Celtic Costume Question

["Terry L. Neill" <Neilltl@ptsc.slg.eds.com>]

Poster: "Terry L. Neill" <Neilltl@ptsc.slg.eds.com>


>Poster: Megan Brett <ragsdale@mindspring.com> wrote:

>Does anyone know of good resources about women's Celtic clothing? As in,
>what it looks like, and how it might be constructed?

What time period of Celtic are you interested in?  'Celts' run from bronze age
to almost the medieval period, or later depending on how one defines 'Celt'. 
Also, what area of Celt?  They were all over Europe and in England, Wales,
Scotland and Ireland.

My Specialty is Viking.  However, in researching Norse Women's costume, one
can't help but coming across countless references to pre-viking costume.

Researching pre-Viking Scandinavian women's clothing is a little bit easier
than researching Viking stuff, because the pre-vikings strangled people and
dumped them in bogs fully clothed!  Bogs are wonderful fabric preservers.

It seems to me that the bronze age northern Celtic women wore the simple
peplos.  This is a tube of fabric.  That's it.  Take a piece of fabric wide
enough to wrap comfortably about your body and long enough to go from
shoulder to mid calf or so, plus enough extra to fold over on the top from
shoulder to mid chest.  Sew the fabric into a tube.  Fold over the top and
pin on either shoulder with a fibulae or round pin.

I am of the opinion that the peplos can't be the *only* thing these Celtic
women wore.  Although the climate in Northern Europe was milder then than
now, it wasn't *that* much milder.  There may have been an underdress. 
There certainly were types of 'ponchos', square cloaks and other wraps.

Will you be at the Spring Revel/Hastalude/Central Region War Practice at Caer
Galen this Saturday?  Coronation?  Where do you live?  Maybe we can get
together and I can show you my peplos.

If you are interested in later Irish clothing, Lady Caemfind ignen Cobhthaigh
(pronounced 'Keevan O'Coffee') (Carol New) in our Barony has some good later
Irish garb.  I know she'll be at Coronation and she might be at the Hastalude,
too.

        - Anarra Karlsdottir
          Caer Mear
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