Austria Wears Kilt to Honor Celtic Heritage
Jörg Haider's Death Sparks Carinthian Kilt Controversy With Scotland
Oct 21, 2008
International tension is mounting between proud Scottish traditionalists and the natives of Austrian state, Carinthia, in the country’s south. Not content with lederhosen, Carinthians have taken to donning kilts and locals have even gone so far as to suggest that the kilt belonged to Austria first.
The claim is based on a scrap of Celtic tartan cloth discovered by archaeologists in a peat bog located in central Carinthia. It was dated roughly 320 BCE, which makes it the predecessor to the oldest Scottish tartan by a good 1,600 years.
Since the discovery, Carinthia has embraced the kilt as its national costume, much to the chagrin of Scottish purists. Worn enthusiastically by several high-profile Austrians, including, Armin Assinger, the host of the Austrian version of the hit TV show Who Wants to be a Millionaire who opted to wear a traditional Austrian kilt for last week’s 250th episode show. " It’s a logical choice of dress for Austrian men," he declared of the pleated woolen skirt.
Right-wing Politician Wore Kilt
The scandal has hit the world stage this week with the death of right-wing Carinthian governor Dr Jörg Haider who was killed a week and a half ago in a car accident. Last week it was announced that Haider was driving while nearly four times over the legal limit. Haider wore a kilt at a provincial carnival in 2004 and national newspaper, The Austrian Times, suggested that his funeral last weekend encouraged the recent surge in sales enjoyed by specialists kilt tailors, with over 30,000 people in attendance.
Thomas Rettel is head of the Carinthian Highland Club and insists Austrians are quite entitled to lay claim to the heritage, with Celtic roots far more ancient than the Scots. "The Celts were in Austria first and developed Tartans and then brought them over to Scotland. So, we have very much the right to do this. But still, we want to work together."
Rettel is enjoying a flourishing trade at his family owned kilt shop. He claimed the demand was such that he was struggling to meet it. "We just haven't got enough traditional dress to go round. The sewing machines have been working over time," he said
Academics Take Claims with a Pinch of Salt
The Administrator of the Scottish Tartans Authority, Brian Wilton, does not dispute the archeological evidence, even adding that older discoveries have been recorded in Austria. “Some of the first pieces were found in the old salt mines of Halstatt near Salzburg, and those were dated between 1200 and 400 B.C.”
However, Wilton doesn’t agree with any claims of origination. “Herr Rettl has a nice line in historical fiction, “ he said, “We view his claims with an indulgent smile. To interpret a scrap of tartan in a salt mine as proof that Austria invented the kilt is a huge leap of faith that defies logic.”
Historian and academic authority on textiles of antiquity, Elizabeth Wayland Barber, doesn’t think the Scots should get their knickers in a knot. In her book, The Mummies of Urumchi, she discusses the well preserved mummies of Caucasian decent found along the famed Silk Road trading route in China. Dating 2000 BCE, the mummies are wearing the world’s oldest discovered tartan kilt.
Though Barker does concede that Scotland can put its hand up for the use of tartan as a means of identifying clan allegiance. Wearing tartan to symbolise an affiliation to a group is a relatively modern behavior which she confirms began in Scotland during the 1700s.
