Private Army, The Atholl Highlanders
The Massacre of Glencoe
At five o’clock in the morning on the 13th of February 1692, as a blizzard howled down from the rugged peaks of the Aonach Eagach, redcoat soldiers from the Duke of Argyll’s regiment awoke, dressed and began an indiscriminate slaughter of their hosts, the MacDonalds of Glencoe . Up and down the glen shots rang out in the darkness; some where killed in their beds, others while fleeing from the carnage, while others still would be lost among the mountains and die of exposure. It was sudden, unexpected and swift. In the morning 38 men, women and children lay dead in the snow; among them the … [Read more...] about The Massacre of Glencoe
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