Clothing2

Appearance-wise, apart from the fact that Scots were likely to wear the Scots’ Bonnet, there would have been little to distinguish the Scottish Reiver from his English counterpart. Scottish Reivers did not wear Tartan (or “plaid” as Americans erroneously call it). The idea of wearing tartan would have been anathema to the Lowland Scots. The only people who wore any form of primitive tartan were the Highland Scots, who were considered to be no better than the savage Irish. The concept of the Family Tartan would have been alien to them (as it was to the Highlanders) being introduced in the 19th Century by Scotland’s founder of the tourist industry, Sir Walter Scott. Border families which have “family tartans” nowadays, such as the Armstrongs and the Moffats etc, have only adopted these invented tartans in comparatively recent years.

One of the perennial problems in the Borderland is keeping warm and dry. In modern times it has one of the highest rainfalls in the UK and the cold, therefore, has a damp edge to it which eats into the bones. The 16th Century was colder than it is now, with the advent of what would come to be called “The Little Ice Age”.

Wool is a good choice for an outer covering, since the lanolin content in it (the sheep’s natural waterproofing) helps keep out the wet. Even when it does get wet wool stays warm. The method of making clothing then also helped to cut down on heat loss, since 16th Century clothes are made of wool with a linen lining with a thicker linen as an interfacing. The resultant garment is thick, heavy and warm using, in effect, the “layers principle” (several thin layers - which trap air - being more effective than one thick layer).