A Scottish Archer?

[deerhunter97370]

I found a pic of a Scottish Archer and was wondering if anyone knows anything about this type of archer.

[CraigMBeckett]

I would suggest its someones idealised vision of a Scottish Archer probably painted at a date later than one would imagine. The Kilt of that form did not put in an appearance until the 17th century.

Craig

[deerhunter97370]

So probly a Victorian Target Archer?

[CraigMBeckett]

No someones idealised Highland archer meant to be from an earlier date, the helmet looks earlier. Probably painted in the Victorian Era because by then the Great Kilt as poorly depicted in the picture had been superseded by the kilt as worn these days.

Craig

[Rod]

So what is is the provenance of this picture?

Rod.

[bow-toxo]

So what is is the provenance of this picture?

Rod.

 It looks to me like the illustrations from books on Scottish clans produced in our lifetimes. As Scottish culture was so thoroughly crushed for a hundred years, not much is known from before Culloden. For example, no present day clan tartans are known to be from before the Victorian revival.

[triton]

Because there's no such thing as a clan tartan.  The kilt was invented by an Englishman.  400 years of Scotch kings were invented as they were still Irish Scoti tribes/clans.  The clan tartan is a Victorian invention

[Loki]

http://www.northumberlandtartan.co.uk/history.asp

We have pipes in Northumberland too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cIqRyuG3jw

[Tsalagi]

"Because there's no such thing as a clan tartan.  The kilt was invented by an Englishman.  400 years of Scotch kings were invented as they were still Irish Scoti tribes/clans.  The clan tartan is a Victorian invention."

And then Campbell's Soup goes and discontinues their Scotch Broth Soup. It just never ends, I tell you. 

[blair]

I've got the book that that illustration appears in somewhere. The book was indeed written after the clearances and is the product of the Victorian romantic revision of highland culture, however, most of the equipment is drawn from genuine items in the collections of clan chiefs and the book contains a lot of anecdotes drawn from recent oral history. The highland archers are described as being inferior to their English counterparts, and their bows are described as being drawn to the chest and not the ear. Robert Bruce had archers in his army, but these archers, who were of some renown and skill apparently, were recruited from Ettrick forest. Apparently there is a very old bow in the Scottish national Museum in Edinburgh. Don't know if it's ancient or medieval. I must go and have a look at it.