Author Topic: A Scottish Archer?  (Read 8017 times)

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Offline deerhunter97370

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A Scottish Archer?
« on: March 15, 2010, 04:10:17 am »
I found a pic of a Scottish Archer and was wondering if anyone knows anything about this type of archer.

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Always be ready to: Preach, Pray, or Die. John Wesley

Offline CraigMBeckett

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Re: A Scottish Archer?
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2010, 07:25:32 am »
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

Offline deerhunter97370

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Re: A Scottish Archer?
« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2010, 02:52:36 pm »
So probly a Victorian Target Archer?
Always be ready to: Preach, Pray, or Die. John Wesley

Offline CraigMBeckett

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Re: A Scottish Archer?
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2010, 08:38:58 pm »
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 Probably painted in the Victorian Era because by then the Great Kilt as poorly depicted in the picture had been superseded by the kilt as worn these days.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
« Last Edit: March 15, 2010, 08:43:50 pm by CraigMBeckett »

Rod

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Re: A Scottish Archer?
« Reply #4 on: March 29, 2010, 11:07:34 am »
So what is is the provenance of this picture?

Rod.

Offline bow-toxo

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Re: A Scottish Archer?
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2010, 02:36:26 am »
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

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Re: A Scottish Archer?
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2010, 07:03:31 am »
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

Offline Loki

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Re: A Scottish Archer?
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2010, 10:33:27 am »
« Last Edit: June 19, 2010, 05:56:32 pm by Loki »
Durham,England

Offline Tsalagi

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Re: A Scottish Archer?
« Reply #8 on: July 07, 2010, 02:58:35 am »
"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.  :D
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Offline blair

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Re: A Scottish Archer?
« Reply #9 on: July 26, 2010, 10:20:37 pm »
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.